The journey to better riding begins within you.
What if becoming a better rider wasn’t just about improving your technique — but about understanding yourself and your horse on a deeper level?
We spend years learning how to ride, how to communicate through aids and how to improve our horses‘ performance. But how much time do we spend understanding what our horses experience when they are with us? And how often do we question the influence of our own emotions, expectations, fears and habits?
How to Become a Better Rider invites you to look beyond traditional riding instruction and discover a more conscious, compassionate approach to horsemanship.
Through real-life experiences, practical insights and honest reflections, this e-book will encourage you to become not only a more confident and aware rider, but also a better partner for your horse.
Better Riding Is About More Than Technique
A horse doesn’t experience us as a collection of perfectly executed riding aids. They experience our body, our movements, our tension, our consistency and the way we respond to them.
Sometimes, what stands between us and a more harmonious partnership isn’t a lack of riding skills. It’s something we haven’t yet recognised within ourselves.
Perhaps it’s fear. The need to control. Frustration when things don’t go as planned. Or simply a habit we’ve never stopped to question.
This book is an invitation to look at riding from a different perspective — one that begins with awareness, understanding and respect.
What Will You Discover Inside?
Understand How Horses Experience the World
Explore equine behaviour, communication and the ways horses perceive and respond to their surroundings. Learn to recognise signals that may otherwise go unnoticed and become more attentive to your horse’s individual needs.
Become More Aware of Your Emotions
Fear, uncertainty, frustration and expectations can all influence our behaviour around horses. Discover why understanding your own emotional responses is an important part of becoming a more thoughtful and supportive riding partner.
Develop Greater Body Awareness
Explore the connection between your body, balance, movement and communication in the saddle. Learn why physical awareness, flexibility and conscious movement matter beyond traditional riding technique.
Learn to Listen Before You Ask
Communication is more than giving instructions. Discover how observing, recognising and responding to your horse’s signals can help create clearer communication and more meaningful cooperation.
Build a Partnership Based on Trust
Explore what it means to become someone your horse can understand and feel comfortable with. Move beyond the idea that good riding is simply about control, and discover the value of patience, consistency and mutual respect.
Who Is This E-book For?
- For riders who believe there must be more to horsemanship than technique and performance.
- For beginners who want to build a thoughtful foundation.
- For experienced riders who are willing to question familiar habits.
- For horse owners and trainers who want to understand their horses more deeply.
- For anyone struggling with fear, frustration or uncertainty in the saddle.
- And for people who believe that a horse’s wellbeing should always matter more than achieving a particular result.
You don’t have to be a perfect rider. You only have to be willing to learn.
A Book Born from Real Experiences
This isn’t a textbook filled with rigid instructions or promises of instant transformation. It’s a collection of experiences, observations, reflections and practical insights gathered through years of living, learning and working with horses.
Some stories may feel familiar. Others might challenge the way you’ve always thought about riding. And some may encourage you to recognise something about yourself that you’ve never noticed before.
The aim isn’t to tell you exactly what kind of rider you should become. It’s to help you discover that for yourself.
What Readers Are Saying
I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you do — for helping riders find a new path, a new sense of purpose, and deeper awareness. I purchased a few of your books, and today I dove headfirst into the first one — How to Become a Better Rider. The book gave me so much; I read it in one breath. And I can tell you that an aha moment happened — the exact one I needed. I am so excited and amazed by this book that I will probably read it again and again. Once again, thank you, and I sincerely hope you will continue creating. Because I definitely didn’t stop with just one of your books.
Štěpánka
Thank you for the humility, respect, and love for horses that can be felt in every sentence. To be honest, it is also very inspiring reading even for “ordinary” people who prefer to admire horses safely from pictures. But for horse people — it should be required reading.
Jiřina
I would like to thank you for your book, especially for the chapter “The Fearless Rider.” In fact, that was exactly the reason why I bought it — I have been struggling with what to do about my fear. The chapter describes exactly what I am experiencing and dealing with, and your approach to fear encouraged me a great deal. I openly admit my fear to myself and to others, and I have realized that in a way I am alone with it. People teach me how to work with my mare, but not how to work with my fear. That is something I must face and solve step by step on my own. Well… it is a difficult task, as you surely know. Your story is very inspiring to me, and it helped me greatly at this moment. Thank you for it — and for the whole book.
Zuzana
Many pages from your book How to Become a Better Rider should be recited by young — and even older — riders before and during their training sessions.
Martina
In your book, I recognized so many things that we still cannot do or simply do not do. I realized how often we are still searching and uncertain. At times, I even felt ashamed of my impulsive reactions toward my horse. But at the same time, the book reassured me that we have chosen the most challenging and longest path. And I was also very relieved to learn that even good riders feel fear — and that it is possible to work with that fear. Thank you so much for your book!
Alena
Dear Kristýna, I have just finished reading your book How to Become a Better Rider, and I would like to thank you for such a beautiful and enriching experience. I have spent my whole life with horses — almost 35 years now — and I am constantly learning new things about training and understanding horses. But what you describe in your book feels so natural to me through living with our family herd that one often doesn’t even realize how beautifully it can be expressed in words. And that is exactly what you have done — perfectly. Thank you.
Dominika
This is one of those books I will keep coming back to again and again. While reading it, I experienced several “moments of realization,” when I truly stopped and reflected on the topic, related it to myself, and understood where I had gone wrong in the past. And I believe that is exactly the purpose of this book — to make us reflect on ourselves and on how we treat our horses. The book is written by someone who truly understands horses, who loves them unconditionally, and who sees them as an essential part of life — something they could not live without. And that is exactly how every horse person should feel. I recommend it to every rider, no matter their level of experience. This book will truly open your eyes and make you pause and think about things you might otherwise never consider.
TSJ
About the Author
Kristýna Šmídová
Equine Educator · Mindfulness Now Teacher · Author
With more than 30 years of experience with horses, Kristýna brings together her lifelong passion for horsemanship with mindfulness, personal development and a deep commitment to animal welfare.
Her journey has been shaped by many different horses, each with their own personality, challenges and lessons to share.
Through her writing and educational work, she encourages riders to look beyond conventional expectations and develop a relationship with horses based on awareness, understanding and respect.
How to Become a Better Rider was originally published in Czech, where it has reached three printed editions and inspired thousands of readers.
Become the Rider Your Horse Needs
Your horse doesn’t need you to be perfect.
They need you to be willing to listen, to learn, to question yourself and to recognise them as an individual. Becoming a better rider isn’t a destination. It’s a journey of awareness, experience and continuous learning. And sometimes, the most meaningful progress begins with a simple change in perspective.