"For me, rational riding is riding that depends on thought as well as feeling, on the brain as well as the body. Rational riding starts with the idea that it's easier to do something if you know very concretely what you're trying to do, why you're trying to do it and how it functions mechanically.
Today I can't believe that every rider wouldn't benefit from spending some time consciously addressing his and his horses' strengths and weaknesses, and trying to find ways to exploit the former and correct the latter.
It's surprising what a big deal it is for most people actually to try something new. Thinking about it is one thing, but having to try it out on your own horse or with your own body means abandoning what you have always done before. Many riders can't bring themselves to do this, when they're seeking advice in the first place because they aren't having much success with their old techniques. Consequently, most riders display the same faults year after year, their progress blocked by their own resistance to change, forever bogged down at a lower level of success than they are capable of achieving." -William Steinkraus