International dressage clinician and Feldenkrais Method practitioner Dave Thind, whose work is currently being applied by riders ranging from dedicated amateurs to Olympic medalists, is opening the new year with the official launch of Awaken the Rider Within, a new online course focused on rider awareness, biomechanics, and embodied learning.
The launch follows a period of intensive teaching and collaboration across Europe, including work at some of the sport’s most discerning programs, where Thind’s approach continues to attract interest for its ability to support both performance and long-term rider well-being and enhanced performance.
"Awaken the Rider Within"
Awaken the Rider Within offers a modern interpretation of Feldenkrais-based learning. Traditionally, Feldenkrais lessons are voice guided and often last 45 minutes or longer. In this course, Thind has adapted the work into 31 focused lessons of approximately 10 to 12 minutes, designed to fit more easily into a rider’s daily routine. Each lesson is taught and demonstrated by Thind, combining verbal guidance with visual reference, and making the benefits of a practice that typically unfolds over longer sessions more accessible within the realities of modern training schedules.
Awaken the Rider Within includes 31 guided lessons at a launch offering of $299. That is less than $10 per lesson for work taught and demonstrated by Dave Thind, with lifetime access to the material. Riders have already reported significant changes after completing just the first third of the course. While riders routinely invest thousands in training their horses, this course offers a rare opportunity to invest, once, in the rider who shows up every ride.
The new course is available as a standalone offering and, for the New Year, is included this month as part of a special promotion. Together, these online offerings make Thind’s work accessible to riders around the world, extending his teaching beyond seasonal and geographic limitations.
Busy Period in Europe Working with the Greats
The launch follows a busy period in Europe, where Thind has spent the past month teaching at some of the continent’s most discerning dressage stables, including Team Balkenhol. His European work focused on both unmounted and mounted sessions, emphasizing biomechanics, awareness, and the subtle organization of the rider’s body as it relates to balance, feel, and communication with the horse.
German Master Trainer Johan Zagers, who trained Thind early in his career and later worked with him over many years, offers context for his approach:
“Although Feldenkrais-based, Dave’s work is clearly a form of biohacking that optimizes health, performance, and well-being through self-experimentation of movement. As a rider and trainer, I have known Dave for 25 years, and he is someone who truly understands the fine details of dressage biomechanics. He helps even top Olympic-level riders achieve what they are looking for. At the same time, his work also benefits beginner and intermediate riders. The changes can be equally impressive, and sometimes quite significant. I’ve seen it work very well both in person and through his online courses. Riders are able to ride as the best version of themselves, fully capable of training and achieving their best results, with greater harmony.”
Zagers has enjoyed significant success as a rider, trainer, and competitor himself, and for the past 25 years has coached several Olympic-level riders, including American Marcus Orlob.
Reflecting on Thind’s recent visit, Anabel Balkenhol shared:
“We really enjoyed and benefited from having Dave at our facility for the third time, and we’re now excited to begin his new online course, Awaken the Rider Within, as well as to dive into his full program, 60 Days to a Better Dressage Seat. His work has become an incredible asset within our dressage community.”
Back in the U.S.A. - Based in Wellington
His Florida offerings include individual unmounted sessions, ridden lessons, and live group classes, allowing riders to experience the work across multiple contexts.
Reflecting on her experience working with Thind in Florida, Olympic medalist Ali Brock shared:
“I have really enjoyed working with Dave on and off the horse. I feel recalibrated and more centered in my own body and have gotten a lot of pain relief. It is gentle and very thoughtful. I am happy to recommend him to my students because of my own experience working with him.” — Ali Brock, Olympic Medalist
Private Work, Group Classes, Online Consultations, Clinics
Eurodressage has previously covered Thind’s Florida-based group work in “Little Effort, Great Turn Around: the ‘Less is More’ Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement® Series,” documenting the impact of this approach in a live group setting.
This season also marks the continuation of Thind’s collaboration with Dr. Suzan Oakley of Wellington Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. Through this partnership, riders may send their horses for rehabilitation while integrating training with Thind, supporting a thoughtful, whole-system approach that considers both horse and rider during recovery and ongoing development.
Reflecting on the launch of the new course, Thind emphasized the importance of beginning rather than waiting.
You don’t need to complete all 31 lessons to begin seeing and feeling meaningful change. Even a single week of ten-minute lessons can create a noticeable shift.
This work is proven.
The structure is clear.
The time commitment is realistic.
Start with one lesson.
Let today be Day 1,”
said Thind, who has devoted his career to helping riders and their horses come together with greater harmony.
Awaken the Rider Within is available at a launch offering of $299, with further details on the new course, the 60-day program, and Florida-based opportunities available through Dave Thind’s official channels.
Discover the Dave Thind Method on www.davethindmethod.com