Home - Top Flight Equestrian

Worry Less, Ride More!

Reach out to me too book lessons, training, and equine massage! Currently accepting students and massage clients in the Austin, Tx and surrounding areas. Traveling to Kyle, Driftwood, Dripping Springs, and Hutto.

Learn NOw

Keep up with the latest news, competition updates, and informative articles.

Watch Now

Check out my content on YouTube! Be sure to subscribe while you’re there!

Book Equine Massage

Reach out to book a massage for your horse. I am a Certified Equine Sports Massage Therapist who combines training knowledge with feel to help your horse feel their best.

About

Barrett Diehl is the founder and head trainer at Top Flight Equestrian, offering premier horseback riding instruction and Equine Sports Massage Therapy in the Austin, TX area. She is an United States Eventing Association (USEA) Certified Instructor, a Pony Club Graduate, an experienced barn manager, and a successful upper-level Eventing competitor with over three decades of hands-on equestrian expertise.

Let’s Learn!

Unexpected Amazon Finds For Your Grooming Kit
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means I may receive a small commission if you click through and buy, at no extra cost to… Read more: Unexpected Amazon Finds For Your Grooming Kit
What Bits REALLY Do (And Which One to Choose for Your Horse)
Let’s talk bits —and what bits REALLY do. If your horse is tossing their head, going behind the vertical, or dragging you like a sled dog, it might… Read more: What Bits REALLY Do (And Which One to Choose for Your Horse)

Let’s Connect!

Signup for the monthly newsletter below!

Let’s Keep in Touch!

Top Flight Equestrian

6 days ago

What makes a Grand Prix rider?Is it someone who has ridden a Grand Prix test? Or is it something more?I’d genuinely love to hear what you think, whether you’ve ridden Grand Prix your entire life or have never ridden dressage. What, in your mind, makes someone a Grand Prix rider versus someone who has simply ridden Grand Prix?I know that I fall into the latter and I’m incredibly proud to be in it. But I also know it’s not the end of the journey.I went into the open show at Regionals having practiced the Grand Prix test for exactly one month. One month to put together the 15 one-tempis, the canter zigzag, and the piaffe and passage tour. To say we were still figuring things out would be an understatement! 😂My goal wasn't to chase a score. It was to get the experience, put some reps under our belt, and learn as much as possible. Each day, I watched my test back, studied the video, looked at my scores, and picked one or two things to improve. Our best score was a 55% on our second day, with sevens on the passage that absolutely thrilled me. Nothing to write home about and plenty to improve on, but not a total embarrassment either. But the biggest breakthrough came on the final day.After watching my test back again, I finally had an aha! moment about what I was doing wrong in the piaffe. I went into the arena with one goal: make that piece better.And suddenly, things started to click. We had mistakes in the test, but I was over the moon with how much I had figured out and how much better it felt.It reminded me of a story that I love. It is about a pottery class where one group was told to make the perfect pot, while another was told to make as many pots as possible. At the end of the class, the highest-quality pots came from the group that had been making pot after pot. Why? Because while they were busy making mistakes, experimenting, and trying again, they were also learning. The group focused on perfection had spent too much time thinking about the perfect pot and not enough time actually making one.The lesson? You have to be willing to make the mistakes to learn from them. You have to get out there, do the thing, get it wrong, figure out why, and try again. Improvement doesn't happen by waiting until you're perfect. It happens by doing the work........And then there was that first Grand Prix halt and salute.I've been competing for 32 years. I love horse shows, and I'm generally pretty good at keeping my emotions in check. I don't get too high with the highs or too low with the lows. I figured I'd ride my test, do my best, salute, pat my horse, and carry on.Except that after my very first Grand Prix salute, I absolutely lost it.I cried all the way out of the arena and through my equipment check. Full-on bawling. I was making people around me cry, too. 😂 It caught me completely by surprise.Looking back, I think it's because Grand Prix had always felt like this enormous, almost unattainable thing. Something I never imagined I'd have the opportunity to do. I'd never even touched a Grand Prix horse, much less sat on one, before this journey began.And suddenly, there I was. Saluting down the centerline on Amadeo after riding Grand Prix.It didn't matter that the test was far from perfect. In that moment, I realized just how much that milestone meant to me.I'm so incredibly grateful for the opportunity, and for the people who have helped make it possible. This is not something you accomplish alone.Deirdre Dressage, thank you for trusting me with Amadeo, for your coaching, and for believing in me. Your and Jacob's support, and the support of the entire Deirdre Dressage family, means more than I can say.Twila Godinez, thank you for sharing Amadeo with me. I'm so lucky to have the opportunity to learn from such a wonderful horse. None of this would be possible without that generosity.Ashley Shaw, thank you for getting me started on this journey and helping me progress through Fourth Level. I earned my Bronze Medal and half my of Silver last November with you, and I had only been riding above Second Level for about a year at that point. Sometimes I have to stop and think about how far we've come in such a short time. It's pretty wild!My parents William Diehl and Beth McLester Diehl, thank you for always supporting me and helping make these opportunities possible. I literally couldn’t do it without you and you have been my best supporters from day one. I love you both so much! And Tony DiNitto, thank you for getting up at 4 a.m. to drive out and watch me ride before heading back home while we're in the middle of buying a house (oh yeah more to come on that). That you made the effort to be there meant so much to me.And to Amadeo. Words cannot describe how magical you are. I pinch myself each day I get to ride and learn from you. Thank you for being you🦄🦄🥰🥹So, onwards and upwards!The goal is to keep showing up, keep learning, and try to be a little better every day.I'm proud to have ridden my first Grand Prix. I'm even more excited about everything I still have to learn.And if becoming a better rider means making a whole lot of imperfect pots along the way, then I'd better get back to the pottery wheel. What do you think makes someone a Grand Prix rider? I'd genuinely love to hear your thoughts. ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook

Top Flight Equestrian

3 weeks ago

Full dressage regionals recap to come! Safe to say I am loving our dressage journey up to Grand Prix so far. Don't worry Eventing, I haven't forgotten about you ❤️ ... See MoreSee Less

Video