Classical Dressage Art in Motion

  One of the many things you learn as a professional trainer/clinician is that your own horses won't wait. It is almost inevitable that if you are retired from competition but making a living training and working with other people's horses and training other riders, your own horses will come second or even third in the priority lineup. Sadly though, you may learn the hard way that horse's won't wait. While keeping your own horses happy and healthy, maintaining their training routines and programs will always happen, the time spent with them on adventures out together my be limited. The net result is your horse(s) and even your partnership never reaches its full potential. I don't even have many photos of me riding Charrington because I am the photographer in the family and during that time a camera was needed, the cell phone camera was not invented.   This has happened to me. The regret that I should have done more. Although it hasn't really 'happened' t...

Our 1st warmblood purchase, Oldenburg premier colt, Fenix, Furiano/Aktuell/Weltmeister.   Everything in life comes full circle and in horse breeding it is apparently no different. As dressage competitors/clinicians we began our horse owning experiences with two geldings, a Morgan and a Standardbred. The former was trained to do anything but stay grounded with four legs on the floor is seemed. Meanwhile the 16 year old Standardbred had spent his previous six years as a successful Grand Prix horse before we bought him. Only trouble was, the Grand Prix experience was in the showjumping arena not the dressage one. Of course since those early years in 1981 and forward from that time there were many breeds of horses that found their way into our yard, initially mostly male gender.  But then of course the horse breeding bug began. And after several OTTBs, Quarterhorses, an Appendix Quarterhorse, an Arabian and Welsh pony for the kids, we branched out into more mare ownership and stal...

As many of you know I make regular trips to Europe to work with my FEI coach Greta Kemmer in Switzerland, visit England to see family and to work with some other noted names in the dressage world, and visit Portugal and Spain from time to time. I consider myself truly blessed to have the opportunity to enjoy these travels and to broaden my equestrian education and life experiences. A month ago I was thrilled to take another trip to Portugal and Spain with hubbie Paul, for multiple reasons. We were honored to be invited to give two clinics. One in the Sevilla region in Spain, and another in Portugal. We also had a super visit with family in The Algarve, and searched far and wide in both Andalusia, Spain and Portugal for horses for students. A search that was most successful and included a visit with the head of the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art, Antonio Borba Monteiro at his farm in Lisbon.  This farm is the where Nuno Oliveira began his apprenticeship in his magnificent c...