www.artisandressage.com Dressage Training, mobile instruction and clinics. My background has afforded me some interesting perspectives on teaching strategies.
My goal as an instructor is to foster creative thought processes and training strategies that allow us to realize how we can make clearer aids creating less tension between horse and rider while maintaining quality balanced work. Starting dressage in the late 70’s at Woodland Hills Pony Club and over the years I have worked with many top trainers. When I became a parent I all but quit teaching to
be a stay at home mom. Unbeknownst to me my real learning about how to teach began as I ended up being trainer for both of my daughters. Everyone knows a parent virtually cannot teach their own child how to ride, but somehow I was able to. After many successful junior championships the pinnacle of their show careers was Katie’s success at North America Young Rider Championships in 2008. Her individual and team Gold achievement was storybook. She has gone on to be a successful trainer out of state. Jessica chose another path in life but still loves horses. In bringing my daughter to FEI I sought outside opinions to keep our perspective fresh. This led to sessions with Steffen Peters and then Debbie McDonald. With both of these prestigious trainers I was able to have my skills as a coach checked while Katie had her lessons with them. Our close relationship with Debbie afforded me a number of years of not only auditing Katie’s lessons but watching Debbie teach many lessons to others. These included the horses Adrienne Lyle rode. Debbie’s sense of timing is impeccable. This developed my eye and timing and problem solving tremendously. I was also very fortunate to work in lessons with both Debbie and Adrienne on my own horse. I feel very fortunate to have this breadth of learning as an instructor. Between learning how to stay calm, be diplomatic, have humor but keep the bar up with my own kids and then being immersed in the top tier of riding and instruction. My goal as an instructor is to bring these experiences to lessons and offer my students nuggets of inspiration they can take away to be used not only in the show ring, schooling or whatever walk of life they choose in this sport. I stay active and competitive on my own horses, Artisan (a home bred Oldenburg and trained FEI horse) and my young horse Galileo (4 yr old dutch gelding just starting out) as well as a limited number of horses in training. I love to teach and share the communication that the horse and rider can achieve while bringing out the athlete. I teach mobile in San Diego County and offer clinics outside of my area. Training horses primarily come to my home barn in El Cajon.
