11/17/2021
Grove Equestrian Center, the home of Great Lakes Equestrian Vaulting, is excited to offer a fabulous weekend of dressage training with the Carolyn Bland Dressage Clinic! December 3-5, 2021. Grove is located in Cedar Springs, MI (just north of Grand Rapids) off US-131. Carolyn is visiting us from Woodside, California! Grove has a MOVIE (a mechanical horse imported from Germany) to help you practice your seat at the canter with Carolyn's instruction! Training level to FEI welcome to attend!
Carolyn has a FEI Gold medal and is a 3x Bronze medal winner. She studied at the Fulmer School of Equitation, with dressage instructors Robert Hall and Liz Brown. Carolyn’s focus on biomechanics and positive reinforcement allows for great success both in and out of the show arena. Carolyn has an extensive background of starting and training young horses of all breeds. Carolyn’s immediate assessment of a horse, and her problem solving initiatives, has helped many horses at home and internationally achieve their highest and best potential. Her ability to utilize correct lungeing, as well as proper riding techniques and horse training, allowed for a serendipitous affiliation when Carolyn was introduced to equestrian vaulting in 1995. Since the inception of vaulting into Carolyn’s life, she has been one of the top trainers in the World. Carolyn has trained numerous dressage and vaulting horses to continuing success.
Carolyn has been an integral part of the USA Equestrian Vaulting Team, being selected to be the USA’s horse expert at the World Championships every year since the year 2000. Carolyn was the first recipient of the American Vaulting Association’s ‘Trainer of the Year’ award, for her invaluable assistance in the success of the Vaulters at the 2006 Aachen World Equestrian Games. She received the same award in 2011.
A pinnacle of Carolyn's training was reached in 2010 training the horse named Palatine successfully for the World Equestrian Games, and then obtaining the first American Team Gold Medal. Carolyn also longed the horse Sir Anthony Van Dyck with Mary McCormick who finished 4th in the individual female competition for the USA. Carolyn lunged Palatine and Diva 506 at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandie, France, where these horses received some of the top horse scores.
Carolyn coached a team of vaulters and trained the horse to compete at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon 2018 with great success; her team placed 4th, just out of the medals, but her team came back after the pandemic year and successfully gained medals in two events at the Senior World Championships in Budapest. During the 2020 pandemic Carolyn re-emerged in the Dressage showing World, where she took a JR/YR rider from Training Level to winning two Region 7 Championships in 2020, Training Level and Third Level. Then in 2021, Carolyn trained this JR/YR rider to win Two Prix St George Region 7 Championships—proving her ability to coach and develop champion dressage riders and horses as well as equestrian vaulting horses and vaulters.
COST for 2 private, 50 min. lessons (Sat and Sun) is $325. Auditing is $20 per auditor per day. Some overnight stabling is available at $75 for 2 nights.
NOTE: On Friday, Dec. 2, 2021 we are offering an "Equestrian Vaulting Coaches Training" presentation with an emphasis on horse training and lunging training from 6:30-8:30pm. Cost to participate in this 2 hour seminar is $50 per person, and this will be offered by ZOOM as well as in person. PLEASE PM MIchelle McLean to RSVP or email: [email protected].