Gaited Horse Working Equitation USA
We are very proud to announce the imminent launch of the Gaited Horse Working Equitation – which will be based in Ocala, Florida. For some time now, a good head of steam has been building towards making a cohesive organization purely for gaited horses and their owners who want to do more than showing or trail riding. This is why we are so excited and enthusias
tic about setting up this division. The Group President is David A. Palacio – a highly experienced and talented horseman, who, with his wife Janine Chaux, own and breed Paso Finos and Trote Y Galope horses. David trains all breeds of horses but feels the gaited horse is talented and capable of competing in the different facets and versatility required in Working Equitation. David was born in Medellin, Colombia and in 1988 he immigrated to the US, via California to attend Collage and study Electrical Engineering , David started shoeing his own horses and in 1991 became a professional farrier until 2011 . Throughout his shoeing carrier he worked with horses by preparing and teaching them to not be afraid of him or his tools, therefore leading to a better experience for the horse and David. He later transcended from only ground work to under saddle and through years of experience and learning from others, he developed his own way of training to create the partnership necessary for success. Joining them is Debbie Hattan-NazarShah, a Brit who lives in Florida and who lives at the Palacio farm, very aptly called ‘Happy Valley Farm’. She is a British Horse Society Intermediate Instructor, and comes from a ‘horsey’ family in the UK. (Her father, Geoffrey Hattan FBHS, trained the Japanese Olympic team many years ago, and her sister, Pippa Hattan, BHSI is currently heading Moulton College Equine Division in the UK). Debbie has trained with riders from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, has held several positions of Chief Riding Instructor in the UK where she trained students towards their own BHS exams and has worked in Jordan teaching clients and training school horses. She has also competed at national level and judged affiliated dressage up to medium level. Her daytime job is PR & Marketing Director of Good Apple Equine Consignment, which is very useful as she gets to hear all the gossip in the equine world! Debbie will be helping David and Janine with the dressage instruction and currently has several clients with gaited horses who are making great progress. She owns an Andalusian and a Thoroughbred, but would well be in the market for a Peruvian Paso! David, Janine and Debbie are determined to help bring working equitation, and dressage, to any gaited horse owner in a way that is great fun, thorough, classical and correct. For so long they have felt that the gaited horse has not been taken quite so seriously – especially in dressage, and they are so pleased that there is a growing excitement in the gaited horse community for progression in horsemanship apart from showing. For further information, please contact David Palacio…at 352-895-3095 or [email protected] .
