Forward Thinking Dressage

07/07/2024

In spite of the less than ideal temps, it was an excellent weekend teaching and training!

06/27/2024

A beautiful start to the day

06/14/2024

We still have no rain, but there is a beautiful sky at nightcheck, tonight.

06/04/2024

It’s finally officially a dressage training farm. Now that my ring is in, riders can truck in for lessons at my farm. I will still be available at Morgane Schmidt’s farm almost everyday as my training horses live there.
My next project is to find a horse that I can train enough to be a schoolmaster, and teach with.

06/01/2024

It’s a beautiful morning here in Williston. Dio and I are fitting in a quick ride before the clinic.

05/31/2024

This final installment of the four-part series on choosing a dressage horse takes a closer look at how specific dressage exercises can be used to improve the ride-ability of a less-than-perfect horse. Catch up on the first, second, and third parts of this series. Dressage training is supposed to be....

05/31/2024

I got to see my little farm from the air today. If you look closely you can see Dio, Watch Me and Stormy in the field.

05/30/2024

Happy horses

04/28/2024

Thank you Morgane Schmidt and Emme Speis for making this project happen today. We now have a water line to the field and to the arena… the Schnauzer Boys, Valentine and Dio and Watch Me assisted through the whole process.

04/09/2024

This is the first of a three-part series that explores what to look for when selecting a dressage horse. Today's article focuses on the three parts needed for a successful dressage horse: temperament, conformation, and movement. Dressage training is supposed to be the process of training ANY horse t...

03/29/2024

The guest column of this week is by Angelika Fromming, retired international dressage judge, and Hannes Müller, former head of the German Riding School in Warendorf and chair of the German Professional Riders Association. Both are highly esteemed clinicians.

03/23/2024

Henry and Finn are assisting me with writing my Horse Nation article this afternoon. Finn is providing artistic influence in the form of 25 extra commas and an additional letter “q”. Henry is enforcing deadline compliance by eating my cheese snack for me so I am no longer distracted.

03/09/2024

Looking for a client.
Kind-hearted gelding, 15-16 hh, low level AA dressage horse. 6-12 yrs. Must be easy to sit and get round. Also needs to be able to hack out. Breed not important. 1️⃣5️⃣🥕🥕🥕

02/28/2024

The last loads of footing came today.
My arena from Maine arrived yesterday. And a beautiful evening with schnauzers…

01/13/2024

Finn and Watch Me

12/20/2023

It’s not “done” yet, but I finally have footing to ride on at my farm.
If all goes according to plan, soon I will be able to teach here, and take horses in training….

11/04/2023

Some recent pretty scenes in my field

10/09/2023

This week's editorial is a follow up to my previous article discussing the proliferation of the consumption of talent rather than the training of it to further develop it for the competitive sport of dressage. It is not a judging problem. It is not a breeding problem. It is an education problem. Aft...

09/23/2023

Congratulations to my student Elizabeth Caron and Ava Dzilenski’s Fusion for the 7th place out 27 rides in the Region 8 USDF Finals Prix St Georges Open division. Five years in the making, this is an excellent result for Fishy’s first year of competition!!!

09/12/2023

I met Kelly Hendrick and Puck in 2016 when I was teaching a clinic in Rhode Island. They were already working at Fourth Level, on the cusp of competing at Prix St Georges.
After that Kelly would make the trip up to Maine regularly to ride Puck with me, and would leave him with me for the winter seasons.
I have always believed in the ability of “non-traditional” breeds being able to compete successfully in dressage. Puck proved to be an amazing example and became one of my favorite rides.
In 2022, Puck and Kelly were training with me while I was headquartered at Carbery Fields Farm, and Puck was regularly schooling the whole Grand Prix test. This is when I had to do one of the hardest things a trainer has to do sometimes. I had to move from New England to Florida, and leave Kelly and Puck behind, right at the moment that they were almost ready to compete at Grand Prix.
I am so proud of these two. And, I am so honored to have been a part of their journey. Good job guys!!!!

We are so very excited to share the latest Morgan and his partner to go 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘅!

𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀 (Mizrahi x Queen's Mercy Me) and Kelly Hendrick broke the magical 60% mark on only their second time at the Dressage by the Sea Show this past month. They also earned Kelly's first score toward her USDF Gold Medal.

Congratulations to everyone!

09/12/2023

This is the first of 2 parts about how the Training Scale is refelceted in the USEF competition levels.

This week's article takes the importance of the training scale and looks at how the training scale aligns with, and is woven throughout, the competitive levels, as designated by USEF. Part I will focus specifically on training and first level. Gwyneth McPherson is an FEI rider with over 35 years exp...

08/31/2023

The last article discussed the importance of the three base layers of the training scale. This article builds on that, focusing on the top three layers -- which do not stand alone or separate from the lower half and cannot exist without or disconnected from them. Gwyneth McPherson is an FEI rider wi...

06/11/2023

Dio and I had a little field trip yesterday. I just love working with this horse. He is such a joy. Thank you Morgane Schmidt for the pictures and arena time!