Tag Archives: Dressage4kids

Lendon’s Winter Educational Program Update

Photo by: Mary Adelaide Brakenridge/PSdressage.com.

The Weekend Educational Program is only weeks away. Here are the details:

January 31 – February 1, 2015
Nonnewaug High School, Woodbury, CT
For Riders of All Disciplines and Levels, Instructors, and Parents.
www.dressage4kids.org

Designed for riders of all ages, disciplines, and levels; parents; and trainers, the Weekend Educational Program seeks to include everyone from the horse community, and the two-day event provides great networking opportunities with fellow riders and trainers from multiple disciplines.

This year Dressage4Kids welcomes international dressage competitor Laura Graves as a keynote speaker. At the recent World Equestrian Games, Laura finished 5th in the Grand Prix Musical Freestyle and was the highest placed member of the US Dressage Team. She has brought her outstanding horse, Verdades, from a youngster to competing at Grand Prix. We are so pleased that she can come to talk to us given her busy schedule.

We also welcome inspirational speaker and mountain climber, Donna Decker, who has climbed the highest mountains on all seven continents and completed a successful summit of the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest, in 2012. We all learn so much from a successful person in any field, and look forward to hearing from Donna.

Online registration for the Weekend Educational Program is now available:

Online Registration

Discounted rates are available only until January 17th, 2015. Register now to take advantage of the discount!

The tentative schedule is also now available online:

Tentative Schedule for Saturday

Tentative Schedule for Sunday

Please note that Dressage4Kids, Inc. reserves the right to alter or modify the advertised speakers and/or schedule as necessary.

For more information regarding the Weekend Educational Program, please go to www.dressage4kids.org or contact Susan Sieber, Event Coordinator, at ssieber@interstatelumber.com or at (203) 223-4261.

Also of note regarding the 2015 Youth Dressage Festival Required Reading:

Knight Equestrian Books is honoring gift certificates and the Dressage4Kids discount rate, but is no longer accepting online orders. Please contact Janet Blevins at (207) 882-5495 to place your order for the Required Reading Books.

Dressage4Kids, Inc. is a non-profit organization incorporated for the express purpose of providing educational and competitive opportunities for youth riders and the adults who support them.

Click HERE for BROCHURE you can post at your barn <<<.

To see videos of last year’s (2014) programs, CLICK THIS LINK <<<.

The 2015 WEP speakers roster includes:

Carole Baker, BHSI Teacher, Dir. Emeritus Equine Program at Post University

Andrea Beukema

Joy Black

Denise Branecky, Vet Student

Sarah Bronson, Executive Director of Riding to the Top Therapeutic Riding Center

Liz Caron

Beth Clarke, JD and owner of the Equine Business Institute

Donna Cloutier, Photographer

Sydney Collier, Para Dressage rider and competitor at the 2014 World Equestrian Games

David Collins, Dressage trainer and author of Dressage Masters

Dr. Emily Dean, DVM

Donna Decker, Mountain climber who has summited Mt. Everest

Robyn Dolby, Artist

Dr. Matt Eliott, DVM and author of Stallside

Deb Fabiani, owner of Arbitrage Tack

Fern Feldman

Margaret Freeman, USEF “S” Judge

Laura Graves, competitor at the 2014 World Equestrian Games

Lendon Gray, Two-time Olympian

Rachel Greene-Lowell, Eventing Trainer

Ann Guptill, USDF Certified Instructor

Vicki Hammers-O’Neil, USDF Certified Instructor

Steve Kraus, BS, CJF, Head of Farrier Services at Cornell University

Robin Levine, Fitness Instructor

Brian Lomax, founder of PerformanceXtra™ and Mental Toughness coach

Sandra Mendelson, Certified Equine Photopuncture Therapist and Holistic Health Coach

Maureen Pach, BHSAI Certified Instructor and USPC National Examiner

Ron Postleb

Michele Rosa

Carla Sharp

Kristen Soto, Equestrian Vaulting Instructor

Bonnie Stetson, owner of Centaured Massage and massage therapist

Brian Stuart, Equine Dentist

Ayden Uhlir

Jamison Wallace, Centered Riding Instructor

Liz Webb, Horse Management Faculty

Kate Wilson, owner of Dutchess Bridle & Saddle

And many other distinguished guests.

Dressage4Kids, Inc. reserves the right to alter or modify the advertised speakers and/or schedule as necessary.

Have a safe New Year!
Lendon Gray

LendonGray@Gmail.com
914.234.4158

Bebe Davis Is “Paying It Forward” with a Donation of a Lifetime to Dressage4Kids

Bebe Davis and Bohdjan. (Photo courtesy of Debby Witty)

Bedminster, NJ (Novmeber 13, 2013) – As the “Season of Giving” approaches, 15-year-old Barbara ‘Bebe’ Davis is not asking what she can get but instead what she can give. This season, Bebe Davis donated her two top FEI dressage ponies to a foundation that promotes dressage education and horsemanship for riders 21 years and younger, Dressage4Kids LLC.

The famed ponies, Poldy 10 and Bohdjan, earned Davis record breaking dressage scores like her 75.9% score in the FEI Pony Individual Test in 2012 and in 2012 a Champion and Reserve Champion placing at the USEF Festival of Champions.

“I wanted to donate them to Dressage4Kids because I wanted to give others the the opportunity to do what I did. A lot of people are not as fortunate as I am and I want to share my blessings with them. I hope that our donation helps to strengthen and grow the pony program here in the United States,” stated Bebe Davis.

Bebe Davis along with her father, Michael Davis, are members of the Piaffe-Performance dressage team, under the tuteledge of Dr. Cesar Parra. The Davis Family is an avid supporter of the dressage sport not only as competitors but also as sponsors of Parra’s successful slew of horses, including Van the Man, Simply Nymphenburg, Borett, Linder, Fiderhit OLD, and Grandioso, who Parra rode to 2011 Pan Am Games Team Gold.

“It’s a lifestyle for our family and being able to compete along side, and maybe even one day against, my daughter is a true gift,” commented Bebe’s father, Mike Davis.  “As we were considering the alternatives for the ponies, as a family we agreed that building our dressage riders from within is important and by donating these two ponies we would be giving back to and helping to improve this sport that we all love.”

Now, Bebe Davis and her new mount, Rotano, a 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding are compting on the FEI Junior dressage circuit and most recently won the coveted ACGO/USEF Junior Dressage National Championship.

Bebe Davis and Poldy 10. (Photo courtesy of SusanJStickle.com)
Bebe Davis and Poldy 10. (Photo courtesy of SusanJStickle.com)

Looking back over her years with her first ponies, Bebe commented, “The ponies helped me tremendously, and I am so grateful to them for that. I grew as a rider as well as a person. I think that all of the work that I did with ponies helped me have a seamless transition between the FEI Pony and FEI Junior divisions.”

Dressage4Kids welcomed the ponies, Poldy 10 and Bohdjan, into their program and plan to educate the next generation of riders with their two new FEI level dressage stars.

For more information on Dressage4Kids or to make a donation, please access: www.dressage4kids.org.

To follow Bebe Davis’ continued success and learn more about dressage training, please visit www.bebedavisdressage.com.

Michael Davis
mdavis@panapesca.com
781 844 2172

Stars of Tomorrow Set to Shine as Robert Dover Horsemastership Week Returns to Wellington

Rebecca Cohen and her Westphalian gelding Downtown will participate in the Robert Dover Horsemastership Week along with a number of other top young riders. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)

Wellington, FL (December 28, 2012) – The second annual Robert Dover Horsemastership Week (RDHW) will be presented January 2-6, 2013 in the Van Kampen Arena of the Global Dressage Festival show grounds and at Tuny Page’s Stillpoint Farm.  The week will shine a spotlight on what its U.S. Olympic namesake, Robert Dover, calls the dressage world’s ‘stars of tomorrow,’ coinciding with a George Morris Horsemastership Clinic for top junior jumping riders.

“I am very excited to once again be holding the Robert Dover Horsemastership Week at the beautiful Global Dressage Festival venue.  The Emerging Dressage Athlete Program has become enormously important in identifying and nurturing our talented juniors and young riders,” said the six-time Olympian and USDF Hall of Famer.  Dover began riding at age 13, starting dressage at 19 and, nine years later, competed in his first (1984) Olympics, going on to qualify for every squad thereafter through 2004.

RDHW riders were chosen from Lendon Gray Dressage4Kids (D4K) Emerging Dressage Athlete clinics, North American Junior Young Rider Championships, U.S. Equestrian Federation Festival of Champions, and the Dressage Seat Medal Finals.  Among the dozen riders representing hometowns in Texas, New York, Illinois, Wisconsin, Arizona, Connecticut, Washington, California, and Louisiana is one Florida rider:  Rebecca Cohen.

Continue reading Stars of Tomorrow Set to Shine as Robert Dover Horsemastership Week Returns to Wellington

Second Annual Robert Dover Horsemastership Clinic on January 1-6

Wellington, FL – December 22, 2012 – Equestrian Sport Productions is pleased to announce that the Second Annual Robert Dover Horsemastership Clinic will be held at The Stadium at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, site of the 2013 Adequan Global Dressage Festival, on January 1-6, 2013. The clinic will consist of training with world-renowned dressage riders as well as lectures from the industry’s best horsemen and women.

The riding clinic will take place at the Van Kampen Arena at the Stadium and coincides with the George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session for hunter/jumper riders on the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival show grounds.

Twelve riders and 10 official auditors will participate in the clinic and will have the chance to work with amazing dressage riders, trainers, and judges such as: Six-time Olympian Robert Dover, 2012 U.S. Olympians Jan Ebeling and Tina Konyot, U.S. Olympians Lendon Gray and Courtney Dye, international riders Katherine Bateson Chandler, Tuny Page and Michael Barisone, and international judges Gary Rockwell and Anne Gribbons.

Continue reading Second Annual Robert Dover Horsemastership Clinic on January 1-6

Dressage Radio Episode 85 by Back on Track – Do Young Riders Specialize Too Early?

Debbie McDonald and Lendon Gray discuss young riders’ careers in dressage, their opportunities for riding different horses, spending time with horses out of the barn, and the importance of horsemanship in the sport. A fascinating conversation with two great horsewomen, so take a listen…

Dressage Radio Episode 85 – Show Notes and Links:

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Listen, Download or Subscribe:

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