“I was impressed with the honesty of the children and their ability to talk about things that were troubling them,” Wylde stated. “All the kids present made it clear how important this program was to them and how much joy it brought to their lives. This was priceless. The program confirms to me the value of a relationship between a horse and a person.”
The Sunshine Series Circuit will kick off with the jumping clinic by Wylde and will be followed by three show dates to be announced in the near future. Peter Wylde’s clinic on Sunday will offer three, 90 minute sessions with four riders in each. Levels are as follows: beginner (2’3 – 2’6″), intermediate (2’9″ – 3′) and advanced (3’3″ – 3’6″).
One hundred percent of the net proceeds of the clinic are benefitting Horses Healing Hearts; fees are as follows: $200 per rider and $25 per auditor. Please contact Liz Olszewski to reserve a spot today by e-mailing liz@hhhusa.org.
“My biggest goal is to simplify riding and get people to think calmly and methodically,” Wylde described. “I also like to humanize myself and get my students to feel comfortable in having a conversation about riding. Adapting to each horse is the most important part of the clinic. Every horse is different and needs to be addressed as such. A clever horseman is capable of reading a horse, and helping the student understand how to work and relate to their partner.”
There are more than 28 million children of alcoholics living among us, but HHH is the first non-profit of its kind, helping to ease the pain of kids growing up in a home with substance abuse. Horse Healing Hearts provides these children with the opportunity to help heal emotionally by working with horses while having fun and learning positive life-coping skills, responsibility and confidence. Using equine experiential learning, HHH is the only program in the nation that works with the specific demographic of children of alcoholics and addicts. These gentle giants help them understand life, themselves and how to cope with their parent’s addiction to substance abuse.
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Wylde continued, “In the short time period of a clinic I think it’s important to simplify. The flat work is simple and not gimmicky. Depending on the level of the group, there will be jumping exercises related to and directed towards riding a course.”
Wylde first made his national mark in the equestrian world when he was 17 years old. He rode to the United States’ highest junior honor when he captured the Rolex-Maclay National Equitation Championship at the National Horse Show in Madison Square Garden. His nationally acclaimed win was only the beginning to a long list of accolades ahead.
Since then, he has won some of the most prestigious titles in the world of show jumping including the President’s Cup at the Washington International Horse Show, the $100,000 Rolex/USET Show Jumping Championship at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions, the $50,000 FedEx Gold Coast Grand Prix and a Grand Prix at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian.
During the 1990’s he was chosen to represent the United States in World Cup competition and at the Pan American Games, where he won both team and individual silver medals in 1999. That year he was named the United States Olympic Committee’s Male Equestrian of the Year.
In 2002, Wylde and Fein Cera represented the United States at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain, where they won the individual bronze medal and Fein Cera earned the coveted “Best Horse” honor. In 2004, the pair was again chosen to represent the United States at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, where they won the team gold.
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Wylde is the Head Clinician and Vice President of the United States Hunter Jumper Associations’ Emerging Athletes Program, which seeks to identify and cultivate equestrian talent and reward horsemanship skills to aspiring young professionals.
Together with Eduard Mullenders, Wylde runs Mullenders & Wylde Horses LLC, a Millbrook, New York-based training operation for top level horses and riders with a concentration on providing the highest level of care and training for the horse.
“The EAP is an incredible program which brings some of the best trainers in our industry together with talented and inspired young riders. It also strives to enlighten young riders about the importance of horsemanship, with the hope that these kids will become better professionals in the future,” Wylde said. “Many of us feel that there needs to be more education in our country, teaching our future professionals all the different aspects of horse care, training and management. Programs like the EAP and HHH’s clinic series is a great way to educate and enlighten future horsemen and women. And holding a clinic to benefit such an admirable cause as HHH is a double win.”
“We are incredibly fortunate to have someone of Peter’s caliber donating his time and talent to benefit our cause,” shared HHH Founder Liz Olszewski. “He does a lot for the youth in our equestrian community, and this is one more example. He’s a true leader in his sport.”
The jumping clinic is set to take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday, January 26, 2014 at Sunshine Meadows in Delray Beach, Fla. The sessions will each run for an hour and a half. Beverages and food will be available for all attendees. For inquiries about trailers or stabling, please contact Liz Olszewski liz@hhhusa.org or text 561-713-6133. All proceeds will benefit Horses Healing Hearts.
Horses Healing Hearts is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to bettering the lives of children of alcoholics and substance abuse through equine experiential learning. To learn more about Horses Healing Hearts or how you can help with donations of money or time, log onto http://www.HHHUSA.org or e-mail Olszewski at liz@hhhusa.org.
