Bedford, NY – October 23, 2013 – Dressage4Kids, Inc. is pleased to announce its 12th annual Weekend Educational Program. The event will take place on February 1 and 2, 2014 at Nonnewaug High School, 5 Minortown Road, Woodbury, CT.
Horse-related seminars will be offered on many topics including, but not limited to: riding skills and theory, horse management, horse health, stable management, marketing your business, fitness, drawing, and photography.
Riders of all ages and levels, parents, and trainers are welcome to attend. 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.
There will also be special study sessions to start preparing for the Youth Dressage Festival to be held July 11-13, 2014 at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, NY. According to youth Dressage competitor, Nathalie Ferneau, “to be a winner at [the Youth Dressage Festival], you need to be a horsewoman and not simply a rider.” The goal of the Weekend Educational Program is to help riders, parents, and instructors gain a better understanding of the good horsemanship skills that are necessary not only for basic horse health and happiness, but that can also contribute to success in the show-ring.
Of her experience at the 2013 Youth Dressage Festival, Georgia DiRoberto commented, “I learned so much at the [Youth Dressage Festival]… I learned that studying for the written test could be the difference between third and first! I learned that without a wonderful four-legged partner I have nothing, so above all and before all, my pony comes first.”
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Two-time Olympian Lendon Gray started the Weekend Educational Program 12 years ago. “We spend so much time and effort focusing on our riding lessons, those 45 minutes in the ring, that sometimes we forget the importance of everything else that goes into creating a successful horse and rider combination. The Weekend Educational Program is a wonderful opportunity to spend some time off the horse learning not only about theory, but also about how to improve those other aspects of riding such as mental toughness, fitness, stable management, and horse management. We all work hard, and we owe it to our ourselves to take advantage of opportunities like this that will improve our abilities, in the ring and out.”
Past speakers at the Weekend Educational Program have included former Olympian Lendon Gray, the McPhail Chair at Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine Dr. Hilary Clayton, author of Sport Horse Conformation Christian Schacht, Head Farrier at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine Steve Kraus, USEF “S” Judge Margaret Freeman, former Director of Dressage for the USET Beth Clarke, and many others.
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.
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.
