Why What and Where Is T.A.P'S Training and Showing?
Why do I teach?.....
Because I love horses and want to educate others that
want to love them too. Too many times I have seen people unintentionally mistreat
their horses only because they lack the knowledge to have a great relationship with them.
So my job is to educate people so the horses in our lives have the best care possible, and
that includes good riding. I also teach because seeing my students grow over the
years to become great riders and great people, is more reward than I could ask for!
What
do I teach?.....
My philosophies are really very
simple. I believe that kindness, compassion, and humane treatment is the way to get the
most out of the horses that we train, and patience, understanding, and the demand for
respect is the way that I get the most out of my riders. With respect for each
other, most goals can be accomplished.
Of course I have many of my own
methods for instruction and training, but they all stem from the good old classic
equitation/dressage roots from the likes of George Morris and the late Bertalan de
Nemethy, and more modern successes such as Anna Jane White-Mullin,
Anne Kursinski,
and Missy Clark. I try to stay open to new ways and methods as well. I
like to use Round Pen training to establish a healthy relationship with a young horse, and
I also have started using basic clicker training geared especially for the skittish or
scared horse where positive reinforcement is especially important for their progress.
Where can you find
me?.....
My home base is a wonderful stable called Shady Maples Stables (Mary and Dale McCall), in
Blossvale N.Y where I teach 30 + riders on their own horses or school horses. My own
horses live there and get the best care around. Take a look at their
website by clicking HERE.
Fairway Farms (Julie and Russell
Young) is a wonderful facility that I have worked at in the past.
Fairway puts on a great local show series that is perfect for new horses and
riders and the perfect place for me to take customers that need to get in the
swing of things in the show ring to prepare for the new seasons. Visit them at http://hometown.aol.com/fairwayfrms/fwf.htm
You can also find us at various other
local shows in the area, or competing at USEF (http://www.equestrian.org/)
competitions such as the Syracuse PHA Circuit (http://www.syracusepha.org/)
or, Saratoga Classic (http://www.skidmore.edu/campus/saratogaclassic/schs_entry.htm).
My favorite venue for competition is the HITS on the Hudson series in
Saugherties, NY. (http://www.horseshowsinthesun.com).
During a typical summer you may find us there for 3 or 4 weeks.
HITS
Elmira
2005
Saratoga
The last few years I have also been very
involved in the Interscholastic
Equestrian Association which has taken us all over to places in New York,
Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland. The IEA is an
association for Middle and High School students to compete, and it's format is
much the same as the Intercollegiate
Horse Show Association. Students do not need to own there own
horse to show, and perform on the host school's horses with their tack and
equipment.
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