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Dressage at FarmHill Equestrian Center, LLC
At FarmHill, we pride ourselves in our collaborative lesson and training program. We offer the best of instruction and training in the various disciplines of English equitation, and all of our instructors work together enthusiastically, enabling you and your horse to achieve your best possible partnership in whatever equestrian disciplines you enjoy.
Harriet Hauser’s High Hopes Dressage
Our dressage program is anchored and coordinated by Harriet Hauser, whose High Hopes Dressage is one of the crowning attractions of FarmHill.
Harriet brings to her dressage instruction a deep love of horses and a profound respect for the rider. Her compassionate approach and skilled training techniques are based on her decades of training under dressage luminaries such as Dietrich von Hopffgarten, Mary Judkins, Peter DeCosemo, Bettina Drummond, Pierre Cousyn, Nicola Stauder and Dr. Gerd Heuschmann.
Harriet's Training Philosophy:
“In terms of training horses, I value calmness above all, and with that, a willingness to take however much time it takes, even if it means postponing your own agenda for the training. And then you must convince your horse, with equal amounts of firmness and kindness, that s/he can move forward without restriction. In addition to the wonderful trainers I’ve had a chance to learn from, I have to say that the horses I’ve ridden have taught me my most important lessons – compassion, patience, and kindness. With regard to teaching dressage to riders, I believe that first and foremost, I must be calm and positive. I focus on the points of progress in the rider and horse, in order to build their confidence and competence, individually and as a team. Beyond that, I am always looking for new ways to describe what I’ve learned, because an image that works for me may not work for a given student. In that sense, I often find that my students are my best teachers. Overall, I’d say that what I love most about dressage is the partnership that we develop with our horses when we’re willing to listen to what they have to tell us.”
Harriet can help you rediscover the joy of dressage as she teaches you to work in happy partnership with your horse. Please contact Harriet directly to arrange for private lessons on your horse at FarmHill, or for training sessions with Harriet riding your horse at FarmHill. Read more about Harriet in this article originally published by Flying Changes magazine (May 2008).
Christina Poulton, Assistant to Harriet Hauser:
In order to provide full continuity of care for the horses in her High Hopes Dressage training program, Harriet has selected as her assistant the very talented young dressage rider, Christina Poulton. Christina took her first lesson with Harriet when she was 8 years old, and she has worked diligently to develop and refine her riding throughout the 17 years since that momentous day. Having shown dressage horses through Fourth Level, Christina has enjoyed great success in the show ring, including her achievement of the Third Level Championship for the Oregon Dressage Society in 2003. In addition to her years of work with Harriet Hauser and Brooke Voldbaek, it has been Christina’s delight and privilege to have trained with some of the finest dressage experts available, including Heather Bender, Jane Savoie, Dietrich von Hopffgarten, Debbie McDonald, Ernst Herrmann, Gerd Heuschmann, Nicola Stauder, and Pierre Cousyn. We are proud and fortunate to count Christina among our training staff here at FarmHill.
Rebecca Buehler – Combined Training and Equine Care
FarmHill is delighted to announce the addition of Rebecca Buehler to our training team. Rebecca brings to us a rare combination of dressage and jump experience that is perfectly suited to FarmHill’s integrated training program. She is currently riding and training the FarmHill horses whose owners would like to improve their dressage training and maintain their dressage-level conditioning. Rebecca also provides a variety of equine care to the FarmHill horses, including medicating, leg-wrapping, hand-walking, clipping and bathing, so that their owners have more time for riding and pampering their horses.
Rebecca has earned her stripes working at several important training barns, including Brooke Voldbaek’s dressage program at Sonnenberg Farm, Anna Collier’s eventing program at Vossenberg Farm, and the Yorkshire Riding Centre in Harrogate, England.
Having achieved both her ‘A’ rating from the U.S. Pony Club and her Stage 3 Exam in the British Horse Society, Rebecca is currently a regional instructor with the U.S. Pony Club (Oregon Region), and she also brings us the benefit of her experience working as an equine veterinary assistant with one of our favorite FarmHill vets.
Over the past ten years, Rebecca has bought, trained, and sold numerous horses as eventing prospects. She has greatly enjoyed acquiring young horses, training them to the First or Second Level of dressage, teaching them to jump 3’ to 4’ courses, and then placing each of them with a rider whose goals and skills are suited to their training. As Rebecca says, “I love to see these prospect horses continue on to homes where they are loved and able to teach their riders many new things.”
Recently, Rebecca decided that she wanted to keep a horse and go farther with him, so she acquired her current horse, Brighton, off the track. After devoting considerable time and expertise to his training, she hopes to event him at the Intermediate level in the coming year.
Rebecca offers FarmHill the benefits of her combined skills as a dressage and jump rider and trainer, and her expertise in all aspects of equine care. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have Rebecca as a member of our FarmHill training team! Contact Rebecca directly to arrange for her to exercise, train, or provide other care for your horse at FarmHill.
Tentative Future Event: Manolo Mendez returns to FarmHill in 2012!
Manolo Mendez was a founding member and the first Head Rider of the Royal Andalusian School of Today, he teaches dressage riders around the world and trains horses from training to Grand Prix using gentle, empathetic training methods. Manolo works in the saddle and in-hand to develop horses that are healthy, calm and confident, supple, straight and expressive.
Additional Dressage Training at FarmHill Equestrian Center, LLC
In addition to Harriet’s on-site dressage training program, we also offer regular clinics with Jessica Wisdom, Nicola Stauder, and Pierre Cousyn.
Jessica Wisdom:
Jessica is the rising dressage star in the Pacific Northwest. Drawing upon her impressive body of experience, including her many years of successfully starting the finest young sport horses for breeders from around the region, Jessica has worked tirelessly to hone her skills as a rider, exhibitor, trainer, and teacher of dressage. Most recently, Jessica has guided her once-in-a-lifetime mount, the Welsh Cob stallion named “North Forks Cardi,” through a breath-taking ascent in competitive dressage, where she and Cardi are currently accumulating championships at Prix St. George. We are delighted to host Jessica’s monthly clinics at FarmHill, especially because her approach to training and teaching is deeply resonant with those of our resident trainer, Harriet Hauser. For clinic information, contact Lisa Kolke. For more on Jessica, check out her website Equilibrium Equestrian and an article originally published in Flying Changes magazine (April 2009).
Nicola Stauder:
Originally trained as a Bereiter (Master Rider) in Germany, Nicola has dedicated her training and teaching of dressage to the fundamental principles of health and harmony between horse and rider. Based on her many years of experience as a professional dressage trainer, Nicola has recently chosen to devote considerable effort to introducing Dr. Gerd Heuschmann and his work into the world of American dressage. FarmHill is proud to host Nicola’s clinics as often as we can persuade her to leave her beloved Montana, and we are extremely grateful to Nicola for facilitating FarmHill’s selection as the hosting facility of Dr. Heuschmann’s first symposium in the Pacific Northwest. For clinic information contact Harriet Hauser and for more on Nicola’s work in this regard, please go to Equestrian Educationals.
Pierre Cousyn:
Originally trained as an “Instructeur” at the National Equestrian School in Saumur, France (the French equivalent of the Spanish Riding School), Pierre has devoted the last fifteen years to incorporating for Americans the classical principles with modern methods of dressage. Teaching riders and horses from Training Level to Grand Prix, Pierre is dedicated to offering his students an optimal blend of traditional training and cutting-edge innovation. Pierre places great emphasis on the importance of basic skills, even at the highest levels of dressage, and he strongly believes that a happy relationship between horse and rider is the only way that dressage makes sense. FarmHill is honored to host clinics with Pierre, as often as we can entice him to cross the continent from his current home on the East Coast. For clinic information contact Harriet Hauser and for more about Pierre, visit Cousyn Dressage International.
