Great Times
Great Britain’s Stephen Clarke
By Kim MacMillan with Sandy Elwood
The annual dressage FEI-Level Trainers Conference in Florida garners new fans and worthy advice for riders, trainers, judges and breeders.
he title of “Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Dressage Judge General” might conjure images of a stern, unapproachable task master for many riders. But when the person filling those shoes is Stephen Clarke of Great Britain, nothing could be further from the truth. His encouraging smile and easy-going manner are coupled with razor-sharp skill for evaluating the strengths and weak- nesses of each horse and rider. Best of all, after he quickly sums up the situation, he has a gift for explaining his findings and suggesting exercises to bring out the best in those he coaches or judges. Eight lucky riders and over 200 auditors participated in
T
the two-day 2015 Succeed/USDF FEI-Level Trainers Confer- ence featuring Stephen as the clinician and hosted in mid- January by Mary Anne McPhail at her High Meadow Farm in Loxahatchee, Florida. To be eligible to attend the conference, riders, trainers, team coaches and judges had to be United States Dressage Federation (USDF) members and had to have participated in the sport of dressage at the FEI-level in some capacity. Kathie Robertson, manager of the USDF’s Education Department, explained how Stephen was selected for the
20 May/June 2015
2015 conference. “When we look for a clinician for the train- ers conference we look for someone with a good educa- tional base and who is out there teaching FEI riders,” she said. “Stephen is a very good educator. He’s also the Judge General for the FEI, so it seemed to be the right fit. We thought we could educate both competitors and judges in how to better prepare horses for the competition arena. This was the first time we had asked him and he was very generous with his time for us.” “It was a very successful couple of days,” she continued. “It
was one of the first times that we’ve been able to mix trainer and judge education that was well received by the audience. Because Stephen is so well respected on both sides of that equation and he is so straightforward and honest and he really speaks from the heart, everybody was open and recep- tive to what he had to say. It was presented in a way that was clear and sensible.”
ABOUT STEPHEN CLARKE Stephen grew up riding in British Pony Club and competed in the jumper ring through Grade B and in horse trials to Advanced level before concentrating solely on dressage in
All photos by Kim MacMillan/MacMillan Photography
with
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68