Making a Difference: Hasslers Help Young Horse Trainers Advance
By Betsy LaBelle
Dressage trainers who focus on young horses need a strong community of support. Without that support, our sport won’t flourish as well as it can, and talented horses may potentially go unnoticed.
S
cott and Susanne Hassler, along with their longtime friends and partners John and Leslie Malone of the internationally renowned state-of-the-art training oper-
ation Hassler Dressage at Riveredge in Maryland, understand how essential it is for young and less experienced trainers of young sport horses to learn training specifics and build their own support network. In 2005, they forged ahead to do something about this. Unbeknownst to many, the Hasslers introduced the Young
Dressage Horse Trainer’s Symposium, or YDHTS, which has been a unique, extraordinary and private event committed to developing and instructing trainers and competitors how to effectively work with young horses as they ascend through the FEI levels in preparation for international competition. From 2005 to 2014, the Hasslers have devoted three days annually to instruct and educate talented riders and their young horses, many of whom returned year after year. Acknowledging the
ongoing support from the Malones, Susanne says with grati- tude, “They deserve a special thank you due to the many now highly successful professionals and up-and-coming riders and trainers. What they have done through their generous support of the YDHTS is truly remarkable.”
Goals for Younger Trainers and Horses With over 20 years of FEI national and international experi- ence, the Hasslers have long helped trainers recognize their strengths and weaknesses and have provided opportunities for them to ask their colleagues for guidance. Scott describes the concept of the YDHTS as more than your typical clinic or symposium. Instead, it was created to help a group of profes- sionals develop the training skills and standards necessary to train young horses up the levels properly in order to be capa- ble of high-level collection. “It was about setting and provid- ing a platform for these trainers to feel comfortable and open
Left: The attendees of the 2014 ten year anniversary YDHTS event. Above: Scott and Susanne Hassler, hosts of the YHDTS each year.
Warmbloods Today 33
Both photos by Richard Malmgren
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 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92