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JUNE 2018 THE RIDER /33 Sue Leffler: Centered Riding Trailblazer


By Lynda Rivington Sue Leffler’s decades-long association with


horses has taken her through pony club, hunters, dressage, breeding, running a farm, teaching, hosting shows and now, in her 70s, she is going stronger than ever as a Centered Riding instruc- tor/clinician.


The Early Years Sue’s lifelong obsession with horses began


in Ottawa when she sat on a pony for a picture at age three and cried to stay on. Five years later in 1955, she and her brother Peter got an unbroken pony for Christmas and “it’s been downhill ever since,” she jokes. Sue initially took lessons at John Allan’s in


Aylmer, Quebec; joined pony club where she was taught by veterans Ismay Bartrum (Wand), Helen Chamberlain, Louise Barnes and Colonel Graffi; and, with Peter, showed their pony in hunter/jumper pony classes. Throughout high school in the 1960s, Sue


showed hunters, primarily in ladies and junior hunter and hack classes, with Ronnie Davidson campaigning her horses in the open working and conformation classes. She always preferred the training side over showing horses, and loved preparing them to show from the conditioning to


Sue Leffler in Vienna, 2009


leave of absence from her job to ap- prentice with Sally. This involved travelling to clinics all over the U.S. and subsequently led to Sue becom- ing a senior CR instructor.


Centered Riding Simply put, Centered Riding


teaches riders how to have better har- mony with their horses. It is based on developing body awareness so that riders are aware of what parts of their body are moved by the horse. The four basics include soft eyes


(seeing with awareness), breathing, balance (dynamic), and centering (a martial arts concept). Each basic has an effect on another and helps rider and horse develop better harmony to- gether. Sue believes that CR techniques


improve communication between horse and rider. “It’s an incredible way to maximize communication and harmony with the horse, and it applies to every discipline.” In Sue’s words, “Centered Rid-


Sue Leffler in Trois Rivieres


the turnout. Road’s End Stable In 1973, Sue started breeding and showing


young horses on the line with the former Cana- dian Hunter Improvement Society, now the Cana- dian Sport Horse Association. This coincided with the Lefflers buying a


farm – Road’s End Stable – in Richmond where Sue began showing dressage. She liked the idea of dressage as a training vehicle for different dis- ciplines, and had previously taken clinics with no- tables like Cindy Neale-Ishoy when they came to town.


By this time, Sue was working full time at


Agriculture Canada and managing the farm. She gave lessons to her boarders and also ran some on-farm dressage and hunter shows. In 1976, she built an indoor arena and in 1997 added a small riding school which allowed her to expand her lesson program to outside riders.


Sally Swift Life took an unexpected turn when Sue met


Centered Riding (CR) founder Sally Swift at a CADORA clinic near Toronto in January 1985. Totally fascinated by what Sally was teaching, she signed up to audit a CR instructors’ clinic given by Sally that spring in London and ended up get- ting to ride because someone was sick. In 1986, Sue brought Sally to Ottawa to


teach a CR instructors’ course at Road’s End after which she invited Sue to apprentice with her. Re- grettably, Sue had to turn down the offer due to her full-time job and farm responsibilities. However, the lure of working with Sally Swift lingered and, in 1989, Sue took a 3½-month


Craig Hunter and Family and Staff clearblufarms@bellnet.ca


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ing helps horses of all disciplines with riders of all levels stay happy and sound well into their senior years. It continually amazes me how fast both horses and riders change over the


course of even a two-day clinic!”


Her Students Respond Three of Sue’s


Ottawa-area students re- flect on her CR lessons. Valerie Everson owns Rocking Horse Stable in Rockland and takes les- sons when Sue is home. “I have been riding and taking lessons for 40- plus years and, over this time, have pursued the sports of eventing, dres- sage and combined driv- ing. I started CR lessons with Sue close to three years ago and this, with- out a doubt, has had the most transformative and influential impact on my position and ability to communicate effectively


with my horse. I am still constantly amazed by


how a small adjustment in the rider’s position makes such a tremendous impact on the horse’s way of going or ability to move properly.” Siri Ingebrigsten, owner/trainer


at Avant-Garde Equestrian Farm in Luskville, Quebec, says that both she and her students have benefited greatly from Sue’s teachings. “Her keen eye, great explanations and en- thusiasm for CR help get important messages about body awareness across to the riders, which in turn ben- efit their horses. Sue provides superb exercises to aid understanding of the principals behind Centered Riding, both on and off the horse.” Siri highly recommends CR for any rider at any level and in any discipline. Kindred Farm’s Tanya Boyd has


held two Sue Leffler CR clinics at her North Gower farm in recent years. “I am always in awe of her energy, pas- sion and absolute commitment to stu- dents. Sue is extremely skilled at transferring her knowledge in con- crete and constructive ways, and her clinics are fun and interesting. I first attended one of her CR clinics some 20 years ago and, to this day, incorpo- rate much of that learning in my les-


Sue Leffler in Ireland, 2008


Spain realized that it ‘doesn’t take muscles to ride’. He found his An- dalusian stallion loved being ridden when he didn’t use muscles. He could feel what his horse was saying.” So far, CR clinics have taken Sue from Norway (including above the


as she says, “horses in Canada need as much help as those in Europe.” For more information on Sue


Leffler and/or Centered Riding, go to sue-leffler.com


and centeredriding.org. Your horse has given you a lifetime of love and it is hard to walk away when the time has come to say goodbye


Honouring the life of your horse.


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sons. The CR approach never gets old, just like Sue!”


A New Career Retiring from Agriculture


Canada in 1997 and then selling her farm in 2003 has freed Sue up to con- centrate full time on teaching. She is a Level IV senior CR instructor and continues to update her own skills by taking and auditing clinics, training and teaching. Sue teaches about 15-20 clinics


per year, mostly in Europe. Previ- ously, she taught mainly in Canada and the U.S. but the interest in Cen- tered Riding is flourishing in Europe where she spends the majority of her time. A long break at home is about four weeks and then she’s back to Eu- rope.


Sue never dreamed of seeing Eu-


rope let alone through horses. “I love what I do, and I love sharing what I do and seeing the faces of horses and people change. For example, a na- tional champion vaquero rider in


Arctic Circle), Finland, Sweden, Ger- many, the Netherlands and Belgium to France, Spain, England and Ire- land. Riders, both English and West- ern from beginners to very advanced and low FEI levels, come from di- verse backgrounds – gaming, reining, jumpers, hunters over fences, driving, gaited horses, three-day eventers, dressage and lots of recreational rid- ers.


What’s Next? While she has taught in every


province in Canada except P.E.I. and the North, Sue’s one wish is that there was more interest in Centered Riding in Canada. Interest is growing here but it is much slower than in Europe. What about her future now that


she is past 70? “As long as I am en- joying teaching Centered Riding, I will keep on. It is so good for the horse and it is my way of giving back to the horse which has been a part of me for most of my life.” She would love to teach more in Canada because,


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