by Keron Psillas | Mar 15, 2010 | classical dressage, Well-being of the Horse |
As there are so many changes taking place in the Equestrian world, I thought it would be good to finish our Brazil Trip reports with our clinic and lecture with Dr. Gerd Heuschmann. Mariana Castro and Hilda Maria Toledo Piza graciously arranged the Lecture and clinic at Manege Sant’Adelaide and invited Dr. Gerd Heuschmann to take part. It was a resounding success and has encouraged us to begin to work together to eliminate the Rolkur/Hyperflexion training methods, as well as others, and to impress upon Equestrians everywhere the need to go back to the classical methods, indeed to understand and follow the existing rules of the FEI for dressage, and to connect with their horses using compassionate, caring training methods.
Clinic participants were treated to Dr. Heuschmann’s lectures on two days and practical demonstrations of the Biomechanics of the horse’s movements while being ridden correctly and incorrectly. A special thank you to Davi for allowing us to ride his beautifully trained Lusitanos.
Dr. Heuschmann and I developed a strong friendship during the course of the clinic. Teaching, riding, and working with the participants in a manner that emphasizes the well-being of the horse, rather than the use of the horse as a way to win or to gratify the ego, or to commercialize/capitalize on them, has always been deeply meaningful to my students and points the way forward for the work to be done. With the situation in the equestrian world as it is, with over 60% of high level competition horses dying before age 8, we must answer the call from the horses. We must say to the riding public now is the time to make your voice heard. Join with us to continue to speak out and speak loudly in defense of the horses and against inhumane training practices. Let’s begin now to give back the love and partnership they have given us for such a long time!
I will be creating a DVD going point by point through the FEI rules to illustrate the correct movements and to explain why they are there and how they illustrate the correct/gentle/systematic training of the horse. Check back with the blog for progress reports and dates for upcoming lectures and events. Thank you… ~ DBarbier
by Keron Psillas | Mar 7, 2010 | classical dressage, Well-being of the Horse |
I would like to share with you some photographs of our time at Mr. José Nogueira Martins’ home while filming for the latest interview on Tribuna Lusitana. It was such a pleasure to spend time with Mr. Martins for we share the same regard for the Masters of Classical Dressage. His hospitality for Dr. Gerd Heuschmann and I was gracious and warm. Dr. Heuschmann had just returned from Lausanne where he took place in discussion with the FEI committee on banning the Rolkur/hyperflexion training method. I offer my congratulations and gratitude to Dr. Heuschmann, who with the help of Isabella Sonntag and WuWei Verlag collected over 42,000 signatures on a petition to present to the FEI to ban the Rolkur training practice. I hope you’ll share the link for Tribuna Lusitana with your friends, it will help us to share our mission to preserve the heritage of the Lusitano and promote the well-being of ALL horses.
I’ve included some images from our clinic at Japu, the home of our friends Tonico and Tatiana Pereira. It was our great pleasure to spend time with them and to share in the celebration of Tatiana’s birthday. Tonico and Tatiana graciously opened their home and allowed people to ride their fabulous horses. The weather was perfect but was eclipsed by the quality of the organization for the participants. This clinic was truly international. We had a French father and daughter riding, a group of Brazilian men, and the stars were Sophia and Thomas, the children of our hosts. They were astute and intensely interested in learning as much as they could. Thank you, Davi Carrano, for the great pictures!
In my next post, I’ll have images from our clinic at Manege Sant’Adelaide and from the symposium with Dr. Gerd Heuschmann. The comments section is now available to our blog readers and we welcome your remarks. Join us, won’t you, on our quest to improve the well-being of the horses?
by Keron Psillas | Mar 4, 2010 | classical dressage, Tips |
Debra and I have just returned from a fantastic trip to Brazil. We had so many wonderful things happening and we are very excited to give you this news….
We had a great start to our project with Mr. Jose Martins and Tribuna Lusitana. Tribuna Lusitana is an online TV show about Lusitano horses featuring interviews about the equestrian art and Lusitano breeding. It is now seen in 54 countries and receives more than 600 visits per day with that number growing daily and is already a Lusitano horse world reference. Tribuna Lusitana highlights the well-being of the horse and how we should act to achieve it. During our visit, we filmed three interviews that combine the history of classical horsemanship, the philosophy behind my teaching with respect to the Masters that have come before, and practical tips for starting your horse correctly, simplifying the work in hand technique, and lungeing. It was a great pleasure to talk with Mr. Martins and expand our conversation to include some reminiscing about former riding Masters, including the Mestre Nuno Oliviera, and our mutual experiences with the heritage of classical riding in Portugal. I look forward to returning very soon.
Check back soon as we will be adding photos from our stay at Mr. Martins home, our clinic at the home of Mr. & Mrs. Tonico Pereira, and the fantastic reception that we had for the clinic and presentation at Manege Sant’Adelaide, featuring Dr. Gerd Heuschmann. It was a very full 10 days!
~DB
by Keron Psillas | Feb 15, 2010 | blog information |
This weekend Debra and I travel to Brazil to begin several new projects. I’m so pleased to announce that I’ll be working in collaboration with Mr. José Nogueira Martins, founder of Tribuna Lusitana. Mr. Martins has created a marvelous collection of interviews with many of the top people in the Lusitano and the larger Equestrian worlds. Together we hope to create a series of video lessons with the highest production values. Mr. Martins has an elegance and refined aesthetic that is a perfect compliment to the thought and energy of my work with the horses. I am deeply gratified to have this opportunity.
While I am in Brazil I will be meeting with Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, the veterinarian and author of the acclaimed book Finger in Der Wunde, published in the United States as Tug of War – Classical versus “Modern Dressage”. It is such an honor for me to meet Dr. Heuschmann and it is my deepest wish that we can bring science, intellect, energy, refinement, and our great love of the horse to influence training methods in practice today. It is time to turn away from hyperflexion and compression of the horse and truly focus on his well being, in body, mind, and spirit.
During our stay I’m pleased to be holding a clinic at Japu, the home of our great friend Tonico Pereira, founder of the famed Do Top stud, and breeder of the Olympic horse Oceano Do Top. Please contact Davi Carrano for information and scheduling.
We’re taking reservations now for our May trip to the Lusitano Auction and International Expo. Please email or call if you are interested. We will be posting all the details of the trip on this blog and sending an email to those of you that are signed up for notifications. If you are not, now is the time to send US an email so that you can stay informed and hopefully, JOIN US for the trip of a lifetime. During our May trip I will be offering a three-day clinic at the beautiful Manege Sant’ Adelaide, the home of our dear friend, Davi Carrano.
Please click on the links to follow the latest news. I’ll have an update on this blog from Brazil. Thank you for checking in!
~DBarbier
by Keron Psillas | Feb 1, 2010 | horses for sale |
Ultraje, our golden boy, is an 8 year old exceptional Lusitano stallion. Since his arrival here at Barbier Farms during the summer of 2005, he has become a marvelous gentleman with a stunning presence. He has excelled in his training, adding new movements with ease. Visit the ULTRAJE page in the Horses For Sale tab for a photo gallery and pedigree information. Dominique says “he has all the finest qualities that make the Lusitano such a wonderful horse to share your life with.”
