Copy by Helen Bruce
Photos with thanks to Louise O'Brien Photography louiseobrienphotography.com
European gold medallist dressage rider Gareth Hughes has been praised for his kind and ethical training methods, as almost 370 people flocked to watch his Irish Masterclass.
Held at Emerald Equestrian Centre in Co Kildare last Sunday (Oct 6), and organised by Leinster Dressage, the event was the first of its kind, and has led to calls for more.
Fourteen riders and horses put themselves forward to be coached by the British team rider, showing the development of training from Preliminary to Grand Prix level.
They were watched by a keen group of spectators, including dressage fans, riders, coaches and judges.
Speaking afterwards, Gareth Hughes said: ‘It was my second trip to Ireland, and first time I’ve done anything like this here, so it was great.
‘The questions were good, the crowd was good, the horses were great, you’ve got some lovely horses over here, so it was a fun day.
‘It’s really hard for the riders when you have to come in and ride before this many people, but I thought every horse got better and all the riders were very receptive to everything I wanted to do, so I was really happy.’
He said his brand of ethical training was ‘just normal for us’.
‘You can have high expectations and be nice. You can do well, and be nice.’
Kildare dressage coach Fiona Hayes said: ‘The Masterclass was hugely beneficial to me as a coach.
‘Gareth was very clear in his exercises with the riders and their horses, and the progress made was very evident and harmonious throughout each of the lessons. He brought everything back to the correct, basic, ethical training. It was systematic and progressive.’
‘I’d love to see more of these Masterclasses held in Ireland – and I think every trainer should attend, so we are all following the same path.’
Fellow trainer Sean Burgess added: ‘I think it should be a compulsory thing for coaches when you have someone of this quality over here, because surely that’s going to trickle down through all the levels.
‘It gets everyone singing off a similar hymn sheet, and there is an ethical way of training horses and riders, that it’s not about fudging over a bit, to get to the next bit.’
He said: ‘Moving forward, dressage training has to look prettier, it has to look nicer, it has to look like there’s a future for the sport. You’re not doing it because you are greedy, you are doing it because you have enabled the horse to be able to do it…It shouldn’t look like it’s hard work.’
List one dressage judge Dermot Cannon said: ‘I thought it was a super day, very enjoyable. It was presented from a trainer’s perspective, as opposed to a judge’s, but in terms of the correct way of going, and what it looks like, we could all see as judges how the horses improved following his coaching. It was an ideal opportunity to see that.’
Tradestall holder Amy Coyle, who brought her locally-based equestrian brand Sandstorm, said: ‘We had a fantastic day. It was great to connect with the dressage community, to meet people, and see all the passion for the sport and the discipline.’
Rider Joanne Logue, who brought her mare Little Lottie, the current National Preliminary Champions and reserve novice champions to demonstrate Novice level training, said she believed riders would take away from Hughes’ teaching the concept that ‘simple works best’.
‘Once the simple things are confirmed, the big things, they come much easier. So it’s all about straightness. It’s all about transitions. It’s about giving each horse the best opportunity to be able to do what it does best, and then that confidence gives them the ability to do more difficult things later on,’ she said.
Former European pony rider Emily Kate Robinson (24) brought her Dutch warmblood Edvaard, reserve national champion at Prix St George - whom she bought off Facebook when she was just 17.
She said: ‘I wanted to expose him to more people and an atmosphere, and to learn from someone like Gareth.
‘I learned to take my time more in working canter pirouettes, getting him flexing more to the inside and waiting, rather than riding out, and that definitely helped.
‘I’ve got to see most of the other sessions too, and I’ve found it really interesting…I think everybody learned a lot.’
Leinster Dressage committee member Andrea Colfer, said: ‘I knew of a lot of people travelling to England to attend similar events over there, so I felt there was a demand for one to be run here. While we’ve some excellent trainers in Ireland we don’t yet have the depth of experience that’s available abroad, especially at the higher levels.
‘It’s a massive undertaking to run an event like this and I’m just so delighted that it went so well. Gareth gave a clear and consistent path for us to follow from Preliminary all the way to Grand Prix. The feedback from our riders, spectators and sponsors has been phenomenal. I think this has been a major boost to the sport of Dressage in Ireland.’
She added: ‘So many people are needed to make an event like this run smoothly, but I have to give a special thanks to Jack Sheedy who runs Emerald, to Martin Cullinan on sound from All Events Productions, and all the team at Leinster Dressage.’
