Middleburg, Va. – October 22, 2019 – Olympic medalist Ali Brock headed to historic Middleburg, Virginia to host a two-day clinic as a part of the 2019 Rutledge Farm Sessions clinic series. Welcoming eight dressage riders of all levels, Brock drilled down into the importance of balance in self-carriage and effective aids, allowing riders to walk away with a few extra training tools under their belts.
“When I do clinics, I always want to make sure they come home with at least one thing [to work on], and I think the recurring theme of this clinic has been balancing the horse underneath the rider’s seat so that they’re keenly aware of balancing the horse’s body and not riding off the horse’s mouth,” explained Brock. “It’s been fun! Some of the riders I know because I’ve helped them, but it’s been a nice cross section of different riders from the area.”
Brock continued, “Rutledge is amazing! I think Aleco [Bravo-Greenberg] has done an amazing job bringing in really top professionals in different disciplines, and giving people an opportunity that they normally wouldn’t have. It’s a beautiful facility with great footing and he’s done a great job taking care of us.”
Professional athlete Lauren Sprieser rode 8-year-old KWPN gelding Guernsey Elvis, working at Prix St. Georges Level. The pair will soon travel to Lexington, Kentucky for the upcoming U.S. Dressage Finals, leveraging the clinic with Brock as preparation.
“There’s no such thing as enough coaching, for all of us professionals,’ Sprieser commented. “Isabelle Werth has eyes on the ground, Charlotte Dujardin has eyes on the ground, and I can say with 100% confidence that I also need eyes on the ground. Coming up to a special horse show, it’s great to see someone who has been there and done that, well beyond what I’ve ever done, give me her thoughts as I prepare for such a big show.”
Sprieser added, “We’re just so fortunate here in the Middleburg area to have a venue like this and an organizer like [Aleco Bravo-Greenberg] that is committed to bringing in excellent instruction that we might not otherwise have access to. To be able to come here and not just do a clinic but really a demonstration for some of my students that get to hear that caliber of instruction, it’s really a great thing for the community and a great thing for all of us as riders and trainers.”
Melissa Jamison was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Brock aboard her 8-year-old KWPN gelding Goldplay, who is schooling Training Level. “I think that I got so much out of these last few days,” she expressed. “I got a chance to watch my lesson last night and I felt like I had another lesson all together. I really felt like I had an opportunity to understand what a dressage seat should be for me. To be able to effectively help my horse and being able to understand how to communicate better with my horse and feel comfortable was probably the biggest revelation.”
A lot of thanks to Aleco for allowing us to have this wonderful experience here. I hope that they have a lot more people like Ali, and I hope they specifically have Ali multiple times whenever she is available. She is really good at instructing and detailing in a very descriptive narrative that sticks with you. I’m really excited to see what else they come out with in the 2020 season.”
Rutledge Farm owner Aleco Bravo-Greenberg was honored to host Brock at the facility for the weekend. “Ali is such a gifted instructor,” he commented. “She did an amazing job honing in on what each horse and rider needed to work on and helping them find tools to improve. It was wonderful to be able to have such an amazing clinic at our facility and Ali was great to work with.”
To read about Brock’s young horse training philosophy, click here.
To read 24 tidbits of training wisdom from Brock, click here.
The Rutledge Farm Sessions brings exclusive educational opportunities to riders and professionals in Middleburg, Virginia. Drawing from a pool of Olympic and International Champion clinicians, Rutledge Farm offers monthly clinics for riders at all levels and of all disciplines, including dressage, show jumping, eventing, and equitation.
The 2019 Rutledge Farm Sessions clinic series will continue with two-time Olympic gold-medalist Phillip Dutton, followed by renowned champion equitation trainer Stacia Madden.
To find out more information about clinics offered during this year’s Rutledge Farm Sessions, visit www.rutledgefarm.com/clinics