Join us for a fantastic dressage clinic with Heather Sweeney! We are excited to host our first clinic with Heather as she comes highly recommended.
45min privates at $100
*Special discounted price to DEC boarders at $90 *
Only privates available. Pm or contact Nikole at (860)878-4838 to sign up!
Below is Heather’s bio. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to work with her!
Heather is a USDF Bronze and Silver Medalist actively competing at the Prix St. Georges level and preparing to debut at Intermediare 1 this season. Her sharp eye and commitment to providing a quality education in a fun and supportive manner are what draw her students from all over the state. In addition to her love for teaching, her well-rounded background brings an all-encompassing approach to her training horses. She has successfully trained and ridden horses to the FEI levels, tackled tough rehab cases, started youngsters, and worked through behavior issues with a “horse first” approach. You can’t build a house on top of a weak foundation and expect it to last, and the same goes for both horse and rider.
Her riding journey began the same as many young equestrians: by begging her parents daily for years until she was gifted a set of four lessons at a local barn for Christmas. The rest is history! Ironically enough, she swore she would never be a dressage rider, but as luck and the universe would have it- it was meant to be. She took her first dressage lesson at 16 and was utterly humbled by the number of holes she still had in her education after nearly 10 years. It felt like starting over, but it was the first time she felt like she was learning how to influence her horse. From that day forward she was bit by the dressage bug and threw herself head first into the sport.
Coming from humble beginnings, she immediately began working as a working student to learn all that she could both in the barn and in the saddle. Having access to educated horses at that time made all the difference in the world- as is why she is currently so passionate about providing quality horses to her students.
After a very successful season with the UConn Dressage Team, she decided it was “now or never” to take a chance to pursue her wild dream of becoming a professional rider and trainer. It was at this time that she met Dave Thind, now of The Dave Thind Method, and trained under his watchful eye. He taught her all about the biomechanics of horse and rider and brought her riding to an entirely new level. By the time she returned home, she was schooling all of the Grand Prix movements.
An unfortunate series of serious injuries threatened to take her out of the sport entirely, but was able to re-learn how to use her body effectively in the saddle with Dave’s help yet again. Although frustrating, this rehab process brought with it an understanding for other students dealing with past injuries and anxieties. She is now working towards her NSCA-CPT certification to bring fitness education to riders as well. Currently she regularly trains with Grand Prix rider and trainer Liz Caron.
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