Youth Outreach Clinic Encourages Dressage Development

By Madeleine Holzman; Photos courtesy of Wanee Holzman

Hi, I’m Madeleine Holzman, but most people call me Maddie. I am 11 years old. I took my first pony ride when I was 3 years old and fell in love with horses. In the past few years, I have done both hunters and jumpers, and I only changed my focus to dressage last year.

Last year, I attended an FEI Youth Clinic as an auditor, but this year, I got to participate in my first USDF Youth Outreach Clinic. I attended the USDF Youth Outreach Clinic with my pony, Jasper. Jasper is a 13-year-old German riding pony, and I have had him for three months. 

Before I found Jasper, I had a small jumper pony named “Fluff on Fire,” who I had ridden and trained for the past year. Jasper opened my eyes to the world of dressage, one that I never had experienced before. Jasper has competed through Third Level, while I had only ever ridden at Training Level. Jasper isn’t an easy pony. He often would jump around and be tricky for me to manage, but over time, we got over it. While he was teaching me, I was also teaching him to be patient. 

This past show season, I only showed once, at Training Level. We ended up with good scores of 69% with the help of my trainer, Mallih Ataee. Jasper definitely taught me how to ride tricky horses in big situations. 

This was my first Youth Outreach Clinic, and I rode with Jesse Collins. During the two-day clinic, I learned a lot from Jesse and by watching other riders. I hope to utilize the techniques I learned from Jesse to improve my scores and improve my overall riding skills.

In my first ride, we expected him to be a bit excited, which he definitely was, but he got over it. I learned how to utilize my half-halt, and how to sit back and help him balance. I also learned to be patient with him. These small things helped me help him. I watched many rides, and they were all different. I learned that every rider has different challenges and that everyone has something to work on. I focused on taking small steps and praised him when he did a good job.

My favorite part of the clinic was learning many new techniques and riding with an amazing clinician. Jesse was very kind to Jasper and me. He was patient and very positive, as well as encouraging. I also got to see some of my friends from different cities or states. We helped each other tack up, cleaned up stalls, hung out a lot, and had so much fun. 

I hope to attend the USDF Youth Outreach Clinic again, and I encourage riders to apply, regardless of their level of dressage knowledge, and to seek out opportunities in dressage throughout our country.