The
Centerline
Arizona Dressage Association
Vol. 15, Issue 10
www.azdressage.org
October 2015
My Scholarship by Cindy Hitchcock
Award Hilda Gurney Training Cindy on Dior
This year, I was fortunate enough to be awarded an ADA scholarship to train with my mare, Daralinde. I chose to travel to Moorpark, CA to train with Hilda Gurney for ten days at her Keenridge facility. Hilda is a dressage competitor, trainer, instructor, breeder and international judge. Her U.S. dressage record includes an Olympic team bronze medal, an individual gold and silver and three team gold medals at the Pan Am Games, 6 USET National Grand Prix Championships and 15 USDF Horse of the Year titles. Day one consisted of an evaluation of my riding skills and Daralinde’s level of training. We received some wonderful compliments, but Hilda was also quick to find our weakness within the first ten minutes of our evaluation. After the ride, we decided what we would work on for the next seven days worth of lessons. I felt that Hilda’s main goals during our training were to improve the lateral suppleness at the canter and develop more of a through, collected canter. Also, to teach me to follow the horses’ motion more with my elbows and hands without locking up,
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