Brazil
November 2008
The Beauty of Natural Horsemanship meets Working Equitation A Horsemanship Learning Adventure of a lifetime.
November 15-22, 2008 An inaugural course in Working Equitation (WE) with Natural Horsemanship Instructor Glenn Stewart Brazilian-bred Lusitano horses are the driving force behind this innovative project. Geraldo Lefosse and Glenn Stewart are combining many years of equestrian industry skills and experience to establish instructional schools of Working Equitation in Brazil and Canada that will be launched in November 2008 in São Paulo. Little known in North America, Working Equitation was developed to test the relationship between horse and rider and their capacity to negotiate any obstacles they might encounter performing a variety of working duties in fields and in open country sides. Naturally, for safety’s sake, obedience, steadiness, agility and speed are typical necessities.
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Working Equitation as a competitive sport has seen exponential growth in popularity and participation in recent years, and hosted its first European and World Championships in 1996 and 2002 respectively. Today this emerging discipline has become part of the competitive equestrian landscape in Portugal, France, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Sweden, as well as Mexico and Brazil. Like Eventing, Working Equitation is a three-phase competition including dressage plus two separate obstacle courses (the final phase against the clock), at which Lusitano horses have already demonstrated their ability to excel. Synonymous with world-class dressage by virtue of their naturally gifted gaits, Lusitanos have categorically proven their aptitude in the multi-disciplinary environment of Working Equitation, especially thanks to their work willingness and extremely docile temperament. The project being launched by Lefosse and Stewart is the first of its kind, providing a sound educational base for anyone wishing to learn or improve their Working Equitation skills. WHERE: Located close to the famous spa town of Aguas de Lindóia, 90 minutes drive from São Paulo, Lefosse’s Haras das Mangueiras, a worldclass Lusitano breeding facility since 1992, currently hosts a leg in the Brazilian Working Equitation Championship series, and provides a fitting instructional environment plus superbly trained and experienced WE Lusitano horses for visitors to ride.
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HOW: A former Parelli instructor, Glenn Stewart is a renowned and highly popular natural horsemanship clinician with a lifetime of skills that were recognized by Lefosse when they met during a stud farm tour last November on behalf of ABPSL (the pure-bred Lusitano breeding association in Brazil). Stewart will be honing his WE skills with the expert guidance of Benedito Torres de Macedo, an extensively awarded competitor and member of the Brazilian national team who finished as reserve champions at the 2002 WE World Championship. “Dito” is a highly respected rider and instructor in both Brazil and Portugal WHEN: The resulting WE project has evolved from nearly nine months of tripartite discussion and will be inaugurated in November 2008 with a course in Working Equitation using natural horsemanship training methods. In addition, a certificated WE judges’ course will be offered that is open to all interested parties. A flexible schedule allows participation in both the WE riding instruction and the judges’ course, and will run from November 15 to 22, 2008. There will also be a half-day equestrian photography workshop for anyone with a camera who wishes to participate. The week will conclude with a special Gala where rookie judges will have the opportunity to test their skills during a “live” Working Equitation competition, and also be invited to participate in a special WE competition to demonstrate their new-found skills.
www.thehorseranch.com 1-877-728-8987