A HOLISTIC APPROACH
ASSESSMENT
The key to improvement
Training always begins with a detailed assessment on the lunge to see how the horse moves and responds naturally. The horse will then be assessed under saddle. From this, Georges will go on to mutually agree a programme of work with the client which he believes to be compatible with the horse’s needs.
The aim at Carreg Dressage is to teach all horses to move correctly over the back in order to carry the rider with grace and with ease throughout all the desired movements.We aim to give you the confidence to progress your horse by providing a clear route forwards.
This is a fundamental precept of our work.
We believe that the quality of contact with the horse’s mouth is a trademark stamp of the training at Carreg Dressage . This is achieved by teaching the horse to take charge of its own balance – you will never find gadgets of any kind in our tack room.
This approach to training results in happy, athletic horses who are able to continue competing and performing well into their twenties.
“C’est la legerete qui donne a l’equitation son veritable cachet”
(Lightness is the proof of true equitation)”
HOLISTIC
THE BALANCE OF HORSE, RIDER & ENVIRONMENT
We seek to create the ideal balance between horse, rider and their environment here – the health of the horse and the health of the land go hand in hand.
Surrounded by wooded and organic pasture, the yard and its arenas are ideally situated in the shelter of the valley bottom – a place to focus.
“It is the spirit of the horse that is the most important issue and it is this which should inspire us. If the training of the horse is approached with the aim of seeking co-operation, rather than demanding submission, horses will teach us as much as we teach them.”
LIGHT, FORWARD & BALANCED
ROOTED IN HISTORY & LEARnING
The training of a horse involves building a relationship with another being, this requires that an integrity is maintained throughout the life of that relationship. The training process is demanding for both partners and can be achieved without losing the spirit of either.
It is essential to develop the purity of the horse's natural paces, avoiding any form of mechanization within the movement. Some horses will have a naturally powerful and elastic way of going, whereas others will look more ordinary. With patience, all horses can be trained to improve their athleticism, thereby narrowing the gap in their performance.
The aim of training should always make the horse look more beautiful. This was the constant preoccupation of the great 'ecuyer' Nuno Oliveira who believed that you could not produce, or even attempt to produce, a work of art without a deep love of your subject matter. Developing this philosophy has always been fundamental to our approach at Carreg Dressage. Georges Dewez spent some time training with Nuno Oliveira and has supplemented this with extensive experience, reading and study. Nuno Oliveira's philosophy was a fusion of the two French schools: The old school of Versailles and the 'new' school of Francois Baucher. Thus he obtained perfect lightness which had always been the cachet of the French school.
