2019 HPDS Adult Clinic With Dolly Hannon | High Plains Dressage Society

High Plains Dressage
2019 Adult Clinic With Dolly Hannon
By Pat Van Buskirk
Photos by Lori Keilt, Una Schade and Pat Van Buskirk

Kudos to High Plains Dressage Society for a fantastic clinic with Dolly Hannon, on the weekend of May 11-12, 2019. Dolly is a wonderful teacher with such extensive knowledge in so many areas of horsemanship. She can very quickly assess where you and your horse are on the training pyramid, then help with whatever difficulties you may be having or where to go next. Plus, she’s polite in taking the time to ask about you, your horse and what you would like to be working on. What a marvelous clinician!

Our riders and horses came from so many varied backgrounds and disciplines, none foreign to Dolly.

Lori Keilt, HPDS Secretary, with London Fog. Lori and London received their Bronze Medal just last year.		Ellen Siebert, HPDS Treasurer, with Bedat, her Hanoverian mare working at third level, showing at second level.
Julie Burt, HPDS Vice President aboard her five year-old upcoming mare Peaches. Julie is doing a magnificent job of training this young horse.		Deb Carter, with her PRE gelding, Armas Retamal. Deb is striving for reliable relaxation away from home, staying supple and focused. “Dolly Hannon is a treasure, and I am so fortunate to have participated in the HPDS clinic with her last weekend at Julie Burt’s welcoming facility. Dolly’s great insights helped me and my spicy Spaniard, Armas, continue to achieve our goals of focused brilliance and rideeability away from home.”
Deb Williams, with her former polo horse. Deb is one of the original members of the Western Dressage Association of Colorado.		Anclaire Spalding and Maizy, an Oldenburg mare returning to riding after surgery and rehab last summer. Dolly helped Anclaire make tremendous progress on this very bossy mare.
Pat Van Buskirk, with Merlin, a five year-old Quarter Horse gelding. Merlin is a wonderful young horse learning Western Dressage. “Dolly was spot-on, picking up immediately on Merlin’s lack of left bend and focus. She helped us with our canter, making kind suggestions for how we could progress more in this gait. This is definitely a clinic I would do again!”		Anclaire Spalding and Maizy, an Oldenburg mare returning to riding after surgery and rehab last summer. Dolly helped Anclaire make tremendous progress on this very bossy mare.
Olga Hendrickson with Gem, a Hanoverian mare who Olga describes as an FEI Schoolmaster. Olga is working on keeping the quality of the gaits when riding tests. I had a great clinic with Dolly! She knows my horse so well and helps me get the best from her!

Riders for whom we do not have photos:

Sandy Eckles with her Dutch Warmblood, Arnad, working on extensions and flying changes.

Stephanie Figgins, HPDS President, with Coco, her SWB mare. Stephanie and Coco are a gorgeous pair who regularly compete with RMDS.

Samantha Hougland with Spyder, her OTTB gelding, just transitioning from Eventing to Dressage.

Jill Jackson with Dash, her Canadian Half Welsh gelding. Dash is fairly new to her and they recently competed at Dressage For The Cure in First Level.

Katie Ryan with her American Warmblood gelding, Bentley, who is coming back from a pastern bone injury. Katie competes in Prelim Eventing and would like to do some dressage.

As you can see, there were horses of many different breeds and riders varying in disciplines and experience. Dolly was amazing in her ability to discern the level and temperament of each horse/rider and adapt her teaching skills to their specific needs. She was also very considerate in first talking with the rider about their horse and what they were looking for in the clinic.

It was such a treat to find a clinician who understands the principle of, “Don’t Get Greedy”, as taught by Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt and Roger Kyle. If a horse or rider were having difficulty with a movement, Dolly would instruct the rider to try one or two steps, then move on. In my experience, horses really appreciate this reward for their efforts.

We all want to extend a special Thank You to Julie Burt for the use of her wonderful facilities. Julie opened her home, her barn and worked so hard to get everything in shape after our horrid weather the week before. Please give Julie a note of appreciation. You can find her on https://www.julieburtdressage.com or Facebook.

If you wish to know more about Dolly, please visit https://www.dollyhannondressage.com/ or contact her on Facebook.

Rainbow Over Corrals — Despite the rain on Saturday, two wonderful days were had by all!