Olympians Lendon Gray and Ali Brock
A key theme of the weekend was doing everything you can to become the best you can be.  Founder of Dressage4Kids, Lendon Gray, asked the audience, “What are you doing  other than riding your horse ?  What else are you doing to improve your riding and your horsemanship?  You owe it to yourself to take responsibility and do your part.”  Olympian Ali Brock echoed these sentiments with the quote, “Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance”.  As she shared the story of her journey from working student to the Olympics, some key takeaways stood out.  She emphasized over and over again how important horse care and horsemanship are. As a steward and partner for your horse, it is your responsibility to give your horse the best possible care physically and emotionally, and to know your horse inside and out so you can help make good decisions for him.  Part of the job of the rider is also to give the horse the opportunity for positive learning experiences and to build his confidence.  The confidence of the rider is also not to be overlooked. Ali said there are so many people out there who will say you can’t [do something] that it’s really important to have someone in your back corner telling you that you really  can do it.  And you have to be open to the possibility!