Torchlight Training
My Teachers
(Of The Human Variety)
Stephanie Grant Millham
Stephanie has blessed me with her mentorship since 2009. A student of two of the 20th century's great masters, Nuno Oliveira and Dr. HLM van Schaik, I could not ask for a better and more well rounded teacher. In Stephanie I have found the mentor who can answer my many off-the-wall questions about the many schools of dressage, and she has introduced me to the art of in-hand work, a skill I was lacking and very keen to acquire. Stephanie is one of the co-founders of The Foundation for Classical Horsemanship . For more on Stephanie, please click on her name above to go to her website.
Eddo Hoekstra
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A protege of Walter Zettl, Eddo was my teacher extraordinaire in eight to ten clinics a year for the better part of five years. Eddo has a wonderfully playful approach, an endless array of exercises, and is an enthusiastic and tireless communicator. For more on Eddo, please click on his name above.
Walter Zettl
Walter hardly needs an introduction to most dressage enthusiasts. I was fortunate to be selected to ride with Walter in a 2004 USDF Adult Clinic series, and after that, I took every opportunity to ride with Walter, including conceiving of and creating the very first East Meets West Clinic in 2005. To visit his website, please click on his name above.
Jane McLoud
Jane is practically an institution at The Paddock Riding Club in Los Angeles. When I decided to 'reboot' my dressage education after a few years away, and was looking for a trainer who would teach me the basics and up from a staunchly classical perspective, I found Jane. I soon found myself working for Jane and for the next 18 months I was immersed in her approach, while being treated to monthly clinics with Jane's own mentor, Liz Searle. Thanks to Jane and Liz I rebuilt a solid foundation and reaffirmed my faith in classical equitation. Click on her name for more information.
Carol McArdle
I first met Carol at the same time that I met Stephanie, at the 2009 Classical Symposium, an event organized by Stephanie and Holly Hansen. Carol is a former olympic eventer turned dressage trainer, initially specializing in dressage under the tutelage of British phenom, Christopher Bartle. Since then, Carol has travelled the world seeking knowledge, most recently participating in a Phillippe Karl trainers clinic series. Carol teaches clinics countrywide, is a fantastic communicator and I have been blessed with her friendship and tutelage on both my own and her personal horses. Click on her name above for more info.
Christine Hermann
When I was ten years old I met my first real dressage instructor, Christine Hermann. It was Christine who, along with my mother, instilled in me an ironclad sense of respect for the horse, and a sense of principled horsemanship. It was also Christine who first inspired in me a fascination for dressage. The daughter of a jockey turned cavalry man turned businessman and warmblood breeder, Christine was initially taught by the renowned instructor Egon Stenbjerggaard. Later on, Colonel and Bereiter Aage Sommer would become her mentor. She herself became an avid competitor and wonderful instructor who passed on their teachings with alacrity. I was very fortunate to be at the receiving end of her wisdom, untill a terrible accident ended Christine's equestrian career. Never one to be held down for long, Christine went on to become an accomplished golf player and to, for a number of years, act as Team Captain for the Danish Junior & Women's National Teams.
In 2014, Christine visited me for a few days, and it was an extraordinary and fun feeling to be riding in front of my first dressage coach again, after all those years. And Christine's eyes still did not miss a thing!