David Blake Dressage Clinic

This past weekend found me at Traumhof, auditing a great dressage clinic and spending time with grandson Ian. David Blake, who trains with Steffen and Shannon Peters in California, rode most of the horses at least one of the two days and was able to make progress on problems the riders were having... plus help them understand how to work with their horses on their own.

David used a lot of body language while instructing riders. Here he is leaning with Lily, Jessica's Grand Prix mare.




Nicki and Lily, always an elegant pair, became even more so under David's tutelage.


Lily had to really stretch to satisfy David. But she loves performing and I think was excited to find how much more she could do than she thought.




Rudeau (Rudi) looked like a fire-breathing dragon on frosty Sunday morning. Rudi is Lily's 6-year-old, embryo-transfer son. The flashy gelding can sometimes be a challenge but David loved him.


Unlike Rudi, Joe the Friesian could be a bit lazy for his diminutive rider. David got him fired up for her.


All the horses and riders made improvement from Saturday to Sunday. Everyone went home encouraged and happy.

For fun, Jessica brought out two of the horses in her barn that were not in the clinic just to show David the variety they have at Traumhof. Penny, the mini cross, and Pumba, the Percheron, greeted each other in the arena.


It was a fun weekend. There are always great clinics with great clinicians at Traumhof. Check their website for an up-to-date clinic schedule. http://www.traumhofdressage.com/