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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

Let's Talk Trainers

8/7/2019

 
I've been stirring the pot a lot around here lately. How about a little more?

A comment was made a few weeks back that sort of took a pot shot at my trainer, Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables. The person commenting stated that her students were all earning scores in the high 60s and low 70s at Third Level, which I clearly am not. She also went on to say that her students wouldn't use her name and website (these are my words ...) while being a sucky rider and sharing that fact with the world. She didn't put it exactly like that, but that's what she meant.
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Chemaine on Dazzle.
Virtually all of the criticism I get on social media rolls off me like water off a duck's back. Most of you understand that I am an adult amateur doing the best that I can; just like you are. I can't afford to have a horse in full training, and even if I could, there's not a trainer here in town anyway. Instead, I make do with a few lessons a month.

When I read the comment I'm referring to, my hackles went straight up. Number one, the woman commenting left only a first name, so it is very hard to confirm the veracity of her comment. Number two, it struck me as  arrogant to state that her students are earning high 60s and low 70s. Is that every student every time? You mean they never get a 58% ever? If so, she must have a clientele loaded with very talented women who are clearly destined for bigger and better things.
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Chemaine on Belle.
There was more to the comment of course, but I took issue with the insinuation that my trainer isn't doing her job. Let me tell you a little bit about Chemaine's credentials. According to USDF records, there are currently 253 riders who have earned their Bronze Freestyle bars, 302 riders with their Silver Freestyle bars, and only 180 riders who have achieved their Gold Freestyle bars. Chemaine has earned all three of them. She has also earned all three of her medals, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. As an interesting note, there are only 1,556 riders who have a Gold Medal. That's an elite crowd for sure.
Picture
Chemaine on Rocky.
I share these statistics to substantiate my claim that Chemaine is a very talented rider. A quick glance at her scores on USDFScores.com confirms that she's not a one hit wonder. She knows what she's doing which is one of the reasons that I've chosen her to be my trainer. That's not the only reason though.
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Still Rocky
I hope that Chemaine is not unique as a trainer because first and foremost, she cares about your horse's well-being. She wants him to be happy and comfortable in his work. That means she's willing to try a lot of things, even some things that might seem "unorthodox." In my case, we put a lower level horse in the double bridle. Shocking I know, but she was looking for a way to help me communicate with him so that he could understand what was being asked of him. When it didn't work, she made a different suggestion. It turned out that Izzy actually really likes a ported bit and not a snaffle. I now switch between the ported bit and a legal dressage bit that doesn't break like a snaffle. The experiment with the double bridle gave us that information.
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Clinician at Horse Expo, Pomona
The second reason that I adore Chemaine as my trainer is that she also really, really cares about all of her students. While she would love for all of us to be earning scores in the high 60s and low 70s, she's proud of us even when we don't. Her mission is to help us achieve our goals, not hers. Sometimes those goals simply mean entering at A. Sometimes the goal is just not to get eliminated. Or in my case, earning a 60% on a horse that I am basically training myself. Of course I want to score higher, and of course I want to earn a Bronze Medal, but Chemaine recognizes that I need to be supported in the smaller stuff in order to get there.
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Chemaine, Speedy, and me winning the RAAC Elite Division at Second Level in 2018.
I am always very concerned about embarrassing Chemaine. I can't stand to let her down, and I worry that other people will judge her based on my riding. (Gee, a little like what just happened). When we don't get an obedient change or Speedy gets behind the vertical, I fret that they'll think she doesn't know how to teach. Believe me, she does. But rather than tell me I can't show until ______________, she encourages me to get out there and try and see what happens.  She knows that I enjoy showing and that I need the challenge of the show ring to really help me step up my game.
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Team Symphony
I don't want a trainer who is more concerned with how I am going to make her look than she is about helping me achieve my goals. Chemaine could probably have a retinue of high scoring ladies if she were less concerned about having fun and appreciating the process. But I don't think that's her. Enjoying the journey, laughing about the mistakes, and continuing to strive for the best that we can be is more her style.

I bet most of you have trainers like Chemaine. Trainers that know that your 59.8% was the best you could do at that given moment. They aren't worried that you're making them look bad. They care about you and your horse more than they care about how you're making them look. 

To those hard working, compassionate trainers, we salute you!
Kathy Garner link
8/7/2019 07:20:28 am

Bravo, Karen.

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/7/2019 04:02:45 pm

;0)

Tracy link
8/7/2019 08:03:34 am

YES, YES, YES!! Thank you for saying this Karen -- because being an equestrian and a horsewoman is so, so much more than just horse shows (and the placings you get at them). A trainer that supports you and that allows you to make mistakes so you can learn from them is worth their weight in gold and Chemaine sounds exactly like that.

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/7/2019 04:03:27 pm

She is, Tracy. I know you have a similarly minded trainer or you wouldn't be riding with her. :0)

Laura link
8/7/2019 08:21:38 am

Well said - most coaches have students of different levels, financial means, horses and goals ...so it makes sense to me to have students achieving things that aren't all 70s and 80s on tests sounds pretty normal and reasonable to me!

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/7/2019 04:04:00 pm

Right?! That's what I thought.

Laura link
8/8/2019 06:45:01 am

I was on my phone last comment, but I meant to add this Roosevelt quote - it has us adult ammys written all over it! And you are a wonderful example of daring greatly - you are in the arena trying and working hard every day!

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/8/2019 06:49:17 am

Laura, thank you. That brought tears to my eyes. What beautiful and inspiring words for a rider to hear (and anyone else, really). That quote should be plastered to every barn wall to remind us that effort is never wasted. I love it!

Mary
8/7/2019 10:13:30 am

That comment was way off base and does not give any credit to the fact that Chemaine has brought you and Speedy up through level 1. You and Speedy (and Izzy) have blossomed under her guidance and continue to challenge yourself as you move up the levels. I would think that you would be any instructor's dream pupil. Thank you for documenting your journey in full. I know I am not alone in cheering for your successes and taking encouragement in your setbacks as you universally overcome them.

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/7/2019 04:06:46 pm

Thank you, Mary. That's really kind of you to say. I write this blog because I want every other rider out there to know that you don't have to have a fancy warmblood, you don't have to be rich, and you don't have to be fabulous. It's not easy sharing my disappointments, but when I do so many people feel free to share theirs. Life is a lot more fun when we support one another on both the good days and the bad. :0)

Desirea Herrera
8/7/2019 02:47:33 pm

I didn't see the comment made and I'm not gonna go find it. It's not even worth my time.

I wonder if this trainer has heard that dressage is a journey. Do they know that learning ANYTHING requires failure and practice to get good at it? Do they understand that horses are like people... they have BAD days too?

And another thing, if they have to come spew how great they are on the internet... maybe they aren't all that great.

All her students are getting 60s & 70s? Really, all of them.... especially after she basically said they weren't allowed to user her name or her website? And just how long did it take those students to get to those scores?

Nobody and I mean NOBODY starts out knowing how to do everything and magically having the skillset & the horse to be able to get those scores. (Well not unless they have pushbutton horses who do the work all on their own.)

So we have a trainer with a lot of questionable and conflicting comments. Again, not worth my time nor yours.

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/7/2019 04:08:59 pm

Yes, yes, yes!!!! I didn't share her exact comment or the post where it was written because I didn't feel like it was worth the effort. I did feel the need to defend Chemaine's credentials and teaching abilities though (and maybe even mine, too). It sounds like lots of other people have the same view of that trainer.

Karen T.
8/7/2019 06:16:44 pm

I'm the queen of 58 and 59%s! My coach has never been embarassed of me. Sometimes I just get a little ambitious haha. I admire those who get out in the ring, even if they get a not so exceptional score (although a score in the high 50s is not a failure in my opinion. Just means you have some polish to work on). There are so many more armchair judges who never even have the guts to show. So. Keep on keepin on.

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/8/2019 06:00:41 am

That's my thinking too, especially since I am quite honest about the fact that I am essentially training my own horse through the levels. I am not claiming to be a professional, so when my scores suggest I need to work on something, it should come as no surprise. :0)

Laura link
8/8/2019 11:41:30 am

You're welcome... :-) That quote helps me a lot when I'm wondering why I'm struggling and for what... Good idea to print it and put it in the barn.

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/8/2019 12:36:04 pm

:0)


Comments are closed.

    About the Writer and Rider

    ​I am a lifelong rider. 
    I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.
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