Thursday, March 16, 2006

Jan Brink's First Clinic in America Hosted by Arredando Dressage
By Shaneen Kohler

Dressage is for Many Breeds

The breed is not as important. For dressage to be global, it needs to appeal to a wide field, he said. Some of the breeds represented at the symposium were Arabians, Lipizzaners, Oldenburgs, Holsteiners, Rheinlanders and Dutch, Danish and Swedish warmbloods.

Riders were Jodie Kelly, Diane Ritz, Jami Van Uitert, Laura Wharton, Susanne Benne, Leslie Eden, Lisa Giltner, Jean Thornton, Noelle Shema, Alison Brock, Sharon Jerdeman, Hannah Johnson, Alex Robertson, Maya Sniadecky, Heather Stalker, Sue Kolstad and Sofia Wahlstedt.

However, be sure to stretch your limits mentally. “If you never try to go up to your limits and stretch, then you will never move up. But you have to play with it. You can’t push your limits all the time.” He said some people are limiting their riding potential because they like to stay in the “comfort zone.”

Brink is king of going beyond the comfort zone, to the delight of all who are mesmerized by his performances. Described as a “phenomenal rider,” Brink and Briar’s latest accomplishment is a championship at CHIO Aachen 2005, which Brink defines as “the best show in the world. Aachen is a really, really big thing to be in. My wins there in 2005 were my greatest accomplishments.”

His next stop? With the World Equestrian Games being held in Germany in August, there is a pretty good bet that’s where you will see the next remarkable performances by Jan Brink and Bjorsells Briar.