Eventing training on riding school horses

Laura, Zoe and Alex, riding the Highfield horses, start their final day's training with Paul Tapner

Clinics with top riders are one of the best ways to learn new techniques, build confidence and enjoy new experiences. But what if you don’t own a horse and still want to participate in eventing clinics? Never fear, there is a solution for riders without their own horses

We met three girls, twins Zoe and Alex Rodgers and Laura Trujillo, who participated in a three day training session clinic with Paul Tapner late in 2013 and found out what they gained from the training days riding borrowed horses.

How sweet! Dave and Bec look like proud parents (of the horses, of course) as they watch on

All three girls have riding backgrounds in the countries they grew up in but, with their current commitments, are unable to own their own horses and only ride once a week . They now train with Dave Prior and Rebecca Alsop (Bec), who are behind the concept of the Melbourne Eventing Team, at Highfield Equestrian Centre, just outside of Melbourne. The easy access to Highfield, only 15 minutes from the Melbourne CBD and the quality of the horses offered here make it a viable choice for the girls to continue enjoying their riding and learning more.

Alex and Highfield Don Luca

Zoe rode Highfield Luda on the Rocks (Roxy), a chestnut horse usually competed by Dave at 1* level, Alex rode Highfield Don Luca, a Pre-Novice level horse and Laura rode Haymagnificent, a 6 year old bay who had started a career in dressage but decided it wasn’t really his thing before coming to Dave and Bec.

We watched their session with Paul on the final day of the three day clinic and will be showing you some of the exercises Paul used soon. In this interview the girls talk about how they came to ride at Highfield and what they each learned during Paul’s training sessions on these special riding school horses

“The first day was a bit of a disaster” Laura admits, having had a shaky start to the clinic “But the end result was today when I had one of the best rides of my life”. Not bad when you consider she has ridden at riding schools around the world!

Laura, Alex and Zoe after Paul Tapner clinic