Here at Barguse Riding Centre, we not only provide informative riding lessons on our school horses but also cater for the private horse owner who wishes to develop their skills further.
Barguse is unique in being able to provide training for all levels of rider from complete beginner to the most experienced horse owner.
Lisa Todd
I first began my riding career concentrating on BS jumping and BE eventing. However, my passion for dressage was triggered after I was fortunate to take some lessons with the late Franz Rochowansky (former Chief Rider of the Spanish Riding School) as a teenager. Thus, began a long and at times painful journey discovering the intricacies of dressage and the various training techniques. Some more successful than others!!
I’ve been fortunate to have had training with some of the UK’s top trainers. However, it was through purchasing a Woodlander horse that I was introduced to Michael Beining when Lynne Crowden of Woodlander Stud donated some lessons. It was a major turning point in my riding and training career. Despite having trained and competed from novice to advanced level with some success, I noticed that my horses were going in a completely different way despite not always being physically designed to do the job and the results were beginning to get noticed!
Total credit has to go to German dressage trainer, Michael Beining, who taught me the correct use of the seat and enabled me to truly understand the German Scales of Training. It sparked the start of my interest and love for the bio-mechanics of the horse and rider and why it is important to understand how the two must work together to create a harmonious combination. I realized that in order to be able to ride a horse effectively, certain tools needed to be in place and without those elements, the chances of success were diminished.
The focus on these basics is often overlooked by coaches and trainers with the emphasis normally on the horse rather than improving the skill set of the rider. This awareness helped not only to shape my riding but also how I approached my coaching. A rider can only train a horse correctly if they have a certain set of skills in place and as a coach I realized that I had to educate riders on those. Not only did they need to understand the biomechanics of the horse and themselves but they also had to have the right mindset. My ability to coach effectively meant I needed to be on my A game regards understanding each rider’s unique learning style and so I embarked on becoming a mindset and NLP accredited practitioner!
I love teaching all levels of rider including para and have a particular interest in teaching junior riders, many, of whom are now doing really well in dressage, SJ & XC competitions and are interestingly always complimented on how well they sit in the saddle and use their seat!! At Barguse, we pride ourselves in producing riders from beginners to advanced and have witnessed riders from all backgrounds go onto affiliated competitions in all disciplines with great success.
There’s no fast track to being a high achiever, it’s purely down to quality practice over an extended period of time ( scientifically proven as being north of 10,000 hours) to be able to master your game in whatever sphere you are in. We like to think we help contribute to a large part of those hours here at Barguse!
If you wish to find out further information regarding coaching, mindset work and NLP then please follow me on FB at Lisa Todd Coaching or insta @ lisa_toddcoaching. If you are interested in lessons or off the horse mindset/coaching sessions please contact the office on 01208 831817 for more details.
