Featured Equestrian Clinician - Michael Barisone
The following is provided through a partnership between STRIDER , the leading entry platform for equestrians, and the United States Eventing Association (USEA.)Ā As part of our commitment to diversity, enabling access, and building capacity throughout the industry we are pleased to support interviews and webinars to benefit the equestrian sportĀ This article was initially published on useventing.com and is republished here to ensure maximum dissemination. All content is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without written permission.
Outside of the horse world, Olympic dressage rider & trainer Michael Barisone is perhaps best known as āthe man who taught Stephen Colbert to āpiaffe itāā on TV.
To dressage enthusiasts, heās one of The Big Guys; a part of that extremely small group of extraordinary riders who has been to the Olympics both as a team member and as a coach.
To eventers, heās often known as the man who has worked with Olympic team members Phillip Dutton, Boyd Martin, and Clark Montgomery, along with countless other top riders in the sport.
A basic foundation is important for everyone. It doesnāt matter how gifted or talented your horse is. He still needs the basics,ā he reiterated. āWhen you have a really special horse, donāt treat him any different than any other horse. He still has to be normal.ā
Barisone has seen a wide range of horses and riders.Ā As a member of the 2008 US Olympic Dressage Team and coach for the 2016 Bronze Medal winning Olympic Dressage Team and 2012 Olympic Eventing Team, Barisone coaches professional, Jr/YR and amateur riders from green to Grand Prix.
Based out of Long Valley, New Jersey and Loxahatchee, Florida, our team at STRIDER was able to get a hold of him in a rare free moment over lunch during a recent clinic at Sprieser Sporthorse in Marshall, Virginia.
Keeping up with Barisone is no small feat as heās in a constant state of motion. Heās often driving or flying to teach clinics when heās not coaching his students at various national and international competitions. Often heāll move repeatedly from sitting in a chair to standing in the center of an arena while teaching to better illustrate his points.
His expectation for clinic riders and attendees is not that they show up ready to tackle every movement from the Grand Prix, but simply that they are ready āto listen and try new ideas.”
For someone who has had such a long and illustrious career, with over 100 CDI Grand Prix wins under his belt including a World Cup Gold Medal (Hickstead, 1997), one might presume that Barisone might not be particularly interested in teaching riders who arenāt ready to achieve 80% at Grand Prix. Fortunately for our community, thatās not the case at all!
āIt doesnāt matter if you have a green youngster who keeps ignoring your direction under saddle or youāre working on polishing up the two-tempi changes before the regional finals,” he explained. āYouāve got to be interested in learning the building blocks of riding to move forward at this sport. The key to success is total mastery of basic concepts.ā
As riders, we yearn to find and implement that magical key to horse training that will fast-track us to success and stardom. Barisone tells us though, āThere are no instantaneous, miraculous victories.ā
Barisone’s patience with training is often cited by his students and one of his top qualities.Ā Barisoneās teaching and riding show clear reverberations of this mantra to a causal observer.
Barisone admits that being diligent with the foundational aspects of horse training can often be time-consumptive and seemingly unglamorous. He emphasizes, āIt might be dull at times, but it will get you further than any other approach.ā
Michael Barisone teaching a clinic at Sprieser Sporthorse, Image copyrighted by Liz Bloom and may not be reproduced without written permission.
Interested in seeing Michael Barisone in action? You can find tickets to audit his upcoming clinics as well as other amazing riding opportunitiesĀ on the popular STRIDER platform for equestrians.