Mandy Maiden

Background:

I began my wild and wonderful life with horses as a horse-crazy 5-year-old girl trapped in a non-horsey family, and my passion for horses has taken me from riding the streets of Camden Park to galloping along West Beach, Western Districts Riding Club, Hack Shows, Dressage, Show Jumping, Eventing, starting young horses and renovating riding horses, beginning to coach in my spare time to coaching full-time in my own business. Horses have motivated me to study and to attend so many clinics here in SA, interstate and internationally, and to gain coaching qualifications with Equestrian Australia and more recently to attain a Teaching Licence with Philippe Karl’s Ecole de Légèretè. I have been blessed to share my life with amazing horses and wonderful students who have taught me everything I know, and continue to inspire, challenge and educate me every day.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Education

• EA Level 2 Dressage Coach
• EA Level 1 General Coach
• EA Coach Educator
• Ecole de Légèreté Licenced Teacher

Who and/or what inspired you to be a coach?

Horses inspire me to coach. Horses need a voice in our world, otherwise they suffer in silence. They are too kind, generous, willing and forgiving by nature, and this allows them to be exploited and abused, and in spite of this they will continue to try until they break, physically, mentally or emotionally, whichever gives first.

I love how Tom Dorrance would declare himself the horse’s lawyer, and I want to do the same.

“A horse’s willingness to oblige doesn’t automatically give us the right to demand.” Karen Rohlf

Why do you coach?

I love horses, I love learning and teaching about horses, and I love meeting, helping and working with like minded people. I coach because it enables me to help horses by helping their riders understand them – to see things from their horse’s point of view, and to communicate rather than control.

My aim is to instil in my students a passion for excellence in horse welfare, horse management, training and riding, so that true love and respect for the horse will always be their compass!

“The Art of Riding consists above all of learning to understand the horse: how to use him without abusing him. It can be summarised in two words – fairness and correctness.” Philippe Karl

Do you have any special interests within the Equine coaching/equestrian field?

Horsemanship, anatomy, physiology, locomotion and balance, psychology, ethology, healthy biomechanics, gymnastic development, Classical Dressage, and the teachings of the classical Riding Masters (Ecuyers), relaxation, straightness and true collection.

What type of equestrian coaching do you offer?

• Horsemanship, Classical Dressage, Jumping
• Private lessons. Also shared and group lessons by arrangement
• Clinics – with me, and also interstate and international instructors
• Horse University (theory courses)
• Young Horse Club (puppy school for horses)
• Mentoring for coaches and riders
• Starting young horses
• Horses taken in for training

All with absolute respect for the horse as the central principle of everything I do.

What do you see as the biggest challenge/area of importance in equestrian and coaching?

The emphasis on competition, especially for young riders, and the corresponding egocentric attitude that this can foster. Competition has become the driving force behind why many people do what they do with their horses, and the horse therefore becomes a piece of sports equipment. The focus is then on what the horse must do for you, instead of what you can do for your horse. The welfare of the horse is not the number one priority, despite what codes of ethics may say to the contrary!

What positive role/contribution can coaches offer for the future of equestrian sport and the welfare of horses & riders?

Be a role model and fierce advocate for the horse, his needs, his health and his happiness.

Live by and uphold the FEI’s objective of Dressage (see FEI Rulebook Article 401) “The object of dressage is the development of the horse into a happy athlete through harmonious education, resulting in a horse that is calm, loose, supple and flexible, but also confident and keen, thus achieving perfect understanding with his rider.”

Love your horse! Move in harmony with healthy biomechanics. Enjoy the process. Keep learning and evolving.

“In order to train horses, a rider must have a complete understanding of the subject. Make him a companion, and not a slave, then you will see what a true friend he is.” Nuno Oliviera

“What we must do is work in Lègéreté! Anything else is a massacre of innocents.” M Henrique