Lexington, KY - Dressage riders in Florida had the opportunity to hone their skills with USEF Technical Advisor Anne Gribbons and USEF Developing Dressage Coach Debbie McDonald in a USEF Observation Session, February 14-15. Ten riders and 12 horses took part in the two

day session which followed a weekend of competition for many at the Wellington Classic Spring Challenge CDI-W.

Held at Walter and Mary Anne McPhail's High Meadow Farm in Loxahatchee, FL, the session was formatted to give all riders the unique benefit of gaining expertise from both Gribbons and McDonald. The pair worked jointly with all the riders on Monday and then split the effort on Tuesday with Gribbons lending guidance to the more advanced combinations and McDonald focusing on the developing combinations.

Rider JJ Tate saw much improvement with her Intermediaire I horse, Faberge.

"The clinic with Anne and Debbie was super helpful," said Tate. "I got assistance from both of them on the first day and it was great to get their joint feedback on my horse. On the second day, I had a fabulous ride with Debbie; I felt she helped me get to a brand new level with my horse. We followed up on what we all had worked on the first day, and Faberge just felt amazing."

Following a solid performance in the weekend's CDI-W Grand Prix, Susan Jaccoma rode Wadamur on both days of the session, "I enjoyed having the first day with Anne teaching and Debbie adding what she saw to my lesson," said Jaccoma. "Anne and Debbie work well together. I enjoyed having two pairs of experienced eyes on me!"

The next Observation Session will take place April 5-6 in San Diego, CA with Gribbons, for more information please click here

ENDS