HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 14, 2008) International Grand Prix rider, Heather Blitz, will be the featured rider and a presenter at the upcoming symposium in Houston, Texas on October 25-26, 2008.Together with Mary Wanless, BSc, BHSI, FRSA and Dr. Hillary Clayton, BVMS, PhD, MRCVS, Heather will demonstrate by riding the horses and showing how her exemplary biomechanics can work its magic on them. Her commentary, coupled with Mary's insights, will reveal some of the hidden secrets of the world's best riders.
"I am looking very forward to this month's symposium," said Heather. It's exciting to spread the word about horse and rider biomechanics to a group of information hungry riders and owners. Everyone will be able to take something very valuable home with them. Seeing the difference from the start to end of the lessons is so effective to demonstrate the effect of good biomechanics on how the horse is able to perform."
Mary has coached Heather for the past fourteen years and Heather is the 'model' in Mary's new book, Ride With Your Mind Clinic. Best known for her partnerships with Arabella and her current international Grand Prix horse Otto, Heather has had the good fortune to be able to combine natural talent with the explicit learning of biomechanical skills. She is one of the first in a new generation of dressage riders.
The session will feature some easy-to-understand theories about learning, which makes it clear why we all struggle to do the things we know we ought to be doing. It also shows the way out of the traps that beset so many people as they attempt to become skilled riders.This will be followed with some exercises that demonstrate the most significant biomechanical patterns of riding, bringing them alive in your own body, and showing what is needed to integrate into your own riding. Putting just one or two of the central pieces into the puzzle can make a huge difference and whatever level you ride at you can expect to see your strengths and weaknesses in a new light.
Mary and Heather will both be coaching, and Heather will demonstrate how her biomechanics and thought processes can work their magic. There will be plenty of time for questions.
The symposium organizer is Didi Carpenter at didicarp@flash.net
For more information, go to Heather's website www.heatherblitz.info or http://www.nakedtruthofriding.com or contact Heather's Publicist, Chris Stafford, at chris.e.stafford@gmail.com
Heather Blitz, 39, lives in Esbjerg, Denmark where she has been based since 2006. She trains and teaches Grand Prix dressage horses and her current Grand Prix partner is Otto 129, with whom she has been working for the past four years. Otto is a 12-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding (Rambo x Rampal) bred in the USA and owned by Ove Mortensen, O.R.M. Holding of Denmark.
Heather started riding at the age of five on her parents' farm in Kansas where she rode western events. She moved to college at Colorado State University where she graduated with a B.S. in Equine Science and also began focusing on dressage. After college, she relocated to Louisiana in 1993 where she worked as a trainer and instructor, and since 1994 has been competing at Grand Prix level. Competing on the show circuit each winter in South Florida, Heather refined her skills and learned a system of training involving biomechanics. She has since been working with her mentor and coach, Mary Wanless. Heather now regularly gives clinics and symposiums around the world. For Heather's clinic and symposium schedule, visit http://www.heatherblitz.info/Heather_Blitz/Clinics.html.
One of her many dressage horses that has influenced her career was her first Grand Prix horse, Rambo, with whom she started competing when he was 12 until she retired him at age 18. Heather and Rambo competed in Florida and also at Dressage at Devon where they finished in third place, which earned them an invitation to the U.S. Equestrian Federation team training sessions that proved to be a turning point in Heather's career.
Another significant partnership was with the chestnut mare, Arabella, (Rambo x April) which began when the mare was first broken in and took them all the way through Grand Prix, including being selected as reserve to the U.S. dressage team for the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. The partnership won regional championships at age four and five. At six years old, they won the FEI 6-year-old Young Horse Championship and almost qualified for the World Championships in Verden, Germany. At eight years old Arabella competed in the USEF Intermediaire Championships in San Juan Capistrano, California, where they finished in fifth place.
Heather's Upcoming Competitions
CDI 3* Odense, Denmark - October 15-18
CDI 3* Oldenburg, Germany - November 6-11
CDI 5* Stuttgart, Germany - November 20-22
CDI-W Stockholm, Sweden - November 28-30
CDI-W Frankfurt, Germany - December 8-12
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