Member Name: Katy Barglow
Katy Barglow and Relic
Age(optional): 30
Horse(s) Name, Breed, Age: Leo, 17 y.o. Hanoverian Gelding; Relic, 8 y.o. Danish WB; Rimrock, 4 y.o. Danish WB
Dressage Experience/Current Level/Goals: I’ve competed through GP, and have USDF Bronze/Silver/Gold medals and the Freestyle Gold and Bronze bars (earned on horses I trained from babies). I’m working on that Silver Bar to have all 6! Currently I’m competing Relic at 4th level and Rimrock at Training.
Trainer/Barn Affiliation if any: I teach/train from at Max Ranch, in the Blackhawk area of Danville. I take lessons whenever possible with Rachel Saavedra at Leap of Faith Farms in Walnut Creek.
Recent Achievements/Of Special Note: I’m an “L” Program graduate with disctinction and was recently admitted into the “r” judges program. Of note (from my amateur days) were winning the CDS Futurity, and USDF Horse of the Year for A/A at Grand Prix with Leo. More recently, Relic was the Danish WB Horse of the Year for 3rd level open in 2009. I’m also very involved with the US Pony Club program; working with several clubs in the area and also serving as a National Examiner, prepping and testing the upper-level candidates around the country.
At what point in your life did you realize you were “A Horse-Crazy-Person”? Mid-life horse lover, or did you become involved in horses at a young age? I started riding when I was 8 or so, talked my parents into buying me a horse at age 11, and joined Pony Club at 14. That was the beginning of the end…
What is the most important lesson your horse has taught you? Patience is one– horses don’t have the same goals and timelines as we do! Another is awareness- your horse picks up on body language that you may even be unaware of. And finally, horses have taught me to focus on the important things and to find joy and happiness in little things.
Why or how did you pick Dressage as your riding sport? I’m a scientist in my other life, and was always drawn to the analytical side of dressage. Even as a child I was never bored by it– and I love the beauty and artistic side as well.
What is the most important atribute you value in your equine Dressage partner? Kind/Forward/Safe(ish)? A good work ethic; that they come out every day and try to figure out what it is that you want! A good work ethic combined with just a smidge of athletic ability can take a horse very far.
What was your most memorable “ah-ha” riding moment or breakthrough? There have been so many! I’d say the biggest over the years has been awareness of the seat and the symmetry of the rider and how much influence it has over the horse– in terms of transitions, quality of the gait, straightness, etc.
What do you wish you would have understood earlier in your riding life that you appreciate now? That dressage is all about the quality of the basics, the quality of the gait– the movements are the easy part!
Who is your favorite clinician/trainer and why? I love working with Rachel; she is an incredibly analytical instructor who is very good at getting you to see that one little thing that makes all the difference! I have also cliniced frequently over the years with Axel Steiner, who has a great ability to get the most out of a horse, and I clinic currently with Tracey Lert, who brings a terrific judge’s eye to her teaching. Finally, I rode for years in San Diego with Donna Richardson, who was a mentor in horse-life balance (she rode on the Pan-Am team as a full-time ER doctor), as well as in riding, teaching, and training.
What is the most common correction you hear from your trainer/clinician when you ride? My straightness– I’ve always struggled with natural asymmetry, and have to battle it every day– which makes me both aware of, and sympathic to, similar issues in my students!
For Trainers: What is the most satisfying teaching moment you have experienced with a student? There are also lots of these! When teaching on my schoolmaster, it’s the moment they figure out how connect their seat to his back and bring him into passage just by that influence (and often the smile that accompanies this!) Even better is when they carry that lesson over to their own horses, and the horse accepts the aids and starts to move more beautifully. Teaching lunge lessons, it’s incredible when a student figures out they can ride trot-canter-trot transitions with no hands, trusting the security of their seat. Finally, watching a student come down centerline after a good test, at any level, is always a satisfying moment!
What is your favorite Dressage memmory? Coming down the centerline of the Grand Prix Freestyle at Championships at Rancho Murietta, with Leo, under the lights at night. We had a whole cheering section in the crowd who had known us when he was 3 and I was 16, and there we were all grown up, almost 10 years later! We put in a beautiful test and I was teary-eyed at the final salute.
Katy Barglow and Leo
What advice/guidance would you give to a newcomer to the Dressage sport? To begin with, you need 2 things: a good instructor you can trust, and a horse you feel comfortable and safe on. Take opportunies to develop your eye and your education so you can evaluate yourself and your horse objectively. Finally, it makes a world of difference, even occasionally, to ride a trained horse. It’s very hard to know where you are going if you have never felt it– a good schoolmaster is an incredible education.
What is your favorite Dressage book or publication? I’m a big fan of the Klimke Books: Cavelletti, and the Basic Training of the Young Horse. And I read Dressage Today and USDF connection cover to cover every month.
What other interest, achievement or activity do you have that might surprise your fellow EB CDS Members? That I work another job outside horses– I’m a PhD Biochemist at UC Berkeley, working in cancer research. And that I’m a cat person as well as a horse person–my husband and I share our townhouse with 4!
Open Comments: Check out my website at www.barglowdressage.com for photos, news, and other goodies…
