Volume 9

Freestyle Dressage Clinic

In order to prepare horses and riders for the Central Florida Dressage’s 2009 Fabulous Freestyle Event, Barry McKie conducted a Freestyle Coaching Clinic at Wind Song Farms in Apopka, Florida.  The purpose of the clinic was to provide an opportunity for riders in the upcoming Fabulous Freestyle event to get Freestyle coaching, critiquing, and do a run-through of their musical in the actual arena they would be performing, complete with the large sound system.

Each rider in the clinic got a warm-up and preparation lesson from Barry prior to riding to their music.  After the horse and rider were ready, the rider then performed his or her Musical Freestyle to an enthusiastic crowd of the other riders and auditors.  Barry provided many excellent pointers and suggestions, working with the riders to fine tune their riding and performances.  The horse and rider then were able to run through their musical one more time to confirm their performance.

During the lunch break, Barry did an informal lecture with handouts, and had a question and answer session on creating a musical freestyle.  It included the components of a musical ride, selecting music, choreography, and overall showmanship of performing a musical freestyle.

Contact Capt. Barry McKie (bjmmecs@equinecommunications.com) if you would like to host a clinic like this in your area.

CFD Fabulous Freestyle

Central Florida Dressage (CFD) hosted a fabulously successful Fabulous Freestyle Dressage Exhibition at Wind Song Farms, Apopka, FL.  McKie students were there in abundance!  Beginning with Philipa McKie on one of the stallions from Legendary Lusitanos, “Barbie” was a big hit with adults and young girls alike.  Susan Croft and Beth Moore brought the house down with "The Ladies in Waiting," an elaborate duex, complete with beautiful renaissance costumes, topiary props, brave assistants (their daughters) also in costume, and a hilarious wardrobe change!  Mary Cate Miller showed off her Scottish, Welsh, and Irish roots with a performance to Celtic music.  Philipa McKie joined Melissa McGraw in top hats as their horses wore the cuffs and cufflinks “Putting on the Ritz”.  The Queen Bees performed a great quadrille, and everyone loved the creative costumes they designed and made.  Under the direction of Philipa McKie, Kevin, Michael, Blake, and Michael, boys from the Vision Quest program at the Rivendell Boys Ranch, gave an amazingly tight quadrille performance as the "Men In Black" (with the horses in sunglasses).  At the end, two of them dismounted with backflips. 

The McKie students really performed at a level that made Capt. Barry smile!

Central Florida Dressage presented awards to both Philipa and Barry McKie for their outstanding support of the Fabulous Freestyle event.

Legendary Lusitanos

We are pleased to announce that we have a new sponsor, Legendary Lusitanos.  Enjoy their website at legendarylusitanos.com.  Kathy Cook’s background as an artist really shows as you enjoy the photographs that both she and Barry have taken of the horses.  The stallions of Legendary Lusitanos are continuing their training with Capt. Barry McKie at McKie Equine Center in Altoona, FL.  Contact Kathy via the website for breeding opportunities to these three gorgeous and talented stallions.

Plumwood Guesthouses

Do you need a place to stay while you enjoy a clinic or a week of concentrated lessons at McKie Equine Center?  Then one of the Plumwood Guesthouses may be right for you.  Located conveniently near MEC and bordering the Ocala National Forest, the facilities include a covered full-size dressage arena complete with lights for evening practices.  Follow up your lessons with a ride in the woods, right out the backdoor of the Guesthouses.  Contact Laura at laura.causey@yahoo.com for prices and specific information to help you book your stay.

The newly organized Central Florida Horsemasters presented an embroidered chair to Barry to thank him for his insightful instruction this fall.  This group is in association with the Wekiva Basin Pony Club and consists of adults who want to improve their riding skills and horsemanship knowledge in order to become more educated volunteers.  Members ride English, and work on the Pony Club disciplines of dressage, jumping, and cross-country.  The group has 2 mounted meetings a month and 1 unmounted.  For further information go to http://wbpc.webs.com/horsemasters.htm.

Are you in need of a captivating performance that will “wow” your group or audience?  Capt. Barry is starting a traveling Youth Equine Display and Performance Team.  The group plans to perform with costumes and music in synchronized displays that demonstrate teamwork, horsemanship, and performance skills.  Contact Barry for more information on ways you can support this team and benefit from the performances.

Upcoming Clinic Schedule

Barry has some great clinics planned for 2010.  See the tab labeled “Clinics” on the top of his website for more information.  Remember that you can customize your own clinic by contacting Barry with your needs and location.

Lessons that have been a long time coming

Here is an example of a lesson that I have found easy to understand from Barry’s teaching, yet was a big change in my riding.  Barry used to tell me “Don’t lean” as I was always leaning in the corners and on the circle.  I thought that it was helpful to lean in, just like when you’re riding a bike or a motorcycle and you lean in on the curves.  Barry said, “Do you need to lean in to help the car go around the corner?” and I realized the answer was “No.”  Then he said, “How many legs does a horse have… 2 or 4?”  And I quickly saw how my leaning was inhibiting the horse by putting him off balance instead of helping him stay balanced.  Since then, I have watched other “leaners” and I see that it actually causes the horse to come in from the circle or corner in order to get under the rider’s weight as opposed to supporting the horse in the turn.  I still have to think about it sometimes, but Barry’s clear example will help you remember too not to lean.

Thanks for reading our newsletter, and Happy Trails!

Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

Volume 4

Volume 5

Volume 6

Volume 7

Volume 8

"Natural communication between horse and rider"

Site Last Modified:  January, 2010