| West Coast Dressage Convention brings Edward Gal & Hans Peter Minderhoud to Southern California. photos & text by Kim F. Miller
West Coasters are getting a little spoiled with the caliber of coaches brought in from afar these last few years by Scott Hayes Productions. On April 21-22, Dutch Olympians Edward Gal and Hans Peter Minderhaud came to the peacefully gorgeous El Campeon Farms in the Los Angeles area’s Hidden Valley. They worked with seven horse/rider pairs each day, the same pairs each day except Saturday the finale was Sabine Schut-Kery and her budding Grand Prix star Sanceo, while on Sunday, Dawn White O’Connor worked with the 9-year-old, Esperanza, by the accomplished Dutch Warmblood sire, Jazz. With the El Campeon court surrounded by approximately 500 people each day, the setting was lovely and the weather perfect. The horses, however, found it quite electric. Edward and Hans Peter spent much time sharing their strategies for gently getting training work done even when the horses preferred to take in their surroundings and strut their stuff. Every horse needed something a little different, but there was common advice to the riders: be patient in training while asserting a leadership role and go forward!The Man Who Listens To Horses author and renowned horseman Monty Roberts demonstrated accomplishments with a formerly wild Mustang during Saturday’s lunch break. The rest of the weekend’s downtime was easily filled by shopping for everything from a new shadbelly to arena footing re-dos and simply strolling around the beautiful El Campeon campus. The privately-owned farm, by the way, donated all of the approximately $20,000 facility rental fee to the Ventura County firefighters and sheriffs.
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