who is so old that their trainer was...............

Lots of those names are familiar to me, though I never had the pleasure (?) of meeting them as not based in UK. But I did have lessons from Irish Kellett who trained Eddie Macken and Paul Darragh among others, and a clinic with David Broome.

On the other side of the coin, my OH remembers when he was an AI student in the UK teaching 4 young brothers on their own ponies - turned out they were Whitakers!!
 
I went on a course with Eddie Goldman. It was arranged by a woman who had won Badminton and she was competing again that year. I am sure it was a way of having her training paid for!
Instead of having three or four people in sessions he had all of us working in the arena - 2 hrs a.m. and 2 p.m. It was indoors in a 20 x 40 arena so it was very crowded. Needn't have worried as he had people leaving in droves and by the first afternoon we were down to six riders.

Sure, he knew his stuff but he was very rude and arrogant - he had most riders in tears.

One older woman who had a very nice little horse had left and come back he had out her down so. He was very rude to me but I'd paid my money and was bloody well going to stick it out. When the woman tried to get her horse to go up a grid of four trot poles, a bounce and then a 2'6" jump she was a nervous wreck and the horse kept running out or stopping.
He made her get off and put the event rider on it and the horse did the same thing with her. The rest of us were stood in line and I said to the girl next to me "I understand what he wants." He must have had ears of a bat because he told me that if I knew so much to get on the horse and do it.
I got on the horse but the stirrups were much to smal for me so I crossed them. I got the horse going forward and rode him into the grid. He tried to run out and stop but I drove him forward hard whereby he knocked the last bounce and the jump down so, I was getting slated for that.
Although I was still in my teens I was so mad I turned and in my best riding school teaching voice said "Sir, I was taught that if you headed a horse to a jump it either went over it or through it but never around it. If you care to put the fences back up I hope I will be able to do it as you want!"

He put the fences up and the horse popped them nicely. It felt right and was right but there was no word of praise at all.

I was later told that I should not have spoken to him like that but I would never have apologised.
He told me at the end of the course that I had improved the most and was a potentially very good rider. Afraid that my comments to him were along the lines that a couple of words of praise or encouragement during the five days then I would have improved even more.

I saw him take some individual lessons a while later and he was very different so he might not have always been so mean and rude.
 
My trainer was trained by Dick Stillwell, so I got the advantage of the exercises without being terrified by him (he was meant to be scary at times....). Also had a lesson with Iris Kellett when she did a demo at Wirral Riding Centre (ca 1978?). When I was 14 I had dressage lessons with a young instructor at the Wirral called Stephen Clarke..... now I wonder what happened to him?
 
OMG I cant not believe some people dont know who they are!! I am only 30 but rode under Fred Welsh for a number of years as a teenager. David Mould was like a ledgend I met him a couple of time and he was friends of my parents!
 
I was introduced to Dick Stilwell at Stoneleigh, when the British Equestrian Centre was there. Can't remember why..we were at Warwickshire College and were always drafted in as helpers for any exams or events at Stoneleigh, fabulous experience.
Ended up sitting in his office, a tiny cupboard at the end of the BEC building, and he was chatting away about someone he'd been training "Silly girl, had to sack her as she was pregnant....You're not pregnant are you?" I remember blushing bright red and shaking my head frantically. Very un-PC, but very much of the times and funny in hindsight :)
 
lionman said:
Dick Stillwell, or even David Mould!! I am and so very proud. I must not forget the lovely Fred Welsh, who was the most wonderful insperation to me as a teenager.
Click to expand...

I'm 25 and I know who you're talking about- my mum was competing through the 60s, 70s and 80s!

Was David Mould related to a show jumper, or eventer who rode either 'our nobby' or 'Stroller'? Marianne (?)
 
Double_choc_lab said:
What about Lionel Dunning. Did a jumpingn course at Urchinwood with him. Remember his sjer Jungle Bunny.

Also wasn't it Fred Welch not Welsh??
Click to expand...

I've also been on a jumping course with Lionel Dunning (1985, when I still had a waistline!) and still use a lot of the tricks he taught us while I'm teaching.
Jungle Bunny, and another of his, Sea Pearl, came to Brickfields Horsecountry, Isle of Wight when they retired. They were part of the visitor attraction and took part in the horse parade twice a day. Jungle Bunny was proper grumpy, I hated having to 'do' him!
 
superted1989 said:
I've also been on a jumping course with Lionel Dunning (1985, when I still had a waistline!) and still use a lot of the tricks he taught us while I'm teaching.
Jungle Bunny, and another of his, Sea Pearl, came to Brickfields Horsecountry, Isle of Wight when they retired. They were part of the visitor attraction and took part in the horse parade twice a day. Jungle Bunny was proper grumpy, I hated having to 'do' him!
Click to expand...


Lionel still teaches. My friend has regular lessons with him. She thinks the world of him :)
 
Did a Dick Stillwell course back in the mid 1980s and it was brilliant. I thought he was really nice particularly as my newly acquired horse was at the bottom end of the rung compared to the others. He rode her for a while and the exercises he had us doing were amazing. A few weeks later at Windsor Park he came up and had a chat.
 
Does anyone in the North remember Dorothy Johnson? Or know if she's still around? She did a tv series about riding in the 1960s.

I couldn't afford lessons from her, but used to watch her lessons and help her set up an indoor arena for competitions & demonstrations she used to organise. She was very sweet.
 
FionaM12 said:
Does anyone in the North remember Dorothy Johnson? Or know if she's still around? She did a tv series about riding in the 1960s.

I couldn't afford lessons from her, but used to watch her lessons and help her set up an indoor arena for competitions & demonstrations she used to organise. She was very sweet.
Click to expand...

I remember her. I was just a kid so never had lessons with her but someone at my riding school did. She seemed rather old to me then, but I was very young, I have no idea if she's still around.
 
Tapir said:
I remember her. I was just a kid so never had lessons with her but someone at my riding school did. She seemed rather old to me then, but I was very young, I have no idea if she's still around.
Click to expand...

Were you in the Lancs/Merseyside area then Tapir? Dorothy lived in Aughton when I knew her.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top