Garland Farms Dressage

Testimonial by Marti Steussy

December 1998

Garland Farms came to me (or rather, I to it) as a 20th-anniversary present. My husband, knowing that I was frustrated with trying to learn dressage on horses that were as ignorant as I, went to Alta Vista and searched for "DRESSAGE CAMP." Up came the Garland Farms page. A week at Garland proved to be the best present I've ever gotten.

I was anxious, to be sure. Correspondents from equestrian email lists assured me that Gina Krueger was highly competent, helpful, and encouraging. But this was a Hanoverian breeding farm--would they sneer at horses that weren't warmbloods? Would black riding britches suffice, or would they require cream? Would a training/first level rider be lost in a crowd of FEI divas?

Well, it's not THAT kind of place. Garland Farms is home to horses of a variety of colors and breeds, who spend most of their time outdoors and like to roll in the mud. John and Gina are particular about matters that have to do with the health and well-being of their horses (their barns have the functional beauty of good Shaker furniture, and a lovely clean smell of wood shavings and hoof dressing), but they are not the least bit stuffy, and John is a VERY good cook. The students I met (some of whom own or lease horses boarded at Garland, and some of whom just ride school horses) ran the gamut from very-experienced to just-learning-to-post.

It took just one lesson to root out the anxiety and replace it with enthusiasm. Gina is indeed warm, encouraging, and perceptive. She starts where you are, and helps you improve in ways that take into account your particular circumstances and possibilities. She always links her counsel about what your body needs to be doing (which, in dressage, can involve muscles you seldom think about!) with explanation of WHY you need to do it that way, in light of your own anatomy and the horse's responses. I also thought she showed excellent judgment in prioritizing our work, starting with the most important things and always keeping me busy but never overwhelming me. (TIP: bring a journal and jot down notes after your lessons--it will help you get that wealth of information home with you, and also help you spot places where you want to ask more questions.)

But Gina wasn't my only teacher: her well-trained horses played a crucial role in reinforcing the lessons, because they reliably told me when I was getting it right and when I wasn't. I rode three different horses with different sensitivities and levels of training. The most memorable moments came on the Hanoverian stallion Pik. This well-mannered gentleman is the most highly-trained horse that I have yet ridden, and the experience verified every breathlessly enthusiastic description of dressage that I have ever read: "think, and it happens."

Watching Gina herself ride, and watching her work with other students, confirmed the impressions I had gathered from the web site and my own lessons. This German-trained instructor is thorough-goingly classical in her approach. Her horses (with allowance of course for each one's particular level of training) are calm, well-mannered, deeply engaged behind, and pleasantly light to leg and hand. I had opportunity during the week to watch Gina interact with three horses who had suffered abuse at other stables. It was delightful to watch each of them begin to unwind and move more trustfully under her kind, competent guidance.

Outside the dressage arena, Garland offers the chance to ride on delightful, mostly hilly trails through the woods. I have mentioned John's excellent cooking, but one also has the option of cooking for oneself in a lounge area overlooking the indoor arena, or of going out to eat. Dahlonega is a "gateway to the Appalachians," with a tourist center's usual good supply of restaurants, craft shops, and entertainment opportunities. Hiking, climbing, and whitewater canoeing opportunities are close by.

Perhaps this testimonial sounds like advertising copy, but it's supposed to--a week in the Garland guest cabin was a wonderful experience for me as a rider, and I want the rest of the world to know what a good opportunity this is! Husbands, if you really want to "WOW" your horse-crazy wife on your 20th-anniversary, this is the present to get her.

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