Associate Trainers Program

Welcome to our Associate Trainers Program!  Below is a description of the different levels and the requirements for each.  Applicants must submit a video of themselves demonstrating their abilities for each level on a horse they themselves have trained.  Included in the video is a voice over of their own critique of that video.  Sequential videos will be of applicant giving a lesson demonstrating their ability to teach at that level of accreditation. Once the applicant is certified they will be given paid videos to critique which will be reviewed for content before being published.

Please realize that you must be interested in building a community of like minded trainers, riders, horse owners and horse enthusiasts and to maintain your status you must stay involved with Art2Ride social media outlets and become a community leader!  To change the present standards in our training systems and allowing the world to see an alternative to what is the status quo we must all become involved and support each other and stay positive. We would love to be able to offer qualified trainers around the world to people seeking help in applying the Classical Foundation Training to their own horses.

Please submit your request to be considered for the program and if approved will be invited to join the Associate Trainers site which is restricted to applicants and certified trainers.  Welcome aboard we appreciate your interest!

Foundation:

You must demonstrate to Art2Ride that you have developed the foundation skills of being able to tell whether or not a horse is working correctly over it’s back. You must understand how to teach a horse to stretch into the contact with reins and have the horse begin to work over its back using both the techniques of lunging and work in hand. You must have the patience to be able to wait for the horse to develop correctly once you have it working correctly over its back.  You must be developed as a rider to the point that you have independence of the aids and can school the horse without interfering with the animal’s balance and without conflicting the aids. You must also demonstrate the ability to share this information and correctly determine what a rider must do to engage a horse’s back.

Working:

You must demonstrate that you can train and successfully develop a horse correctly engaged in the working gaits.  Specifically the ability to develop a horse which can keep it’s back engaged while in a working frame, ridden on the weight of the reins with impulsion, rhythm and relaxation. The ability to tell when the horse is ready for the working gaits and the patience to let the horse develop enough strength to support a higher neck frame without losing the engagement of the back, impulsion, rhythm and relaxation without conflicting the aids. Applicants must have a basic understanding of proper saddle fit, shoeing and veterinary care which includes bodyworkers.

Collection:

Demonstrated the ability to develop the horse to the level of collection while maintaining the engagement of the back. To demonstrate true collection which is the bending of the joints in the hind legs which lower and begin to take more responsibility of the horses balance which allows the forehand to become lighter and more maneuverable. The ability to teach the horse in hand to begin to develop this ability to aid in the advancement to true collection.  Collection in a demonstration of the ability of the horse to gather the impulsion and project it upwards more than in the working gaits. Applicants must have an intermediate understanding of proper saddle fit, shoeing and veterinary care which includes bodyworkers.

Master:

This is the highest level awarded and the most demanding. Applicant has shown their ability to develop and train a horse to all Grand Prix movements, while maintaining the engagement of the back. Complete understanding of theory and recognition of engagement and the Classical Foundation Training steps to achieve this expertise. Applicant must demonstrate overall sensitivity and understanding of a horse’s limitations and abilities including advanced horsemanship skills. They must demonstrate their ability to develop a client/horse combination to the beginnings of all GP movements.  A high level of knowledge of the positive and negative influences of saddlefitting, shoeing and veterinary care (including bodyworkers) to create a knowledgeable, well rounded informed trainer who can help clients to do their very best for their horses.