Fellowship Training at Millfield School.

Danny Anholt and his dedicated team at Millfield hosted an excellent training day on Friday 18th March, providing a great opportunity for those preparing for the Fellowship exam or just wanting to improve their coaching skills.

The day started with Danny running through the presentation that he had used in his Fellowship exam, which very effectively combined a power point presentation and a practical demonstration of horses and riders over fences.  Danny highlighted the basic correct principles of rider position, particularly over fences, using his very competent ‘guinea pig’ riders and a brief yet informative history lesson.

Next there was the chance to coach a group jump lesson with three well established riders on quality horses.  This was followed by individual dressage lessons with two riders on their own horses.  Both combinations compete at PSG, so this was a great opportunity for the coaches to work with riders of this level.

Lunch was followed by individual advanced jump lessons with two talented young competition riders.  Both were super to coach and open to the ideas and methods the coaches used.

Two quality horses were provided for the last session of the day, the lunge jumping.  Both horses provoked discussions on all aspects of this session, from lunge equipment to the value of jumping horses on the lunge.

Throughout the day Danny provided constructive feedback and encouraged everyone to share ideas and offer opinions.  He helped to dispel misconceptions about the requirements of the Fellowship exam, emphasising correct basic training principles and sound coaching techniques are the route to success.

By Sarah Spencer-Williams