Dressage at Devon is thrilled to announce Australian Brett Parbery as its 2024 Masterclass presenter. For the past two years, Dressage at Devon (DaD) has been one of the few venues to host a Masterclass in North America, and the 2024 installation is sure to be as exciting as past presentations.

In 2010, Parbery took Australian home-bred, Victory Salute, to a top ten finish in the World Equestrian Games, the highest rank for an Australian dressage rider in the event. With the same mount, he earned top spots at Aachen CHIO, Rotterdam CHIO and other international competitions. Throughout his career he has represented Australia internationally, both as a rider and coach — he coached the Australian eventing team at the London Olympics, helping them lead in the dressage phase.

Photo – Brett Parbery (James Abernethy Photography)

Brett has been professionally riding, training and coaching dressage since 2000, with years of riding experience before breaking into dressage. He grew up in a family of devoted horse people, his father professionally breaking and training horses in cattle horse sports. Brett got his start by competing in everything from campdrafting, polocrosse and pony club before eventually becoming one of Australia’s top 20 bronc riders in the late 1980s. After his rodeo career, he decided the world of dressage would be his next challenge. He moved to Europe and learned from top dressage trainers, coming home three years later to start his own training program.

Modern Australian

Describing his style of training, Parbery says, “One of my favorite restaurants serves beautiful food that they call ‘Modern Australian,’ a fusion of our British and European influences, with a uniquely Australian flavor, all combined to create something fresh and new. My training style is similar. I’ve lived, ridden, and trained alongside the world’s most successful riders and trainers in Europe, and I’ve worked very hard over many years (in the saddle and as a coach) to develop my own training system that combines those classical principles with a high-performance sports focus, all underpinned with my own background of horse mastery learned growing up in my home country, Australia.”

As a trainer, Parbery strives for inclusivity with his Performance Riders program. This online platform gives everyone in the sport a chance to learn from the best. “I believe high performance is a mindset, not an outcome, and should be available for any rider who wants to perform at their best. We owe that to our horses,” he says. Over his 25 plus years in the sport, Parbery has worked to distill concepts that seem mysterious and difficult into ideas that are attainable to every rider.

Top Priority

“I would like everyone thinking of coming to DaD to know that my perspective of riding and training comes from an athlete who has worked his way into the top group of riders in the world and is now on a journey once again to those heights. I’m training in a way in which horse welfare is my top priority, in which horse and rider development is my daily motivation, and in a way that is understandable to all. If a sports-minded approach and horse-friendly training through optimizing ourselves as people resonates with the DaD community, we’re off to a great start and we’re going to have an awesome time together at Devon,” Parbery says.

Dressage at Devon’s Masterclass series further exemplifies the non-profit’s dedication to educating the equestrian community. Every year, the organization hosts educational offerings with the Masterclass as a recent standout. DaD relies on donations to sustain the cost of providing these unforgettable experiences. If you’d like to donate, please visit DaD’s website.

As in prior years, the demonstration of classical dressage through the levels will be featured in this year’s Masterclass. For 2024, spectators can also expect to see enhanced diversity amongst the horses and riders, with select representation from equestrian disciplines such as Western Dressage.

Crowd Favorite

DaD’s Masterclass has already been a crowd favorite. In 2023, World number two dressage rider Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour inspired the packed crowd with her teachings and emphasized crucial elements such as patience, rhythm and reward. The star-studded lineup of demo riders — Hope Beerling, Lauren Sammis, Boyd Martin, Lindsay Kellock Duckworth, Hope Cooper and Catherine Haddad Staller — did not disappoint the crowd. Stream the full 2023 Masterclass to see for yourself how great Dressage at Devon’s Masterclass series is and to obtain rare training that isn’t available anywhere else!

United States Olympic team silver medalist, Sabine Schut-Kery presented the first-ever Dressage at Devon Masterclass in 2022. During her Masterclass presentation, common themes were encouraging movement in front of the leg, prioritizing relaxation, and helping the riders simplify movements for their horses.

Past years’ Masterclasses have proved to have tremendous educational value and are a must see. Stay tuned to hear who the demo riders are for this year and buy tickets here. Don’t miss out on the 2024 installation!