France’s Col. Patrick Teisserenc Joins Bettina Drummond for Florida February Workshop

Through funding support from APAHA, American riding teachers are being given the opportunity to ride with Col. Patrick Teisserenc of the French National Riding School in Saumur, France.

Loxahatchee, Florida - Colonel Patrick Teisserenc, current écuyer-en- chef of the French National Riding School in Saumur, France, will join with Bettina Drummond for a two-day workshop in Florida that highlights the French system of dressage and its application to both sport horse and artistic riding. The event will be held February 4-5 at White Fences Equestrian Estate in Loxahatchee, Florida.

Col. Teisserenc is a graduate of France’s prestigious military academy St. Cyr and first joined France’s Cadre Noir in 1988. He has competed in dressage up to the grand prix level and now head’s the country’s famous French National Riding School. On the Saturday of the two-day workshop, Teisserenc will present his approach to teaching riders with sport horses – in both dressage and show jumping – from his unique background of linking sport horse training with haute école. This will include demonstrating his approach to developing confidence in the young performance horse and tact in the sport horse rider. Those attending the workshop will have an opportunity to engage with Col. Teisserenc during Sunday’s Question and Answer session.

Bettina Drummond, highly regarded in both the U.S. and Europe as a trainer and teacher of the French classical system, was formed as a student of the late Portuguese Master Nuno Oliveira. She was recognized as a master trainer at the age of 21. Her formation included coaching by some of Europe’s finest trainers, including the late General Durand, a former écuyer-en- chef and commandant of the French National Equestrian School.

Drummond will join Col. Teisserenc on the second day as they co-instruct riders on approaches to mastering transition skills to develop balance in the green horse and ease the horse’s performance anxieties. During the Sunday afternoon session, Drummond will work with riders on the use of the La Guérinière square for establishing the seat influence of the rider and for framing and flexing with a view of provoking and nurturing collection in the double bridle.

Bettina Drummond, founder of APAHA, with her Lusitano mare Granada du Plessis. (Photo: Marilyn Rassweiler)

The workshop is being hosted by the Association for the Promotion of the Art of Horsemanship in America (APAHA). APAHA is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing educational opportunities that advance horsemanship as an art form in America. In addition to the February workshop, APAHA is also sponsoring an October 2017 workshop in Connecticut.

The workshops, along with other APAHA-sponsored programs, provide opportunities for professional riding teachers and trainers to learn on trained horses. These equine teachers provide professionals with the “feel” and knowledge that will help them ensure that horsemanship as an art form is preserved for future generations.

Tickets are now available for advance purchase at $135 for one day of the workshop or $260 for both days. Tickets purchased at the door are $145 per day of the workshop. For more information and to buy tickets visit APAHA’s website at www.apaha.us.