About Paige LaBella
My area of interest is teaching riders to maintain and restore soundness, improve gaits, solve jumping problems, and unlock athletic potential of their horses. Building on my foundation as a serious hunter, jumper, and equitation competitor, and as a mechanical engineer, I continued my education in dressage, biomechanics and athletic rehabilitation. I enjoy working with students who are eager to learn a riding style that does not use force or punishment but rather encourages horses to explore healthy strong body coordination.
My dressage mentor, Jean Luc Cornille, who taught me lightness, straightness, and how to sit and think in the saddle, was formally trained in classical dressage at Cadre Noire in the 1960’s. He was a protégé of Colonel George Margot, who was notorious for his elegance in the saddle and ability to create top level movement in ordinary horses and for his disdain for those who exploit the horse’s talent, and consequently sacrifice the soundness of horses, to win in competition.
The training of all horses should be taken as seriously as it is for elite athletes (but not in the abusive manners that have been used by some throughout the ages!). Through analysis of gaits and/or jumping style, we can build strategies to solve problems using classical dressage gymnastics. With focus on optimizing body coordination, HorsePT teaches riders to refine their attention and develop useful strategies for guiding their horses to efficient and healthy locomotion while leaving unnecessary methods behind. My work is grounded in both the evolving knowledge of horse and rider biomechanics, animal behavior, and experiential evidence.