Trainer, Paige LaBella specializes in the therapeutic use of dressage for rehabilitation, to prevent lameness, and to improve athletic performance of horses for riders of all ages, disciplines, and levels through Grand Prix.
The underpinning of Paige's dressage training program is simple: The feeling of strength, balance, and confidence is the basis from which trust, partnership, and cooperation emerges from the horse. Settle for nothing less. Prove to the horse that what you are asking will not cause discomfort or damage, accept the horse’s personality, and you win the horse’s heart.
Soundness in horses results from healthy biomechanics in both horse and rider. Afterall, when we sit on a horse we have created a coupling of two dynamic living bodies. Paige's aim is to educate both horse and rider in the art of achieving optimum coordination through dressage movements. With primary focus on the dynamics of the horse's back, she teachs the rider to feel and address the imbalances that will, or already did, lead to lameness or under-performance.
William was chronically lame from a young age, was retired and changed hands many times. By changing the way he uses his body, he became sound even with the pathology he accumulated over the years, and progressed in his athletic training without recurrence of his lameness.
My area of interest is in 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. 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.
Among the important "take-aways" from my educational path was that the training trajectory of elite athletes can, and should, be applied to all horses. Through analysis of gaits and jumping style, we can build strategies to solve problems using dressage gymnastics. The primary focus is the body coordination for the gymnastic. The key is that strategies, not recipes, are needed to solve problems. Small problems eventually turn into lameness if not addressed early. My work is grounded in both the evolving knowledge of horse and rider biomechanics, and in my practical experience with applying the knowledge and arriving at the results that matter most to me - soundness that lasts years.
Competition History and Education
Hunter/Jumper/Equitation competitor - student of Robert Crawford, 1970’s
Polo groom at Myopia Hunt Club
Worked in various job exercising and training horses
Owner and trainer of riding school where I trained horses and instructed and coached adults and children, many USPC members 2010-2018
Horse PT LLC 2018 to present
Continuing Education in Dressage and Biomechanics includes:
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering - University of Massachusetts
Associate of Science in Electronic Engineering Technology - Wentworth Institute of Technology
Jane Savoie’s Happy Horse video course and books
Paul Belasik classical dressage instructional videos and books
Mary Wanless RWYM video course series
Elmar Pollmann-Schweckhorst inspires dressage training for jumpers
Caroline Resnick’s liberty and behavior courses
Deb Bennett biomechanics, conformation analysis
Jean Luc Cornille – online course, clinic host and participant 2013 - 2018
The Open College of Equine Studies – biomechanics level 5 course 2019
This video is to introduce the lunging technique we use. It is not intended to be used without our guidance. It is important that we see how the horse is responding to this because like any technique or gymnastic, if the horse's coordination is not right, it can do more harm than good. The set-up is DeCarpentry's. It is useful in rehabilitation when we need to encourage the horse to explore healthy body coordination. Side-reins are fixed in length throughout a session. In the DeCarpentry configuration the lunge line is run through bit rings and a ring on the saddle allowing for length adjustment by the horse. The horse can not lean on the bit and is therefore able to discover self-carriage at the same time the trainer has some ability to suggest a boundary for head and neck carriage. The back coordination ultimately determines the neck position. The lunge line suggest the result.
written on June 18, 2021, 2:15 pm
We have had success with live video lessons around the world and it is time to open this opportunity for everyone. On this end, we use video conferencing service to see and communicate with the rider. On the rider's end you need either auto-tracking video equipment or someone to hold the camera. At the same time you need to have a microphone and ear piece connected to the video conference. The better the quality of the video, the better the feedback. We recommend using a tripod and zoom feature if you have a helper running the video camera. Click here for more information on lessons with Paige at Horse PT.
