NUNO MATOS is pictured here doing some Working Equitation. Matos has spent his entire life working with horses. He studied with the masters of traditional Portuguese Equitation and served in the Portuguese military where he was responsible for selecting and training horses purchased by the army. With the Portuguese Association of Lusitano horse breeders, Matos participated in numerous national and international events.
ONE OF THE TRAINERS involved with an invitation-only private seminar during the March Working Equitation event at South Ridge Farms, Julie Alonzo, is shown here. Alonzo, of Eugene, OR, has been actively involved in bringing Working Equitation to the U.S. for the past four years.
Rob Zimmerman, owner of South Ridge Farms, hosted a week long Working Equitation event at his facility in Ridgefield in March. The event was a success and South Ridge Farms will host another Working Equitation Schooling Show July 11 and 12, starting at 8 a.m. on July 11.
Working Equitation International Association of the USA (WEIAUSA) was first established in 2004, but initially pioneered by four countries – Portugal, Spain, France and Italy – with the first international competition in 1996. Working Equitation is comprised of four trials. The first three – dressage, ease of handling and speed – are required for both individual and team competitions. The fourth trial, cattle handling, is included for team competitions.
For the week-long event in March, Zimmerman brought in Nuno Matos, Portugal’s 2006 Reserve National Champion in Working Equitation.
Matos has spent his entire life working with horses. He studied with the masters of traditional Portuguese Equitation and served in the Portuguese military where he was responsible for selecting and training horses purchased by the army.
With the Portuguese Association of Lusitano horse breeders, Matos participated in numerous national and international events. For almost a decade, Matos has shared his love of the sport with private instruction at his home facility in Portugal, as well as in clinics throughout Europe providing instruction on Working Equitation and traditional Portuguese Equitation. Matos has expanded his instruction to the U.S. where he hopes to organize clinics at least four times a year to help promote and perfect the riders in the sport of the Working Equitation.
Matos spent the first five days at South Ridge Farms working with six horse trainers in an invitation-only private seminar. Trainers were Jordan Banks, Jane Judson and Rob Zimmerman from Washington, and Carli Schwartz, Morgan Wagner and Julie Alonzo from Oregon.
Alonzo of Eugene, OR, has been actively involved in bringing Working Equitation to the U.S. for the past four years. Vice Chair of WEIAUSA, the national organization, she is also one of the founding members of that group’s state affiliate in Oregon. When asked about her role in the sport, she often refers to herself as “the Johnny Appleseed of Working Equitation, traveling throughout the country planting seeds that will hopefully grow into a thriving community of horsemen and women, connected by a desire to work in close partnership with their horses.”
On the sixth day of the Working Equitation event, 10 riders and their horses participated in a Working Equitation clinic working one-on-one with Matos in a 50-minute private lesson.
Matos coached the trainers and individual riders through the obstacle course, showing the best way to approach an obstacle, how to smoothly maneuver successfully through an obstacle and the best way to transition and confidently approach the next obstacle. He emphasized the importance of fluency of movement, continuity and perfection of the performance of each obstacle.
Matos also helped with mastering the dressage patterns emphasizing what the judge is looking for – the quality of turns, bend, the halt, straightness, rein back, precision of the circle, regularity of gait and smooth transitions between each movement of the dressage test.
In both the dressage test and ease of handling each rider is judged on their horses attitude, tempo, continuity of action, fluidity of performance, precision and quality of gait, collection and harmony of movement.
The last day of the March event was a Working Equitation schooling show where all the new learned skills were put to the test. The show was judged by Barbara Price from California. Jordan Banks riding Zar Ris took first place in the intermediate level and overall high point championship; Lizann Dunegan riding BTSF took first in the novice division; and Cassy Holcomb on Matt Command took first place in the introductory division.
For more information on the upcoming Working Equitation event, contact Zimmerman at rzsouthridge@comcast.net. More information can be found on the Working Equitation website, www.weiausa.com, and on the Working Equitation, Washington Facebook page.
