Suzanne Vogt and Classical Dressage

Susanne particularly loves the lightness and elegance of classical dressage….to dance with the horse. From a young age Susanne had to work for her riding lessons, but her dedication paid off. In the 1980s, in her homeland of Switzerland, she trained with top dressage coaches and competed in national and international dressage competitions. Since immigrating to Canada in 2004, she and her husband Christian have built up an equestrian centre in Portland, Ontario – Happy Horse Stables – dedicated to teaching classical dressage.

Susanne got her start at the age of seven, leading ponies and children in a big field. Ten times around the 1-km field would earn her the privilege of riding one round – hard work for a 7 year old! Eventually after a move to the country, her mother’s purchase of a horse and working and riding at nearby boarding barns, Susanne got a break – the opportunity to join a neighbour and take dressage lessons on highly trained horses with Georg Wahl, a chief rider of the Spanish Riding School. Susanne had another special experience in her early twenties when she trained with Fredy Knie Sr. His expertise, understanding and passion for training and horses are unequaled; he trained many big names in European dressage. Through hard work and dedication Susanne managed to move up in the dressage world, training and competing at the top levels. A career highlight for Susanne was making the short list from which the Swiss Olympic Dressage Team was selected for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In Europe, Susanne had the opportunity to train with some of the best coaches including: Hubicka, Balsiger, Hendrowski and Prokop. She also worked with Miroslav Weiss jumping and training thoroughbreds for riding and racing. In Canada Susanne continues to develop her dressage expertise through clinics such as those offered by Walter Zettl, Paul Belasik, and Steffen Peters, etc.

Susanne enjoys teaching; giving lessons and clinics. She teaches classical dressage to children, youth and adults of all riding levels at Happy Horse Stables, in Portland, and in the region from Ottawa to Kingston. In parallel with her interest in dressage riding, teaching and horse training, Susanne has developed expertise in equine husbandry, and traditional and holistic medical treatment of behavioral issues, chronic conditions and medical emergencies. Susanne is available to teach clinics in Emergency Equine First Aid as well as in Dressage. For more information see her websites:

www.happyhorsestables.ca
www.equine-first-aid.ca
www.equineherbs.ca

 

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