Welcome to First Choice Dressage and Pilates for Riders
Welcome to First Choice Dressage and Pilates for Riders. I hope you will enjoy visiting my website. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or if you would like any more information.
First Choice Dressage is a small, friendly professional dressage yard and stud in the peaceful Suffolk countryside near Bury St Edmunds, only a mile from the A14 and easily accessible. A high standard of care and close attention to the horses’ wellbeing and quality of life is of utmost importance. All horses seem to relax and settle into the well-kept routine and quietness of the yard, many having lived here for years. They all enjoy the quiet, sympathetic, disciplined handling they receive. The yard is run by Lynn Perry with her parents help while our apprentice Liam Morrison and some part-time workers take very good care of the horses’ daily needs.
I am passionate about my coaching of riders and their horses, helping them improve their performance and attain their goals enthusiastically, whether they just ride for fun or compete at Advanced level. I recently developed my teaching further when I was selected by British Dressage to develop the new UK Coaching Certificate Level 3 Dressage (coaching up to Prix St Georges), currently the highest national sport coach qualification. This includes understanding different learning styles, the importance of rider profiling, goal setting, sport psychology, rider fitness and ultimately empowering the rider. This is really helping my pupils. I am also continually improving my own training with regular lessons with my German trainer, working towards Grand Prix.
My passion for the sport has now led me to become a Level 3 (highest) Pilates Teacher. This has given me a deep knowledge of alignment and how the body moves. Relating this to riding. I can now effectively help riders to improve their alignment and balance which can dramatically affect their horses' way of going. I look at the rider sitting on a saddle horse, as well as seeing them riding, to observe their posture and alignment, I am then able to give specific Pilates exercises to help the rider improve. Results can be achieved more easily off the horse initially, rather than trying to change things when also coping with a horse’s movement.