84 SIDELINES JULY 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Continued on page 86
By Dani Moritz
A USDF certified instructor through Fourth Level based out of
Mile High Horse Ranch in Parker, Colorado, Kathy Simard is an
instructor who’s passionate about learning and teaching. Ever
since she was a child, she’s been “horsey, horsey, horsey” and
now she enjoys passing her passion on to others.
We caught up with this busy instructor and asked her a few
questions. Here’s what she had to say!
We understand that you started with hunters and jumpers as
a child. What inspired your switch to dressage?
I actually was kind of recruited into dressage when I moved to
Colorado in 1990. Janet Foy (at the time Janet Brown) gave me a
horse to ride that she hoped to sell as an eventer. I was hooked
on the relationship you could develop through the complexities
and intricacies of dressage. I remember I had trouble getting my
canter departs on him because he kept giving me haunches-in
instead. The lesson she gave me on the canter aids was a mind
blower. I remember thinking, “all that just to canter?”
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Rocky Mountains – Dressage
Kathy Simard’s
Passion For
Dressage
Kathy’s first dressage horse, Peregrine, aka Grin. Kathy says
that Grin is the “one who started it all. The best teacher ever.”
She trained him from First Level through some of the Grand Prix
movements.
Do you ever miss the jumping?
I do miss jumping sometimes when I see others doing it. The
mare I own now jumps well so occasionally I’ll pop her over a
fence or two in the field. But when I think about the big jumps, I
really have no desire any more.
What was it like training in Germany at the Etoile Riding
Academy? How has that journey impacted your career?
Germany was amazing and I’d love to go back. To be a
serious dressage rider, you need to adventure out of your own
backyard. Florida, California, Germany — I’ve been lucky
enough to do some education and/or riding in all three places. It
really shows you what you’re working for and what it takes to
be good. The attention to detail in Germany will always be with
me in both my riding and my teaching. Your horse doesn’t know
practice from the show, so you need to do every movement and
every transition in the saddle well every time. In Germany, we
had lectures every day about rider and horse biomechanics. This
continues to be a favorite part of my teaching and the science
that’s coming out with advancements in technology is a treasure
trove of new information.
Whowould you consider your greatest mentor(s) in dressage?
Without a doubt Janet Foy. I have had and still do have great
support from others in the sport, like Sharon Schneidman and
Lilo Fore and I could go on. But Janet basically recruited me into
dressage and has encouraged me to apply for opportunities to
Maestoso II Odetta II — a Lipizzan gelding owned by Deborah
Bennett. He is Kathy’s current FEI horse.
Photo by Kathleen Bryan
