SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

AAH, WAIT, I REMEMBER NOW!

Sidelines MagazineSidelines Magazine

  • LOGIN
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Subscriptions
    • Flipbook
    • Subscribe Options
    • Order Individual & Back Issues
  • Podcast
  • Marketplace
    • Business Ads
    • Directories
      • Barns, Farms, Trainers & Clubs
      • Equestrian Services
      • Real Estate
      • Stallions
      • Tack & Feed Stores
    • Classifieds
    • Horse Trailers for Sale
  • Advertise
  • Blogs
    • Show World
    • What’s Happenin’
  • Partners
  • Contacts
    • Contacts
    • Employment
0
Monday, February 02 2015 / Published in Weekly Feature

Chrissa Hoffmann: Making History and Training Horses to Their Fullest Potential

Chrissa and Mireill, owned by Chris and Robert Desino of Wellington Equestrian Realty. Photo courtesy of the Desinos

Chrissa and Mireill, owned by Chris and Robert Desino of Wellington Equestrian Realty.
Photo courtesy of the Desinos

By Lauren R. Giannini

It isn’t that anyone said it couldn’t be done. It just hadn’t been tried, at least not in public. But dressage trainer Chrissa F. Hoffmann thinks outside the box and the dressage arena.

She isn’t biased about breed and proved it by riding and training an American Saddlebred named Harry Callahan – a gaited horse, for heaven’s sake! — all the way from just started under saddle to Grand Prix in Wellington in 2006, where they scored 65 percent or higher, placing in the top six against some of the best Warmbloods on the Grand Prix circuit. But a gaited horse — the kind that racks?

“A horse is a horse at the end of the day, and dressage is training — if a horse has three good gaits and a good brain and a good work ethic, why not see how far it can go? Training is about developing the horse’s potential,” said Chrissa. “I think that me doing that and stepping up out of the box, going all the way to Grand Prix with Harry — well, first of all, it is a bit of a fairy tale, but there’s so much reality and truth behind it — but it’s all about good training with a horse that wants to do it and is nurtured and brought along in the right way. It means that any willing athletic equine can learn dressage.”

To The Top

So far, Chrissa has trained 15 horses to FEI levels, six of them to Grand Prix. Her successes include another Saddlebred, a purebred Arabian, and a PMU (pregnant mare’s urine, used to produce Premarin) gelding. She exhibits a remarkable ability to read horses and riders and solve their problems with various movements.

“I broke Edykts Enchantres, my purebred Arabian mare, 11 years ago and we had shown Training Level through Intermediaire I when we met Chrissa,” said Courtney Varney, DVM. “I was having the trouble that so many FEI riders have, bridging the gap from Intermediaire I to Intermediaire II and, of course, to Grand Prix. We had no passage, piaffe or one-tempi canter changes. Chrissa explained riding these movements in a way that clicked, and in our first lesson with Chrissa I had seven one-tempis. From that point forward, she has helped me to teach my mare the passage and piaffe, which we’re still improving.”

Courtney and her mare recently earned their USDF Gold Medal, a mere nine months after their first lesson with Chrissa. “I’m so excited what the future will hold for my little mare now that she’s becoming more confident in the Grand Prix, and I have Chrissa to thank,” added Courtney, who will debut Zinerealla, a Dutch Warmblood mare found by Chrissa through her European connections, in the 4-year-old classes in Wellington.

Taking the Belgian-Quarter Horse PMU gelding, Fynn, to Grand Prix racks up yet another first. Karri McFadden loves the training process, but she wasn’t sure about the young horse her equine veterinarian husband, Dr. Derek McFadden, had seen at a client’s farm. The first time she rode the green PMU gelding, he didn’t exactly inspire her to dreams of equestrian glory. When she went back one month later, Fynn impressed her by remembering what she taught him about steering, brakes and going forward.

“Fynn is a really unique horse. He wasn’t bred for dressage, but he became the first horse I trained to Grand Prix,” said Karri, who bases Karri McFadden Dressage at CloverMeade Stables near Clarksville, Ohio. “I bought Fynn and two weeks later rode him in a clinic taught by Chrissa. He didn’t have a left lead and Chrissa said ‘canter and ask him to do a flying change’ — and he did! Chrissa told me not to sell this horse. Fynn was so willing to learn; he always gave everything. Chrissa said he’s the type to make it to Grand Prix in four years, but it took only three. I had already earned the two Intermediaire scores with another horse, and it took one weekend for Fynn and me to earn the Grand Prix scores for my USDF Gold Medal.”

Chrissa goes to great effort to ensure that her horses enjoy their lives and their work. “All of my horses go out with another horse, two or three to a field,” she said. “People look at me and say, ‘You’re crazy,’ but they’re herd horses and I leave them out as much as they want to be out. As for training, I always keep it fun for the horse. I don’t set a time. I get on, thinking this is what I want to tap into, and if they get it in 10 minutes, good horse — I get off or we go for a trail ride. The second it stops being fun for them, you come to a crossroad, because it has to be fun for them. Horses have to want to work for you. They have to enjoy their job. I want to enjoy my job! Doesn’t everybody want to enjoy their job?”

Chrissa

Chrissa

Hooked On Dressage

A bit of background explains how and why Chrissa is where she is today. “When I started out, I was a three-day eventer and grew up riding everything from an Appaloosa to a Thoroughbred, anything that had a good brain and a good temperament for the sport and, obviously, athletic ability,” said Chrissa. “My top horse at the time was Riley, an Argentine Thoroughbred, and he was getting ready to do his first three-day [long format] when he was injured in a trailer accident. We don’t know what happened — we think he bucked and got his leg stuck over the partition — but he ripped up his entire extensor tendon.”

Chrissa and Riley were on their way to train with Denny Emerson. “We pulled over in Ohio and long story short, Riley spent three months there at a vet clinic with a 25 percent chance of living, but he made it through,” recalled Chrissa. “The vet surgeon said he won’t ever be a jumper again, but he could possibly become a dressage horse. Riley was it. He was the only horse I had. At that time, I was living in Kentucky and Barbara Silverman, a professional dressage trainer, had just moved to town. I took one lesson with her and I was completely hooked. I never went back to eventing.”

Chrissa stayed as a working student for seven years with Barbara, who got into dressage at 19 when her jumper trainer, the great Bert de Nemethy, told her to focus on her flat work. Barbara had lived with cancer for 16 years: she was 24 when she learned that she had incurable ovarian cancer and four months to live. Horses were her passion and dressage energized her life. Recognizing the same zeal in Chrissa, Barbara took the young rider under her wing. At the time of Barbara’s demise on May 24, 2000, she had been competing with the goal of trying out for the U.S. Dressage team for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

“When Barbara was dying, she told me I was her protégée and that I had to take on the business,” Chrissa said. “She told me to ride with Robert Dover and Tina Konyot. I was 22. I wasn’t ready for this, but that’s what happened. After Barbara passed away, I took on all of her clients. She did a lot of importing and sales, so I kept on with her contacts, because I had traveled so many times to Europe with her. I just went on from there.”

But it wasn’t easy. Chrissa took off the better part of a year, refining what she had learned from her mentor and friend. “I thought, I’ve got to figure out my own way. Everything that Barbara taught me is the true foundation,” said Chrissa. “I had all the basics, but I had to figure out my own style, because now it’s up to me to problem-solve. I need to know I have the right reaction when something happens. I spent that year alone, riding my own horses, training clients’ horses, until I got out of that sad, lonely place and felt confident that I was ready to go on.”

Chrissa with the American Saddlebred Harry Callahan.

Chrissa with the American Saddlebred Harry Callahan.

The Girl On The Saddlebred

Chrissa went to work for Full Circle Dressage, a farm in Kentucky, owned by Frank and Judy Gaston who specialized in Morgans and Saddlebreds. That’s where Harry Callahan, the Saddlebred, came into Chrissa’s life. Judy found Harry, 3, recently started at walk, trot and canter, but he hadn’t been taught to rack. A few months later, Judy sold Harry to Linda Cawthon.

“By the time Harry was 6, he was doing Third Level, by 8 he was doing Prix St. Georges with really good placings, by 10 he was at Grand Prix and really competitive,” said Chrissa. “I took him to Wellington and put him against our top horses at Jim Brandon Equestrian Center, 25 in his class and he was in the top six. I thought to myself, this is unheard of, we’re really making history here.”

You can check them out on youtube.com (search for Chrissa1): Harry, the American Saddlebred, will knock your socks off. Watch their performance at the 2006 American Freestyle Symposium — absolutely fabulous — but even Chrissa had moments wondering if she really wanted to be known as “the girl on the Saddlebred.”

“I’ll never forget, I was at Devon and Katherine Bateson, one of my good friends, said, ‘You know, who cares if it’s a Saddlebred — you’re the only one in the world who has done it.’ I thought, OK, she’s saying this and she’s a team rider, so respect it!” recalled Chrissa. “Harry and I literally became a worldwide thing. We have been featured in nine publications, including landing on the cover of USDF Connection, and on six websites. Thanks to Harry’s success, I was one of the first trainers featured in Dressage Training Online. I still get emails from people, saying, ‘You’re my inspiration’ — because the average person is not riding Valegro, the average person is riding something in the backyard, which is what Harry was. So, that taught me a lot — not to have that stigma — training is training. Harry’s first Grand Prix was on YouTube and the last I looked it had 30,000 hits.”

Recently, Chrissa moved her training facility from Ocala to Vero Beach, Florida, but still travels to teach clinics. She and her medical doctor husband have a son, now 7. In spite of how motherhood can affect many riders, Chrissa has continued to be passionate about training and competing and hopes to someday get a shot at making the team. A serious injury in summer 2013 changed her perspective about a certain aspect of her business: taking horses on consignment.

Life Changing Accident

“I do a lot of sales and have been very successful for years — until a horse came in on consignment that was cold-backed and I wasn’t aware of it,” said Chrissa. “He threw me hard, stepped on my head and broke three ribs. I didn’t ride for eight weeks. I always wear a helmet or I might not be here, but that injury made me look at horses differently. I decided to do only my horses. I want to stand behind my product, horses that I know I can put my own mother on, horses that I can trust. Sure, a horse is a horse and things can happen, but I’m not going to be responsible for selling a horse to someone unless I absolutely know this is a horse I feel comfortable riding. Having my son and being injured changed my perspective, but I’m still hungry for it every day. The aspirations are still there — we all want to be on the Olympic team, but all you can do is keep trying every day to make yourself better.”

With a stable full of dancing partners, Chrissa stays very busy. She’s focused on all of them, but several horses merit mention, including her own Scrabble, showing Prix St. Georges with scores above 70 percent and schooling Grand Prix; Faustus, a super-powerful 8-year-old gelding owned by Johan Ifverson of Sweden; and a new Danish Warmblood mare, Mireill, owned by identical twins Chris and Robert Desino of Wellington Equestrian Realty. It’s going to be an exciting winter circuit for Chrissa, her owners, students and staff.

“My brother Robert and I are thrilled with the opportunity for Chrissa to pick up the ride on our new horse Mireill,” said Chris Desino. “She’s a gorgeous and athletic horse. With Chrissa’s training and beautiful classical riding, we’re confident that they’re going to make a great pair in this upcoming season’s Grand Prix in Wellington.”

For more information visit www.cfh-dressage.com.

Double D Trailers Info

Tagged under: Chrissa Hoffmann, dressage, lauren r. giannini, saddlebred, sidelines magaizne

What you can read next

Liza Goodlett: Success After Life as a College Equestrian 
Missy Chiles: About a Horse
Michele Hollis: Equestrian Doctor and Doctor to Equestrians

5 Comments to “ Chrissa Hoffmann: Making History and Training Horses to Their Fullest Potential”

  1. Lianne says :
    February 3, 2015 at 12:20 pm

    First off, American Saddlebreds are NOT a gaited breed. They are *taught* to do the rack and slow gait, just like Warmbloods are “taught” to piaffe and do tempis, they do not come out of their dam’s womb “skipping” or “prancing” any more than Saddlebreds are born racking. This kind of misinformation is EXACTLY why so many people shy away from buying a Saddlebred for the sporthorse disciplines, which is extremely unfortunate as they make fabulous, well-tempered, inexpensive alternatives to Warmbloods. Also, the beautiful photo of Chrissa and Forty Something is mis-labelled as being of Harry.

    It would be wonderful if the author could correct both of these errors.

    Happy trails!

  2. JG says :
    February 3, 2015 at 12:33 pm

    Saddlebred are Not (ideally) naturally gaited. They walk, trot, canter just like any warmblood. This is a commonly perpetuated falsely, even by otherwise knowledgeable horsemen and women. The slow gait and rack are trained gaits. Saddlebreds can make very nice dressage horses…as Chrissa proved!

  3. Katie says :
    February 4, 2015 at 8:17 am

    Harry was never gaited!

  4. Linda (Cawthon) Hunt says :
    February 4, 2015 at 9:56 am

    Some American Saddlebreds are trained to do the lateral gaits slow gait and rack. They have to have the propensity to do these gaits. Many never learn to do these extra gaits. Harry never had it in him to be gaited and was never gaited. He has the normal walk, trot, and canter. Also, this picture of Chrissa standing next to the bay horse with the white on his face is mis-labeled. That is the American Saddlebred Forty Something.

  5. Kathie Dunn says :
    February 4, 2015 at 3:02 pm

    Correction – Harry wasn’t a gaited horse. Saddlebreds do all the normal gaits – walk, trot, and canter. Some have a stronger genetic predisposition to gait, and that gait is trained. Yes, there are a *few* individuals who are naturally gaited, but those are few and far between.

    And Harry was not one of those. Nor did he show any inclination to gait – as his bloodlines were not the sort for a genetic predisposition. His full sister was shown as a traditional 3-gaited horse. While his bottom line has a genetic predisposition to gait, his top line is much stronger as a 3-gaited animal. He does have one half sibling who was very successful as a 5-gaited horse, but that horse’s sire was also known for siring 5-gaited horses.

    Thanks for the article!

Download Sidelines Digital now from your favorite app store!

Sidelines Magazine - Apple store   Sidelines Magazine - Google Play store   Sidelines Magazine - Amazon store
Update iOS app. Re-download Google Play and Amazon app.

Follow on Instagram!

sidelines_magazine

Sidelines Magazine
It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is. It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is...

 ✨PF'S DIAMO BLUE✨
Diarado-Diamant de Semilly- Chacco Blue
17.0hh, Oldenburg International Hunter Derby/ Jumper Stallion
An outstanding Pedigree- Chacco Blue and Diamant de Semilly
WBFSH/ Rolex top ranking Jumping Sires 2017 thru 2022
Standing at Ryan Pedigo Sport Horses, in California

For more information, you can contact 
🖥Ryanpedigosporthorses.com
🖥Ryan.p.f@hotmail.com
☎️(714) 357-2714

You can find ALL of the stallions featured towards the back of the magazine in the equestrian gallery. Keep a look out EVERY Sunday for a new handsome STUD muffin🧁 and don't forget to subscribe to get your very own edition of Sidelines Magazine, the magazine for horse people, about horse people 🦄

@ryanpedigosporthorsespf_

#stallion #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #equine #dressage #pferd #equestrianlife #mare #hengst #horseriding #instahorse #cheval #pferde #equinephotography #horselove #dressagehorse #pony #horselover #caballo #foal #quarterhorse #aqha #arabianhorse #sidelinesmagazine
Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses—in a way, she was born into her career. She grew up in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where her parents ran a farm. Her mother taught, and her father had a jump business and then created one of the first horse show software programs: Ryegate Show Services, Inc.

Riding all her life, Annette spent many years as a groom and loved it, but knew it wasn’t what she wanted to do as a career. After she finished college, Annette’s father recruited her to help process entries at Ryegate. Since her father, Lloyd Longenecker, founded it in 1981, Ryegate has provided show management and office staff for some of the largest shows in the country. Now, Annette has taken over from her father and directed the company as it focuses on managing memberships and rankings for organizations such as the North American League, WIHS Championships and Equitation, Rolex/USEF Computer Ranking and National Medal Series (THIS NCM and Ariat NAM). Ryegate also provides scoring software for use with video walls, and production teams for hunter and jumper shows.

“Besides running Ryegate Show Services and its various organizations, I can be found in the show office, running a scoreboard or judging jumpers at most shows,” Annette said. “I love getting to wear a few different hats at the show.”

When she’s not busy at a show, Annette lives in Annville, Pennsylvania, with her “fur-baby,” Maggie Mae, and enjoys spending time with her many godchildren. Though she doesn’t currently own any horses, Annette rides when she can at Rolling Acres Farm with Patty Foster, Ashley Foster-Worthington and Mary Lisa Leffler.

Read this month unbridled with Annette Longenecker by clicking the link in our bio. Never miss a story by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine! 🦄
📸Photo by Sheryl Sutherby

#horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #horseriding #equine #pony #pferd #equestrianlife #horselove #dressage #horselover #instahorse #love #cheval #showjumping #horselife #photography #nature #pferde #horseofinstagram #caballo #riding #horsebackriding #pferdeliebe #caballos #horsepower #horsephotography #instagram #Sidelinesmagazine
A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself The spor A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself 
The sport of eventing is a demanding and mentally challenging discipline that requires a combination of physical and mental fortitude from both the rider and horse. While having a coach can be incredibly beneficial, self-coaching can also play a crucial role in a rider’s success.

I think that given the opportunity, most riders would like to be coached every day. The reality of life in the horse world, however, is that the majority of us need to absorb as much from the lessons we have on a limited basis and then practice those skills at home to improve.

When I am riding, I try to have a plan for the horses each day and focus on what I’m looking to achieve. It’s important to be aware of the steady improvements rather than trying to solve everything all at once. This is especially important when teaching horses new movements or exercises that they might struggle with, and we need to give them time to learn and understand what we are asking for.

I have a couple of quotes that I use regularly when I’m teaching, and these are mottos that I hold myself to in my daily work as well.

The first is, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” This is a quote that was said to me many years ago when I was still motor racing and I keep it in the back of my mind each day. It’s easy to get stuck doing the same thing every day with your horse and bad habits are hard to break, from both riders and horses!

This leads me to my next quote, which is, “If what you are doing isn’t working, try something else.” It really is as simple as that! Many riders I see keep asking a horse to do something the same way over and over with an ongoing negative response and they wonder why things don’t get better. In these circumstances, I recommend that the rider change something, even if it’s wrong.

Read the full article by clicking the link in our bio! Don’t forget to keep your eye out for our April subscription!
📸Photo by Alex Banks Photography
The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here and we are so excited to feature three-day eventer Liz Halliday on the cover! Big thanks to photographer Melissa Fuller for the beautiful photo of Liz and Cooley Nutcracker- Liz Halliday-Sharp - HS Eventing. Liz and her horses have taken the eventing world by storm - and find out how Liz is at the top of the sport as a female eventer! As the horse world gears up for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 2023, it's the perfect time to enjoy our eventing issue!! We also feature eventer and woman entrepreneur Frankie Thieriot Stutes, who is not only an eventer, but also runs Athletux and FRANKIE CAMERON handbags and accessories. And don't miss our eventing story on Robert "Bobby" Costello, who will be leading the US Eventing team to the 2024 Paris Olympics- and US Equestrian has named Bobby the eventing technical advisor/chef d'equipe!! Liz, Frankie and Bobby all have GREAT stories - don't miss any of them and don't forget to get your tickets for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day event! We are also excited to introduce you to hunter-jumper rider Casey Lorusso Smith, who is not only a talented rider but also a psychotherapist and incorporates horses into her career. If you are up for adventure, then read the story on dressage rider Priscilla Baldwin who certainly doesn't let any grass grow under her feet! We also head to the west coast to catch up with hunter-jumper trainer Jim Hagman of Elvenstar Farm, we feature beautiful art by equestrian artist Tammy Tappan, and we get to know Miranda Jones and her family. Miranda is not only an attorney who spends a lot of time in the courthouse, but she's a rider and spends lots of time riding, and is joined by her daughters also! We are excited to feature Stephanie Lightner in our Unbridled column, and don't miss our columnists George Williams, Robert R.L. Jacobs and Margie Sugarman! It's a great issue - and you can read it online, but don't forget to go to the website and order a subscription and get every issue delivered to your mailbox!! Enjoy this issue and enjoy the ride: Link in bio!!
Load More... Follow on Instagram

From Our Classifieds Ads

  • TRYON RIDING & HUNT CLUB
    Horse Shows/Tryon Area 828-863-0480 www.trhcevents.org

    [Read more]

  • Vintage Oaks Horse Farm
    Lessons + Training + Showing + Sales Summer Camps Jarettsville, Md Kelle Lerch 443-310-0315 Katie Fitzpatrick 717-676-2355 vintageoakshorsefarm@gmail.com www.VintageOaksHorseFarm.com The personnel at Vintage Oaks have a strong love and respect for riding and enjoying horses and we strive to share that passion with riders of all ages.

    [Read more]

Sidelines Articles by Email

Subscribe to Sidelines Magazine Articles by Email

RSS Sidelines Blogs: What’s Happenin’

  • Get More for Your Money with an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage
  • Longines Global Champions Tour of New York Returns to Governors Island
  • A Paris Horse Adventure: Saut Hermes 2022

RSS Sidelines Blogs: Show World

  • 2023 Upperville Colt & Horse Show Presented by MARS EQUESTRIAN™ Returns for 170th Year on June 5-11
  • Will Coleman Retains Yanmar America CCI4*-S Lead in Dramatic Show Jumping at Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International
  • First edition of the World Sport Horse Sales was a hit with $410.000 for the most expensive horse

Category

Recent Posts

  • April 2023 – Table of Contents

    Subscribe for just $9.95 or Order Individual Is...
  • Building a Bond With a New Horse

    By Margie Sugarman I just bought a new horse. I...
  • Developing Healthy Relationships With Your Barnmates

    By Rob Jacobs The purpose of this month’s colum...
  • The Value of Self-Coaching

    By Liz Halliday-Sharp The sport of eventing is ...
  • Unbridled With Annette Longenecker

    By Britney Grover  Annette Longenecker wasn’t j...

Copyright © 1987 - 2021 Sidelines Magazine
Privacy Policy · Returns & Refunds Policy · Hosting by Lucian Web Service
· Login

TOP
Get the Sidelines Scoop — your weekly look behind the scenes.Sign me up!