Canada has been fortunate to have Great Britain’s esteemed FEI 5* Judge General Stephen Clarke impart his wisdom as a clinician in 2017 and 2018 through clinics organized by CADORA. We caught up with him at his “Build a Better Dressage Horse” clinic in Brandon, Manitoba, in October of last year.
Stephen’s illustrious career with horses began as a boy at the age of eight, when he recalls being fascinated by the horses and ponies across the fence from his own Welsh farm. He discovered that by proving to his neighbour he could stay on the unbroken ponies, he was allowed to ride them.
From that point on, Stephen’s riding career spanned the world of eventing and show jumping before eventually coming around to the world of dressage. He does admit that even during his jumping days “it was always about the dressage.” Stephen identifies his personal career highlights aboard a lovely Thoroughbred named Beckett; they were the reserve combination for the British Dressage Team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and placed in the top three at Rotterdam in the mid-’80s among some other world-class riders.