David Collins Dressage, SHS Stables, LLC
Avalon Farm, North Salem, NY
German Olympic Gold Medalist and Reitmeister Hubertus Schmidt bought David's horse, Bojing, aka Beryll:
"I bought Bojing for many reasons besides his very good training".
Beryll and Hubertus were 4th in the Aachen Grand Prix.
David trained 5 horses that were extremely successful in international competition in Europe
There are teachers, trainers and show-riders: A person who succeeds in one category isn't guaranteed success in the others.
These skills must be learned separately.
As a professional dressage instructor in NY, it's a pleasure to share my extensive education in classical dressge with my students and horses. I teach riders to think and perform independently. I learned my system from great masters in Europe. I rode with many Olympic trainers and Reitmeisters who were recognized as some of the best in the world. One of my specialties is training young horses to be a pleasure to ride and to excel in FEI competition. Only superb basics lead to great results at international levels. My methods are based on effective, classical techniques that promote understanding, fairness and happiness in both horse and rider. My students realize that success is a byproduct that is derived from the effective execution of a detailed process. I provide the roadmap for this endeavor.
Photo: Andrea Duckworth
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David's young horses scored into the low 80% and high 70% at second level when they were age 5 to 6. They placed at Prix St Georges at age 7. At age 8, Olympic Gold medalist, Hubertus Schmidt commented on the training and talent that went into Bojing's Piaffe:
"I bought him for many reasons besides his very good training. The talent for piaffe and passage of the gelding as well as his strong active hindquarters quickly convinced me”, said Hubertus. “I actually thought I was buying a very easy to ride horse with good quality. But in the meantime I know: I bought a more difficult horse with superior quality.”
German Olympic Gold Medalist and Reitmeister Hubertus Schmidt bought David's horse, Bojing, aka Beryll. David trained Beryll for 5 years until he was schooling Grand Prix at age 8. Schmidt wrote:
"I bought Bojing for many reasons besides his very good training".
"The talent for piaffe and passage of the gelding as well as his strong active hindquarters quickly convinced me”, said Hubertus. “I actually thought I was buying a very easy to ride horse with good quality. But in the meantime I know: I bought a more difficult horse with superior quality.”
German Reitmeister Heinz Lammers, Team USA Bronze Medal Olympic Coach, and trainer of "Romantico", Olympic mount of Robert Dover:
"I certify that David Collins is thoroughly capable of training horses and riders at all FEI levels," Reitmeister Lammers.
David was paid by Reitmeister Lammers to ride and teach. Lammers had 84 horses in training. More than 30 were FEI level and 12 were schooling or showing Grand Prix. David rode 10 to 14 horses each day under Lammers' watchful eyes. Additionally, David worked 3 to 4 horses in hand for Piaffe on most days.
"David trained with me for a little more than one year. He came to me with good basics so we were able to focus his training on FEI levels and in-hand training for Grand Prix. He also taught my students: We liked his lessons."
German master trainer Eicke von Veltheim
David trained with Eicke over a 15 year period. Eicke was a mentor to David. Eicke trained for the Rome Olympics in dressage. He was also a European Championship silver medalist in combined driving. This helped Eicke become a master at training piaffe in-hand. Eicke trained double-gold Pan AM Games medalist Carol Grant. Eicke actively pursued additional educational and sponsorship opportunities for David. Through Eicke and Uli Kasselmann, David achieved the opportunity to ride with Reitmeister Lammers.
Sadly, Eicke, one of the great mentors of my life passed away. Follow the link to learn more about him: https://www.eurodressage.com/2021/06/11/eicke-von-veltheim-passed-away
