5 Minutes With... Lynn Palm

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By: Jo Johnson/Horsezone

 

Lynn doing western dressage at home in the USA

Lynn teaching during her Western Dressage Clinic at Equitana (photo: Stephen Mowbray)

A lovely example of an Intro Level Western Dressage horse during Lynn's Equitana Western Dressage Clinic - you can ride in any type of headgear and this lovely western pleasure type horse did very well (photo: Stephen Mowbray)

Lynn teaching at Equitana (photo: Stephen Mowbray)

A reining type mare who is also perfect for Western Dressage, taking part in Lynn's clinic at Equitana

The photo Lynn commented on of my horse, Suthern Docs Dreamcat, and I doing Western Dressage

Meeting Lynn was definitely a highlight of Equitana 2014 for me!

It’s not every day you get to meet one of your idols, however, at approximately 9am on Thursday 20 November 2014 I was lucky enough to meet not one, but two of mine! 

The Equitana press conference had been on my radar for months as the opportunity to interview not only the amazing Charlotte Dujardin (UK) but also the fabulous Lynn Palm (USA), who I have long idolised!

As a person who changed from English to Western relatively late (aged 25), Lynn Palm has always been my lifeline between the way I originally learnt to ride/train and western riding. I devoured her educational articles and books, which enforce the rule that it doesn’t matter what saddle you ride in or what breed your horse is, correct riding, good horsemanship and consistency are the key to success.

So, for those of you who haven’t discovered this marvel of the horsey world, and the veritable human bridge between English and Western, let’s learn a little more about Lynn Palm.

Hailing from Florida, USA, Lynn is a passionate leading lady for Western Dressage and a pioneer across the horse industry. She is regarded as one of the world’s leading clinicians, is unmatched as an all round trainer, showman, exhibitor and entrepreneur with a first-class reputation.

For over 30 years Lynn has paved the way in educating enthusiasts in horsemanship. Although her performance record is impressive, Palm says that her primary goal is to educate others on forming correct riding skills and building knowledge to increase the riding longevity of their horses.

Lynn’s accolades prove her success not just as an accomplished clinician but also as a competitive horsewoman. She prides herself on performances that include 34 Reserve and World Championships, 4 “Superhorse” Championships, over 50 special bridle-less exhibitions with the legendary Rugged Lark, including the 1989 World Cup and 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Lynn also rode three of Rugged Lark's sons, The Lark Ascending, My Royal Lark and Larks Home Run to multiple Championships in United States Dressage Federation competition.

In 2006, Lynn was named the AQHA Professional Horsewoman of the Year and 2000 AQHA Female Equestrian of the Year by the Women’s Sports Foundation.

Now you know a little more about Lynn, let’s move on to my chat – I could call it an interview but it really was more a lovely chat – with Lynn when she graced Equitana 2014 with her presence…

Lynn, you have had many successes in your career – what would be the highlight?

Well, of course it’s with Rugged Lark. Talking about him gets me a bit emotional! He retired as a show horse very young, as a 6 year old, because he had won more than any Quarter Horse had won before. A fun story with that – his owner said what are we going to do for a second win in the Super Horse? And I said what about riding him bridleless and she said would you do that? Well I trust this horse, so why not? We took a garland of his flowers that he had won, which is just made out of material and put a wire in it so it wouldn’t break and I went in did some lead changes and some spins and the crowd went crazy! 10 years later, for 10 consecutive years, we did freestyle exhibitions promoting the AmericanQuarter Horse for the AQHA but it was also for me, promoting my training techniques, but back to the absolute highlight – it was performing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics with Rugged Lark. To see our names up on the board, well it was very special.  We did two performances and it was amazing!

So do you have a favourite horse (trick question)?

I have lots of favourite horses but if someone said do you have a horse of a lifetime –it would definitely be Rugged Lark.

I can totally see why a horse like Rugged Lark would be the horse of a lifetime! So, what attributes do you look for when helping to buy a horse for someone and what tips can you give to others?

First up I need to know what the goals, lifestyle and skills are of the person that wants to purchase the horse. Someone who has a busy family life, who can only ride on weekends, does not need a young horse. They need something they can ride once a week or once a month or every day even but the temperament is the most important thing I look for.

In the western world I want to know that the background of the horse is, who it’s been with, what type of training it’s had. Have harsh methods been used, or a lot of excessive training as a young horse or maybe the horse has baggage, defences or issues that I would not want an amateur or youth to have to deal with. So that’s very important for me. I always think of a horse as an individual. I was talking to Dirk (Dirk Schrade – another superstar who was at Equitana!) about that and asking if he has a breed of choice and he agrees that you always look at the individual.

So whether it’s a Quarter Horse or any other breed, I’m going to look at conformation and form to function. Aspects of conformation can tell me about the temperament of a horse, such as the size and darkness of an eye, flatness of the forehead, well set sharp ears, shallow mouth and thin lips or thin skinned – thin skinned usually equals a sensitive horse, so if I have a novice rider I won’t want too sensitive horse for them.

Another important aspect to consider is that the prospective buyer doesn’t try the horse out just once or even twice, but they try it as much as they can over a week or even two weeks, this is very desirable if the seller is agreeable. And then even when you decide on a match and buy a horse, you always keep your evaluations going of the suitability of the match.

Two simple, simple questions for any horse owner to ask – if you’re going to participate in any horse sport the horse has to be suited to you or it’s not going to work – the questions are: Are you safe? Are you having fun? If you can’t yes to those two things, then the horse is not matching your goals or confidence or lifestyle. Suitability is something that needs to continue being assessed, as you get a new horse and as your ownership of that horse progresses. Nobody can participate and do a horse sport well if the horse isn’t suited to them.

Great advice! So what do you love most about Western Dressage?

Western dressage can be the real missing link with going to another level in western riding and training. There’s a progression through the tests and it mirrors classical dressage – after all horses are horses! I grew up riding in a dressage saddle. I never ride any different in a western saddle or a dressage saddle. The horse and the mechanics of things, being properly positioned; using your seat, legs and  hands; riding from back to front, not front to back and controlling the horse’s balance - that is the fundamentals for riding any breed of horse, whatever saddle you ride in. I am honoured to share the knowledge that I feel so fortunate to know and have had successes with when riding western horses. Western dressage is all about good horsemanship and bringing out the willingness of the horse.  I love it! It’s all about making that horse happy.

Do you need a certain ‘type’ of horse for Western Dressage?

No you don’t need a certain type of horse – he should be judged as an individual. I say there are two styles of horses who do Western Dressage – the ‘trotty’ horses and ‘joggy’ horses! The 'trotty’ horses are your Morgans, Arabs, Thoroughbreds or Warmblood mixes and then your joggy horses are the Quarter Horses, Paints and Appaloosas (referred to as ‘stock horse’ breeds in the USA). As far as judging, the judge needs to evaluate the horse as an individual. The trotty horses are built more uphill and have a different frame and balance to the joggy horses. (Lynn refers to a photo of my Western Pleasure type Appaloosa, Suthern Docs Dreamcat, and I doing Western Dressage) this is a beautiful picture of a horse in balance but he’s built very level, so in intro and basic level this is what we want (Yes, I am swooning hearing Lynn say that about my horse!). We want the longer horse out beyond the vertical, no collection, no real uphill yet, but a trotty horse will find this more difficult, however, it is more natural for the stockhorse breeds. It depends on the way they are built. The judge really needs to evaluate the horse depending on which kind of horse it is. In the USA we often have gaited horses too! I don’t know anything about putting them in their gaits or what their gaits are but we focus on providing good fundamentals and the horses do better.

What do you enjoy most about giving clinics and training people and their horses?

I’ve always had education as part of my business, my dad told me if you want to train horses and compete, if something happens to you, you have to have something to fall back on. I love educating others. Somehow, it’s more rewarding if I can help someone with their horse than if I was doing it myself. So I love the reward of giving people confidence, knowledge, good fundamentals, simple fundamentals to understand, but take practice, like any sport. To keep things as a simple, common sense approach I can make lots of progress with people and their horses. I’m not a trainer that fixes the horse – I work on helping with the riding – providing the knowledge what you need to do your job as a rider, to achieve what you want from the horse. It’s very rewarding!

Is there a horse sport you would love to try?

Well I haven’t done combined driving! I have a very nice Quarter Horse x Warmblood and I’ve been inspired by some friends at home in Ocala, so I’m going to have a go at combined driving with him starting next season. We have a huge driving community in Ocala, along with the eventing riders, as we have heavy terrain and it’s a big popular sport. I’ve done driving in the show ring and I used to race my little ponies in sulky racing, but I always said that combined driving is something I would like to do, if I get to an age where riding isn’t as easy as it used to be! So I intend to get my foot wet this winter and I have the horse to do it with so I’m excited. It’s going to take time but I’ll get started and see how I go!

What would you be doing if you didn’t work with horses and horse people?

That’s a good question! I would either be doing something in the travel business, as I love to travel, or maybe skiing? I used to ski race as an amateur, not a professional. I would be doing something in some sort of sport maybe? Sport or travel!

How do you relax?

I very much enjoy cooking but I really enjoy gardening! I have a greenhouse and I have orchids and herbs. I love growing orchids, they can be difficult, but wonderful and as for the herbs, I like to cook with a lot of herbs. If someone cannot find me on the farm I’m usually in my greenhouse!

Thank you so much for your time Lynn and for chatting to me! I could have gone on chatting all day, and indeed, did visit Lynn in her stand for further discussions about Western Dressage, as well as being glued to her main Western Dressage Clinic – read my report on that HERE.

If you think the very new sport of Western Dressage could be right for you, check out Lynn’s book ‘Your Complete Guide to Western Dressage’, which I purchased at Equitana and am finding very educational. You can get this book through Lynn’s website HERE. 

Quick Links

• Visit Lynn’s website www.lynnpalm.com for more information in general and details on all of her books and DVDs.
• To find out more about Western Dressage in Australia visit http://www.westerndressage.com.au/
• Read '5 Minutes With... Charlotte Dujardin'
• Read all EQUITANA News at HORSEZONE Powered by HORSE FIRST here
• View more photos from Lynn's Clinic and other Equitana Day 1 highlights in the Gallery