Founder Speaks at DevonWood Equestrian Centre

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Submitted by Allison Brunelli on July 14, 2011 - 05:57

July 5-7 marked the weekend of the 2011 ODS/USDF Region Six Youth Dressage Overnight Camp hosted by DevonWood Equestrian Center.  This exceptionally run camp was the perfect environment to help young riders learn the value of using a training notebook.  Allison Brunelli, founder of Barnby Notes and now a like-minded colleague of DevonWood's Head Trainer Jessica Rattner, was invited to speak and touch on three key strategies for using a training notebook : 1) write down three simple bulleted notes; 2) write down what happened, what worked, what didn’t and why; 3) use strategy one or two and add “feeling words”. Together, Allison and the campers explored stories about Olympians Courtney King-Dye and Lendon Gray as well as trainer and professional rider Jessica Rattner, all of whom have colorful histories with keeping notes and journaling -- when they started, why they started and what strategies they used.  

Jessica Rattner has a long history of keeping notes and is now a popular public notebook author at Barnby Notes.  She wanted to pass on what she's been benefiting from her note-keeping practices to her students.  “I’ve been keeping little bullet point notes on my phone since I started teaching four years ago," Rattner said. "Only recently did I start journaling with Barnby Notes. It was then that I saw the value of fleshing things out on paper on a regular basis. Not only has it helped me develop as a rider and a teacher, but as I’ve encouraged my students to note take and/or journal, I’ve seen their retention levels increase significantly. It’s really amazing.” 
 
The kids loved the event.  Many hustled to write notes after their lessons at the camp. Several signed up for online notebooks after they returned home.  One has been chosen to join our public notebook author's group,.  And Jessica has invited Allison back for the camp in 2012. If you are interested in booking Allison to speak at your event, contact her at allison@barnbynotes.com.