When a local trainer just happened to tell me about a young rider who started crying in the middle of a lesson, I asked the trainer, “Why?” She said that in the middle of the lesson, the girl, I'll call her Molly, became frustrated and suddenly burst into tears.  Molly was upset because she couldn't remember what her trainer wanted her to do and the trainer had to repeat the same instructions over and over. 

This story should have -- but didn’t -- take me by surprise.  Molly’s frustrations are identical to those I had for many years, before I started keeping a training notebook.  

Molly is at a fork in the road, just as I was when I was that frustrated.  It is possible she will never think to begin using a training notebook to remember her lessons, despite the fact it can improve memory retention up to 80%.  Or, maybe her trainer will step in and encourage Molly to do so. If this happens her journey will undeniably become more rewarding -- because she will remember her lessons, connect to her inner rider, develop good riding habits, learn more quickly, and grow more confident about her training.  

If I could offer my guiding hand I would take Molly down a path traveled by riders I’ve grown to greatly admire who have long histories with training notebooks. I'd love for her to see what's possible! Along that path, I would introduce her to Angelea Walkup and say,  “Molly, meet Angelea Walkup, one of Barnby Notes leading public notebook authors, a Grand Prix rider, and founder of www.horsegirltv.com.  Angelea has been keeping a journal devoted to her riding for more than 10 years.” 

And Angelea would say..."Hi Molly, it’s a pleasure to meet you....I began taking notes during my training clinics in 2000. And then, when I started riding Grand Prix in 2006, I started taking notes every day." 

Walkup would share with Molly that her habit was to jot down notes right after she untacked. "Then, Molly, sometimes I would write more when I left the stable because I realized I retained more from my lessons just by revisiting them, re-reading my notes a couple of times....Since then, I have expanded my riding journal to include inspirational conversations or interviews I have done with trainers and other educators." 

I would add, "Hey Molly, did you know that Angelea recently wrote a journal entry at Barnby Notes detailing some of the most helpful notes she’s ever taken with some of the sports leading educators, including Gwen Blake, Janet Brown-Foy, Anky van Grunsven, Elizabeth Madlener, Geoff Butler and Jean Luc Cornille?

I don’t know what actually came of (or will come of) Molly and her frustration over retaining her lessons.  I hope Molly is knee deep in notebooks... scribbling, journaling, bulleting her notes...getting more and more excited about what connections she'll have while riding!

One challenge our dressage community faces resides in this story about Molly.  Most riders don’t intuitively realize that one of the best educational tools they can use to excel in riding is the same tool they used in the academic school system: a notebook.  Furthermore, according to Dr. Kathy Kelly, clinical psychologist and partner at Barnby Notes, many trainers who teach riders how to learn to ride aren’t specialists in teaching riders strategies for learning how to learn. 

That's where Barnby Notes will make a difference in our upcoming Learning Center.  We'll offer short, informative classes that help riders understand the best strategies for keeping a notebook with the hope they one day model respected riders like Angelea Walkup.  “Sometimes instructors need help to help their students.  The Learning Center at Barnby Notes is being designed as a resource for instructors and student to give them useful and relevant information they can immediately put to use in their lessons with ease, from memory retention strategies to learning techniques to develop feel,” says Dr. Kelly.   For more information on Learning Center launch date, contact info@barnbynotes.com.

written by

Allison Brunelli, Founder