We are honored to host Courtney King-Dye mentoring Geena Sturzebecher and Rachel Edwards for the sport's first Notebook Training Mentorship Program.  This is how it works:  Geena and Rachel use their online notebooks to think more deeply about and resolve their training challenges.  Courtney reads their entries and mentors them using the online notebook's comments section.  Geena and Rachel may reply and ask more questions and/or take Courtney's mentoring back to the arena. Videos and photos are posted by Geena and Rachel to enhance this educational experience for all those following.

Beginning 2012, we will continue to pair Courtney with aspiring riders once a year.  Each selected rider will enjoy this three month mentorship which also includes some additional stages of learning -- with reading and journaling exercises -- prior to the actual mentorship with Courtney.  

During the past 18 years, Courtney filled nearly 30 of her own notebooks with experiences about her riding. She believes her writing helped her to become a 2008 Olympian.  Courtney King-Dye’s coaching philosophy is simple: Writing down lessons helps riders become better, more efficient students. She believes that using a notebook helps riders contemplate what they did in the saddle to see what worked. And it gives them the opportunity to reflect on what didn’t and why. Courtney also believes it’s important to find humor along the journey. 

“For me, it is fun to write and it can be playful," said Courtney. "I want to help riders discover things they would not have without a training notebook. But I’ll also be sure that the riders I work with learn that it is equally valuable to find humor in their journey.”

You can follow this one-of-a-kind program by going to our Training Community page and reading Geena and Rachels entries. You can also catch the highlights by signing up for our newsletter below.  If you believe you are a candidate for this program, please contact allison@barnbynotes.com. If you would like to read more about Courtney's colorful history with journaling, please go to our Training Community inside the members section and click on Pro Notebooks.