May 2011 Dr. Kathleen Kelly, clinical psychologist with a specialty in sports psychology, has joined Barnby Notes to partner in an upcoming learning center where riders can learn how to learn dressage, including how to develop feel.  She also currently mentors public notebook authors.   (Kelly in photo above)

Kathleen spent some considerable time preparing for her mentorship with her first mentee, Sean Cunningham, by evaluating his journaling style and testing him to determine his learning preference.  Of the four learning styles -- Kinesthetic, Cognitive, Auditory, or Visual -- Sean tested as a Kinesthetic learner, one who is comfortable taking in sensory information through feel.  With this knowledge, Kathy's goal is now to increase his ability to do what he already does -- learn by feel.  

Sean has already received two education-rich comments from Kathleen which are now posted under his entry, Carol Lavell Clinic. Those following this mentorship must first log in to read the comments.  One part of her second comment is catching for all those aspiring to become talented riders.  "There is a process that must happen for elite athletes to go through if you are to take your learning and move it into a natural, almost innate response," she says. "This kind of deep learning and ingrained muscle memory is also a requirement for that great feeling of FLOW."  

In the upcoming learning center, Kathy will show riders how they can use journaling to help them practice deeper modes of learning with mental imagery in order to become better, more feeling sensitive riders.

April 2011  Head Trainer at DevonWood Equestrian Center, Jessica Rattner, completes her mentorship with Olympian Courtney King-Dye.  Jessica was the first rider to be a part of this exclusive mentorship.  “Journaling distilled my thoughts,” Jessica said. “There is a lot of chatter in my brain so it's useful for me to work things out by writing them down.”  

For four months Jessica wrote down her thoughts on the pages of a Barnby Notes public online notebook and it quieted that chatter.  As the chatter got quieter, epiphanies began to develop and suddenly she was adding one thought-provoking entry after another followers really appreciated.  Her journal entries have become a collection; by mentorship end, she had seven she can be very proud of, reflecting personal growth and development. One such entry is titled Black Swan where Jessica relates to the struggles of Natalie Portman, Nina, in the movie Black Swan and writes about her own struggle in dressage to transcend mechanics in order to find the majestic qualities defining the artistry of the sport. For the record, Jessica never journaled before she was nominated for this mentorship by Lendon Gray. 

Courtney King-Dye really enjoyed working with Jessica and her analytical mind. “I got extremely lucky with Jessica because she’s a good writer, even though that’s not necessary, ” Courtney said.  “Many of Jessica’s comments required not only my coaching, but they made me think hard, consider other training tools and contemplate why things work.”  

March 2011  Facebook Share has just been added to all saved notebook journals.  Members already love the feature and are sharing their day to day training journey with friends, followers and family!

February 2011  Barnby Notes partners with DressageClinic.com, an educational website where members can watch the world's top dressage trainers via video delivered computer-side.  All members of Barnby Notes have an opportunity to try DressageClinic.com for three days free with the VIP pass code BNVIP26.  This invitation expires December 31, 2011.  All members of Dressage Clinic.com now have an electronic note pad next to their videos (housed by DC.com) for taking notes in an effort to remember the tips in the video.  Each notepad is featured with a quick link to Barnby Notes.  

February 2011  A new featured recently added to Barnby Notes online notebooks now makes it easier to follow your favorite public notebook authors.  To add any public notebook author to your Bookmarks, click on the Add to Bookmarks link on the right column of the journal entry written by your favorite authors. To follow your Bookmarks, log into your Notebook and click on Read Booksmarks on the right column. 

August 2010  Barnby Notes sponsors Hassler Dressage's training clinic with Steffen Peters, the multiple-time Olympian and 2009 USEF Equestrian of the Year. As a proud sponsor of the educational activities at Hassler Dressage, Barnby Notes is thrilled to provide the 150-plus attendants of this special 2-day event with clinic books and embossed pencils. Furthermore, each of the nine riders will also receive a handsome hardcover notebook with a gift card that entitles them to six months at barnbynotes.com.  

March 2010  Barnby Notes proudly sponsored the 2010 CDS Amateur Clinic Series with Debbie McDonald.  Debbie is a former Hunter/Jumper rider who switched to Dressage in 1990.  In 1990 Debbie and Brentina took first place in the State Line Tack/USET Inter. 1 Championships at the Festival of Champions in Gladsone N.J.  That earned them a spot on the Pan American Team in Canada.  They went on to win the Team and Individual Gold Medals.  Debbie was voted the USOC Woman of the year, AHSA Equestrian of the year.  In 2002 and 2006 Debbie and Brentina were selected for the World Equestrian Games.  They went on to win a team silver and bronze medals respectively. In 2003 they won the World Cup title. They are the first Americans to hold such a title and in 2003 Debbie was again USOC Athlete of the Year.  In 2005 they finished third at the World Cup. In 2004 they were given a spot on the Olympic Team for Athens where they led the team to a Bronze Medal, and finished 4th Individually. In 2008 Brentina once again represented the US on the Olympic Team in Hong Kong. In 2009 Debbie was named the Developing Coach of the Year.

July 2010 Lendon Gray and her volunteers welcomed over 250 participants for their 12th Annual Youth Dressage Festival. The YDF is a unique equestrian competition and educational event conducted by Dressage4Kids, Inc. Kids must earn a qualifying score to attend, read required books, learn about stable management, in addition to showing in both dressage and equitation classes. And if that doesn't sound fun enough, there is an art contest and a tack room decorating contest. Barnby Notes is extremely proud to sponsor this event. We offered 40 gift bags each with gift cards for a six month free subscription for an online notebook and a sign up form for anyone else attending who also wants free access for six months! We are a huge fan of Lendon Gray and her commitment to youth, education and fun! You can learn more about Lendon's YDF at www.youthdressagefestival.com.

Spring 2010 Barnby Notes was the proud sponsor of Hassler Dressage and the Michael Klimke clinic by providing clinic books to all participants. The clinic books were customized with the event details and became as much of an indispensable note taking tool as a valuable promotional piece.  If you have any interest in a sponsorship from Barnby Notes for your event, please contact info@barnbynotes.com.

January 2010 Barnby Notes is a proud sponsor of Lendon Gray's Dressage4Kids Educational Weekend.  Lendon Gray is a two-time Olympian and prominent international coach who strongly supports equestrian journaling.

December 2009  Debbie McDonald has joined our Training Community, taking the helm of one of our public Group Notebooks. By visiting her group notebook, you will see the notes her students are taking during and after her clinics.  We want to thank all riders who participate in this program and share their notes.  They are a wonderful representation of Debbie's teaching philosophies and the love of education her students have.  Please log in or use our free two-week trial to see Debbie's public group notebook. 

December 2009 Barnby Notes supported the 2009 Adequan/USDF Convention and Symposium with Jan Brink in Austin, Texas by providing the attendees with sample size Note Pads.  The USDF hoped that our support would help attendees capture all the tips, hints, ideas, suggestions and educational nuggets that they heard throughout the week. 

December 2009 - 2011 Barnby Notes supported the Platinum Performance/USDF Adult Clinic Series with Charlotte Bredahl-Baker.  The Note Pads designed for this event included a special program insert.

November 2009  Barnby Notes Gift Cards  are provided as show prizes at Starr Vaughn Equestrian Center for its Dressage II Show. Gift Cards entitle the recipient to a subscription for an online notebook at Barnby Notes.  They represent self discovery, the love between horse and rider and a deeper educational connection to equestrian sport.  If you are interested in gift cards as show prizes from Barnby Notes please contact info@barnbynotes.com.