Classical Meets Modern
July 22, 2026 @ 12:00PM — 1:00PM Eastern Time (US & Canada) Add to Calendar
: PO Box 23367 Chagrin Falls, OH 44022 Get Directions
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Classical Meets Modern: Improving Outcomes for Horse and Rider in a Holistic Lesson Program
Join us on July 22 at Noon (ET) as this webinar answers the question: Can we build a lesson program that is more sustainable for the equine while still positively impacting the humans? Teresa Pilegaard answers this question by looking at case studies of Dorato’s “eclectic equines” who have improved soundness, mental states, and contentedness in their jobs resulting from this lesson program method. Participants will follow along, interact with, compare to their experiences, and analyze key stages in the progress of the equines to include foundational training skills, bodywork, farrier support, observation in various environments, classical groundwork, and under saddle work with the trainer and with students, etc. This webinar includes brief case studies and interviews with the humans in the Dorato program who have gained greater confidence, physical balance, mental techniques, communication, planning, and more, impacting their life outside the barn for the better.
As the lesson and adaptive/therapeutic riding world struggles to find horses appropriate for mounted programming, we need to address the cause for continual turn over: industry-created burnt out, imbalanced, and shut down horses. How can we fix this problem when it is internally created? We have removed observation, adaptation, and groundwork from our lesson barns. We have strayed far from thousands of years of wisdom, our classical roots, that aim to improve the horse in his work. How do we create a renaissance of lesson programs teaching solid horsemanship in the classical tradition for the welfare of both horse and human? We need better teaching in beginner lesson programs to start riders with a strong, safe foundation. We must create more educated riders who can observe and adapt to the needs of the horse and, hopefully, grow into professionals. We need more horsemen and women to create and maintain horses with mental and emotional balance who can do the lesson job long-term. How do we help the professional create this program? Professionals cannot change what they do not know! We educate and offer a new approach and opportunities for instructors to grow! This approach is an incredible way to develop life skills - observation, empathy, communication, planning, and more - for riders both adaptive and traditional.
About our Presenter:
Teresa Pilegaard is the Executive Director of 501c3 North Star Stables NOVA whose mission is to improve riding instructor education through subsidized clinics and public outreach for equine and human welfare. Her certifications include Pelvis Biomechanics Specialist through Train Your Seat, Franklin Ball Trainer through Train Your Seat, PATH CTRI. Owner, Coach, and Trainer at Dorato Performance Horses specializing in adaptive instruction, human biomechanics, and equine mental and physical soundness.