The two of them were Regional Reserve Champions at fourth level and Prix St. George and competed in Wellington, FL for two seasons against some of the toughest competition in the country.  In the winter/spring of ’04, Betsy officially began teaching and training.  She then sold Al Manjano, and went over to Europe with her trainer at the time, Karen Lipp, and purchased Cantana.  Cantana was 7 years old and just started under saddle.  Betsy has trained “Tanner” up the levels to where he is now, as well as training and showing many other horses.

Betsy currently competes regularly as well as coaching her students at shows during the season.  Betsy and “Tanner” were Fourth Level Regional Champions in 2006 in Cincinnati, OH. Most recently, “Tanner” and Betsy competed at the Prix St. George level in many shows last summer and completed the season with competing at the Regional Championships in September. Betsy has earned both her USDF bronze and silver medals.  To continue her own education, Betsy has ridden with many top riders including Maryal Barnett, Lars Peterson, George Williams, and Susan Dutta as well as Catherine Haddad and Karen Lipp. Betsy currently rides in a clinic with Olympians, Christine Traurig and Michelle Gibson.

  The Philosophy of Betsy’s Teaching and Training:  Betsy Van Dyke loves to teach students of all ages and levels.  Her greatest joy is helping each rider find better harmony with each horse.  She has worked with not only dressage riders, but also western pleasure riders, hunters, barrel racers, and trail riders, to name a few.  Betsy is a firm believer that, no matter what the discipline, “good riding is good riding”.  “Dressage” is the French word for “training” and we can always improve our horses and our self by learning to understand and communicate with our horses better.  Betsy has trained many horses from numerous disciplines and enjoys bringing horses along in their training, from the bare basics to top, FEI dressage horses.