Betsy
began riding at the age of 4 and became involved with 4-H and
showing at the age of 7. After moving to just North of
Traverse City, MI in ‘97, she was first exposed to upper level dressage at
a dressage demonstration and was enthralled instantly. She
decided to pursue dressage on whatever horse she could lease, or
had the opportunity to ride. After participating in
several clinics with Catherine Haddad on several different
horses, Betsy and her parents purchased the Dutch Warmblood, Al
Manjano, from
Germany
. With the purchase of Al Manjano, the real plan for her career
started to emerge. Betsy and Al Manjano competed very
successfully from third level to Prix St. George and also in the
Young Rider Qualifying Competitions.
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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.
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