5 minute read
Mentor Program Winners
The Mentoring Program
Meet our mentors
Warwick Schiller
A lifelong equestrian in a variety of disciplines, Warwick was in his twenties when, in order to pursue his dream of training horses, he moved from his home in Australia to the United States, where he has been working professionally since 1990.
Initially his passion was reining, which led to him representing Australia twice at the World Equestrian Games: in Tryon, North Carolina in 2018, and Lexington, Kentucky in 2010. Along the way, he discovered not only a passion for teaching, but also that explaining concepts to people in a way they could understand came naturally to him.
His horse training journey has run parallel to his own journey into healing, self-development and personal growth. He has always been a student of the horse, and continues to learn as much as he can from many different sources and disciplines.
However, some years ago he encountered a horse that was not helped by the techniques he was using at the time. This led him on a deep dive into approaches outside the norms of current mainstream training, methods based on the concepts of connection and relationship. The more he learned about the horse’s nervous system and how it is affected by trauma, the more he looked into his own life story – and the two have been leap-frogging each other ever since.
ABOVE: Warwick has always been a student of the horse, and learns as much as he can from different sources and disciplines (Image courtesy Warwick Schiller).
David Shoobridge
David believes in gradual and consistent improvements in both horse and rider. As a coach, he conducts clinics and events throughout Australia and New Zealand and while his primary interest is coaching high performance, he finds embarking on training journeys with talented but less experienced combinations extraordinarily fulfilling.
Key to his approach is to encourage and support all his clients to develop as independent, thinking, effective riders. His emphasis on providing structure and a plan for every horse and rider combination has proved incredibly successful. Many of his students have achieved their personal goals of riding at Grand Prix, competing in Young Rider Championships, or simply discovering the joys of training a horse through the levels.
Along with consistent training, David believes mindset is vital: “And that’s not only the ability to stay calm and rationalise, but also the ability to accurately and truthfully analyse your own performance,” he says. “From there you can identify gaps in your training to work on.”
David’s philosophy of life is one to emulate. A self-confessed perfectionist, he derives great satisfaction from having dreams, goals and ambition. “I’ve learned that things happen throughout life that are often out of our control. But these moments lead into other moments creating memories, new friendships and opportunities. It’s what we do with these situations or opportunities that define us as people.”
ABOVE: Key to David’s coaching is encouraging all his clients to develop as independent, thinking, and effective riders (Image by Jessica Atkins Studio).
The Mentoring Program
Meet our winners
Winner: Kristle Cross Discipline: Dressage, eventing, show jumping Mentor: Vicki Roycroft
Kristle Cross’s proudest achievement to date has been taking a horse from never having jumped through to Mini Prix, and winning the Amateur of the Year Series at the 2015 Forbes Show. She has since followed up with a 2022 ACT Cup Mini Prix win, and was runner-up Category A Champion at the 2022 ESP Winter Festival with current horse Little Bit of Blue.
But not one to rest on her laurels, Kristle has been busy: “I attended Waratah Warm Up Weekend, show jumping and eventing at Willinga Park, and the NSW State Titles at Willinga. Now I’m looking forward to the Stonewall Showjumping Championships and Jumping NSW Summer Showjumping Classic.” And after achieving her 1.30m goal, 1.40m is on her radar.
With a long-term Grand Prix dream, the mentorship couldn’t be more appropriate. “I was so surprised when I got the call telling me I’d won that I didn’t know what to say! I’m just so excited and grateful for this amazing opportunity.”
Kristle is a firm believer in giving back to her sport and decided to get her EA Level 1 Coach qualification. “I love helping riders achieve their goals, and the more knowledge I gain on my own journey, the more I can pass on to others to help them become better horsemen and women.”
ABOVE: Kristle and Little Bit of Blue competing at 2022 NSW State Show jumping championships (Image by Oz Shotz).
Mentee: Naomi Vanderweg (Life After Racing Series) Discipline: Dressage Mentor: David Shoobridge
One of Naomi Vanderweg’s most significant equestrian challenges was overcoming a break in her back after a bad fall. “I’m very proud of my journey to achieve the mindset I needed to retrain, relearn, build confidence and resilience, as well as create realistic goals for myself as a rider. I’m now competing to Novice level. It’s been a journey with lots of tears and many joys.”
Winning the mentorships was a shock for Naomi. “It took a couple of minutes to properly register. It’s a once-in-alifetime opportunity and I’m so excited,” she says.
With a soft spot for OTT Thoroughbreds (she has three – Lorenzo and Charlie, both now retired, and Hugo, her current partner) Naomi’s goals are first to continue to learn and grow at Novice level while continuing to support OTT dressage events, and later to compete in Country and State championships in South Australia, her home state.
And she has another dream: “I want to show other equestrians that they can reach their goals with dedication and hard work. It’s vital to have a positive and realistic mindset and, like I’ve been lucky enough to have, to create a support network of people who’ll be there to ride every stride with you.”
