Stephen Clarke and Charlotte Wittbom

The leading international dressage judge and classical trainer tell Oscar Williams about combining their two approaches and continual learning

- Oscar Williams

JUST as spring was threatening to break the frost-lock of winter, I was at Stephen Clarke’s Cotton Equestrian Centre in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, to watch a training session. Stephen is a renowned five-star international judge who will be familiar to most in dressage circles, but the trainer he’d invited me to watch and talk to is perhaps less well known – a Swedish rider and trainer specialising in classical groundwork called Charlotte Wittbom.

Charlotte has been helping Stephen and his clients with their horses using groundwork to improve their way of going. In turn, Stephen has been helping Charlotte translate her classical experience to competitive success in the arena. “I always knew I wanted to work with horses,” explains Charlotte, who speaks with a quiet self-assuredness. “But I always struggled with competition nerves, so I was a little lost in what path to follow.

“That’s why when I was 19 years old, I decided that if I wasn’t going to be a competition rider, I would travel and I somehow ended up at the stables of Maestro Luis Valença in Portugal.”

The Valença name is synonymous with classical dressage – not just in Portugal, but around the world – and the family is famous for their Apassionata equestrian show that tours Europe.

“I was in tears when I first saw them perform,” adds Charlotte. “Because it was presented more as an art form with no real competitive focus, it took away my nerves.

“It was like going back in time – but in a positive way as they’re so proud of their horses and their heritage. A big focus of our training was the groundwork, which was centred on getting the horse supple and working towards the airs above the ground.

“But what the Valença family also gave me was a way of understanding, of being comfortable to move outside the system and follow my curiosity.”