Clinic with Tiago Cantante

This October, Quinte Working Equitation and Jamesview Dressage in Shannonville are hosting two days with classical Portuguese trainer and Masters working equitation rider Tiago Cantante.

Tiago trained in Classical Equitation under Portuguese riding masters, and in 2018 that same passion for the Lusitano brought him to Canada, where he joined Elio and Louisa Leal at Canadian Lusitanos to breed, train, and develop horses. He's a Masters Level Working Equitation rider who has competed internationally under WAWE, and he has a real gift with young horses and with the difficult ones. Horses tend to leave him softer and more athletic than they arrived.

Day One (Saturday) is Classical Dressage Foundations, working one-on-one through the Portuguese classical system. That tradition is built around lightness: a horse that carries itself, engages and pushes from behind, and responds to quiet aids. Sunday takes that work into the obstacles and puts it to the test.

Working Equitation is the fastest-growing equestrian sport in North America, and grew out of the working traditions of the Iberian Peninsula, where horses needed to be agile, responsive, brave, and completely in tune with their riders. Tiago comes from that world, and teaches it with the mechanics attached: where the horse needs to be balanced before a turn, what your body is telling your horse as you reach for the gate, why a horse rushes and what to do about it.

This clinic is open to all riding backgrounds — dressage, western, hunter, jumper, eventer, or recreational! Riders new to Working Equitation are especially welcome. Spots are limited, and preference is given to riders registering for both days.