By August Marshall
Mary Cour Burrows, dressage rider and equestrian artist, was recently awarded her USDF bronze medal on her American Quarter Horse, ww Black Magic. The USDF bronze medal is awarded to a rider who earns above a 60% at a minimum of two separate shows with two different judges at First, Second and Third Levels.
“The most interesting thing about this award is that Mary is an amateur rider, and her horse is not a traditional dressage horse,” said her trainer Michele Renshaw. “Mary deserves kudos for putting in all the hard work and not giving up on him. The commitment she gave Magic for the conditioning needed for work at Third level and beyond is long term and takes a lot of dedication, especially when you don't see results overnight. We joke about it, but it's true: he looks like he spent the last year in the gym working out! Not an overnight transformation, but when you see him now you realize how much stronger he is and that is what is beautiful about dressage. You can take a horse who doesn't have all of the natural talent or the right body type and put the correct conditioning and training in place and be very successful in this sport!”
“At Third Level the horse is required to do such movements as half-pass, shoulder-in, flying lead changes, turn on the haunches. These movements came easy to Magic” said Burrows. “What did not come easy was the level of collection needed.”
“I basically used clicker-training and other positive behavior modification techniques to teach him half steps and a sort of passage-like gait,” explained Burrows. “Then we added collection and push, and worked until we could carry this elevation through the whole test.”
Burrows said that she’s extremely lucky to have a friend and trainer who is open and encouraging to experiment and try non-traditional methods, when classical training techniques did not work. “Michele is the one who really encouraged me to take as many clinics as I could, and she really pushed me to enter my first recognized show,” said Burrows. “I was so worried about taking my scruffy little guy out with all the big fancy imports, but at my first show we won Adult Amateur Champion at first level!”
Burrows also trained with Wim Foelkema from the Netherlands, Debbie Hill from Huntsville, AL, and Heather Blitz of Palm Beach, FL.
Besides her non-traditional steed, Burrows chooses unconventional music for her freestyle rides. Her first musical freestyle incorporated old Gene Autry cowboy songs, and her current one has bluegrass favorites from the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou.” “I think it is the first time a yodel has ever been used for a trot extension in a USDF test!” laughed Burrows.
Burrows noted that there are some judges who show breed preferences, and do tend to score a “non-traditional” horse with lower marks. However, that just makes Burrows strive to ride the test as perfectly as possible. “I just take it all in stride,” said Burrows. Magic has earned the nickname from one judge as “The Little Quarter Horse That Could.”
“I started Magic when he was 2 years old, when he belonged to someone else,” stated Burrows. “I grew so much in love with him, even though at the time I was looking for a Warmblood or a draft cross. He was just a back yard horse from Mississippi. He has turned out to be a once-in-a-lifetime horse.”
Magic is also the frequent subject of Burrows’ art, most recently at the “Fresh Horses” show at David Smith Gallery. You can see her equestrian work at www.marycour.com.
Mary Cour Burrows, dressage rider and equestrian artist, was recently awarded her USDF bronze medal on her American Quarter Horse, ww Black Magic. The USDF bronze medal is awarded to a rider who earns above a 60% at a minimum of two separate shows with two different judges at First, Second and Third Levels.
“The most interesting thing about this award is that Mary is an amateur rider, and her horse is not a traditional dressage horse,” said her trainer Michele Renshaw. “Mary deserves kudos for putting in all the hard work and not giving up on him. The commitment she gave Magic for the conditioning needed for work at Third level and beyond is long term and takes a lot of dedication, especially when you don't see results overnight. We joke about it, but it's true: he looks like he spent the last year in the gym working out! Not an overnight transformation, but when you see him now you realize how much stronger he is and that is what is beautiful about dressage. You can take a horse who doesn't have all of the natural talent or the right body type and put the correct conditioning and training in place and be very successful in this sport!”
“At Third Level the horse is required to do such movements as half-pass, shoulder-in, flying lead changes, turn on the haunches. These movements came easy to Magic” said Burrows. “What did not come easy was the level of collection needed.”
“I basically used clicker-training and other positive behavior modification techniques to teach him half steps and a sort of passage-like gait,” explained Burrows. “Then we added collection and push, and worked until we could carry this elevation through the whole test.”
Burrows said that she’s extremely lucky to have a friend and trainer who is open and encouraging to experiment and try non-traditional methods, when classical training techniques did not work. “Michele is the one who really encouraged me to take as many clinics as I could, and she really pushed me to enter my first recognized show,” said Burrows. “I was so worried about taking my scruffy little guy out with all the big fancy imports, but at my first show we won Adult Amateur Champion at first level!”
Burrows also trained with Wim Foelkema from the Netherlands, Debbie Hill from Huntsville, AL, and Heather Blitz of Palm Beach, FL.
Besides her non-traditional steed, Burrows chooses unconventional music for her freestyle rides. Her first musical freestyle incorporated old Gene Autry cowboy songs, and her current one has bluegrass favorites from the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou.” “I think it is the first time a yodel has ever been used for a trot extension in a USDF test!” laughed Burrows.
Burrows noted that there are some judges who show breed preferences, and do tend to score a “non-traditional” horse with lower marks. However, that just makes Burrows strive to ride the test as perfectly as possible. “I just take it all in stride,” said Burrows. Magic has earned the nickname from one judge as “The Little Quarter Horse That Could.”
“I started Magic when he was 2 years old, when he belonged to someone else,” stated Burrows. “I grew so much in love with him, even though at the time I was looking for a Warmblood or a draft cross. He was just a back yard horse from Mississippi. He has turned out to be a once-in-a-lifetime horse.”
Magic is also the frequent subject of Burrows’ art, most recently at the “Fresh Horses” show at David Smith Gallery. You can see her equestrian work at www.marycour.com.
