Today we’d like to introduce you to Claudia Roberts.
Hi Claudia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My story begins when I dreamed of horses as a child. I had the opportunity of finally having my own horse named Busby when I was twenty-one after my dad bought him for my mom. He became mine by chance and shortly thereafter I began my journey in the discipline of dressage, which translated from French means “the training of the horse”.
I met my mentor, Heather Bender, who came to board at the stable I was at and began my education in dressage while I was getting a master’s degree in clinical psychology.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road at all! I was fortunate enough to have started showing horses early on in my career and was able to form relationships with people in the horse industry so my name was somewhat well-known early on. I also was mentored by Heather Bender, a well-established competitor, trainer and judge, and worked for her for some years before going out on my own, so that did help me tremendously.
In this business, one gets clients by word of mouth primarily, so running a successful barn is extremely important and not an easy task. It takes good business skills, excellent people skills, a good team of professionals working with you such as veterinarians, equine dentists, farriers, bodywork specialists, working students and grooms.
The beginning years of building a clientele were difficult ones. Also landing in a facility that offers what is needed to run a dressage barn at fair prices was also a challenge. After many clients coming and going throughout the years and moving the barn many times, I believe I’ve finally found a nice facility called Hacienda Del Valle which provided us with most of our riding needs and a wonderful assortment of riders ranging in ages from 17 to 70 from beginner to more advanced levels.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Pacific Dressage is a training barn located in the beautiful Angeles Forest at Hacienda Del Valle providing classical dressage and western dressage lessons for the rider and training for the horse.
The facility offers 16×20 mare motel stalls, a round pen and another bigger round arena for lunging, two jumper arenas, two full-size dressage courts and two hacking arenas.
We also organize dressage schooling shows held at the facility once a month.
English and Spanish spoken
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
My masters in clinical psychology has given me a unique perspective on issues some riders may experience such as fear and anxiety while riding or PTSD from a fall.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pacificdressage.com
- Instagram: Pacificdressage and claudianroberts
- Facebook: Pacific Dressage, LLC and Claudia Roberts
- Youtube: Pacific Dressage and Claudia Roberts
Image Credits
Dharma Equine Photography
