Dominique and Debra Barbier

June 7, 8, & 9, Winnipeg/Carberry contact: Brenda McCann, 204-834-3998 bmccann1@mymts.net

June 13, Private Clinic

June 28, 29, 30, Grayslake, IL, Contact Jill  McCrae, 847-546-5164, JEM60030@aol.com

July 1, 2, 3, & 4, Springfield, IL, contact Sarah Scheerer: annie8405@hotmail.com

July 5, 6, & 7, Barrington Hills, IL, contact Laura Alter: laurazoo@comcast.net (630)651-4334

JULY 12, 13, & 14, SYMPOSIUM at BARBIER FARM!!!  Spaces filling fast! contact us: 707-696-2828 or barbierfarm@aol.com

August 2, 3, & 4, Flemington, New Jersey, contact Gary Maholic: (609) 658-6639, gmaholic@gmail.com

We will be adding more to the clinic schedule tab above in the coming weeks. Check back often and don’t forget to make your plans to join us for the Symposium, here in Healdsburg in the midst of the beautiful Dry Creek Valley. Hotel spaces will go quickly….so sign up soon. Click on the July Symposium tab above for all the details. See you on Bastille Weekend!!!

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Sign up for our newsletter on the site if you are not receiving our blasts!  They usually contain trip announcements, new Symposium announcements….and trip reports from destinations like France, Spain, Portugal, and Brasil. It’s the best way to keep up to date…aside from checking the blog regularly. Here’s the link for the newsletter/info sign-up: www.dominiquebarbier.com

More information is available on the MAY BRASIL TRIP tab above. Come along and experience all the fun, learning, great food, and culture surrounding the Brasilian Lusitano. All are welcome, buyers and non-buyers, AND non-horsey spouses!

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Debra and I are pleased to announce that we’ll be returning to Golegã this year. Click on the Golegã tab above for a little more information and stay tuned to the blog for all the details! Contact us right away if you are interested as there are limited spaces available….EVERYONE wants to be in Golegã for the Lusitano Festival, but now you can go with us and enjoy all the insider access and personal history that we share with the Portuguese culture of the Lusitano.

Amities ~ DDBarbier

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The Holiday Season is filled with so many reminders of the blessings of the life we share with our family, friends, and animal companions. Our dear friend Melinda, from Paz Apparel, has inspired us through the years with her unwavering commitment to a cruelty-free life. Hop over to her website (LINK HERE) to see a few of the items she has created over the years that mirror her commitment to compassion in all areas of life. The story of PAZ is a great one….and a great model for all of us to emulate.

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A last thought for the year….click on the Symposium Tab at the top of the page to sign up and JOIN US for the January 2012 event. You can get a great rate at the Dry Creek Inn until December 31st so don’t delay!  All the details are available on the Symposium Page. Come and be surrounded by friends, engaged in learning and expanding your awareness with the horses. It’s a wonderful way to begin the New Year!  We’re going to have guests from New Zealand, Switzerland, England, and all over the US. And our incredible catered dinner on Saturday night has become a fabulous tradition…..full of fun, laughter, cementing old and making new friendships.

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We are happy to let our readers know that we have received a glowing review for Meditation for Two. Cindy Foley is the Editor-in-Chief of Horse Journal, a widely read online magazine and blog for all things equestrian.  Here is just one of the wonderful things she has to say about Meditation For Two:  I finished with a renewed sense of partnership with my horse. I learned that Sally and I are exactly the same! I felt a deeper understanding into what it must be like from her perspective, and I felt a stronger connection—one that I was able to take into the saddle the very next day.  

Cindy continues: It’s philosophy; it’s a look at your inner self; it’s an understanding of the horse’s inner being. If you’re searching for answers and can’t get them from the equitation and training lessons we’ve all had drilled into us, or if you have a particularly challenging horse and are open to new approaches, you might find an answer in this book.

To see the entire review, click HERE.  Keron and I are grateful for the review, of course….but what is so important is that people really do ‘get’ what we are trying to say in the book. It’s gratifying and important to the work we are doing for the horses.

Amities,

DDBarbier

To order MEDITATION FOR TWO, click on this LINK.

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I don’t know if there are words good enough to express my feelings on finding the “perfect” horse from Debra and Dominique Barbier.  I had been searching and looking at horses for quite some time trying to find that certain individual.  After traveling to Portugal and purchasing a horse while there,  I  felt as though  something was still missing.  From years of experience,  I know that it is a very rare thing to find one that grabs your soul and makes you know that this is the “one” with no shadow of a doubt.  That is exactly what happened to me while attending my first Barbier Symposium.  While presenting some horses one evening, in walked this little gray stallion that made my heart stop.  Everything about him was exactly what I had been looking for!  He showed such beautiful movement, sensitivity and noble presence about him that I was totally swept away.  When I touched and then rode him,  I knew there was a connection that was totally unexplainable.   This horse grabbed my soul and I could not go away without him.  I had found the horse that I did not think was possible to find.  

Thank you Debra, for being so kind and helping make this happen for me.  You went out of your way to work details out so that this was possible.  I am so grateful to have Capaz Do Mito.   I look forward to training and having many wonderful years together with this special little horse.  He is wonderful!!!!!!!!

Thank you also to Dominique, Keron, wonderful staff and friends at the symposium who were so excited and encouraging during my visit.  Everyone made this truly a wonderful and special occasion.  

Fondly,

Trish Greenberg

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We have arranged for really great room rates at the Dry Creek Inn in Healdsburg (from $75 weekdays and $106 weekends)…..so get on the phone and make your reservation so you can experience all the fun, learning, and great food! There is so much to do in the Wine Country for non-horsey spouses. Wine-tasting of course, but there are spectacular golf courses, great bookstores, incredible restaurants, and heavenly spas.  Talk to us to get all the insider scoop on what to do and where to go!  Click on the January 2012 Symposium page above for all the information and to sign up for the weekend.  It’s going to be a great three days as we continue to build on the success of our previous events. See you soon!  DD Barbier

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Well it’s been a very busy time here at Barbier Farms. The Symposium had a great turn-out with attendees from California, Virginia, Florida, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Arizona, Alaska, Canada, Spain and Switzerland! Three days of in-depth multi-media lectures, lots of riding, and a Brasilian-themed reception and dinner had smiles on everyone’s faces! Beautiful horses and great food with good company in the stable….combined with Capoeira dancers!!!….made a truly a memorable night.

I’m going to take a moment and thank all the people that make these Symposiums such a success. First and foremost, as always, Debra does a wonderful job to bring all the team together and have the barn and horses looking magnificent. Domina keeps us fed and on schedule. Lisa, with her team of Sarah, Chaya, and Alea, had the horses gleaming and on time! Liz and Shanna, our dear friends from Idaho and Virginia kept all the mechanics purring along…and we had help from new friends, Riley and Karen Caton, for all sorts of tasks! A big thank you to all!

Thank you to Keron and to Riley Caton of Catonphoto.com for the gallery below. There are great moments with many of the participants. I hope you will join us next time for the learning and for the fun! Our next Symposium will take place here at Barbier Farms in Healdsburg, CA, on January 27, 28, and 29. Make plans now to join us.

As the holidays are fast approaching, we included some images from our dear friend Melinda D’Amico’s company: PAZ APPAREL. Click on the link and go see all the very cool stuff….all made from recycled canvas and vegan leather.  FASHION PEACE!

We’ll be posting a number of updates in the coming week….check back with the blog often and tell your friends. We’ll be announcing the Equestrian Trips for 2012 (beginning with Carnivale in Rio in mid-February)!

Amities,

DDBarbier

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Thank you to all our guests who attended the January Symposium here at Barbier Farms. After a rainy start on Friday, the weather cleared and we enjoyed a weekend full of warmth and sunshine.

We had the great pleasure to share our new format with more than 35 attendees.  Morning lectures, a guided meditation, and afternoon lectures, all accompanied by stunning imagery, created the structure of the clinic.  We had great discussions about the heritage and tradition of Classical Equitation, about the gifts of the Masters and how we use the teaching today, and about the fundamentals of preparing your horse for work in relaxation.  Learning to see was a constant thread through all the discussions.  If we can’t tell the difference between a horse working in relaxation and a horse creating movement from rigidity, we will never be able to visualize what we want, therefore we will never be able to communicate clearly with our horses, our dancing partners.

Participants ranged in age from 10 to 87!  Eventers, jumpers, and dressage enthusiasts all enjoyed the different levels of work that the horses demonstrated. And I had a wonderful time with Sedoso (MAC). He felt like doing canter pirouettes (correct three-beat pirouettes) and a piaffe and passage tour, so we did. It was great to spend some time with my horse and share the pleasure with the audience that he always gives me.

On Saturday night we held a wonderful dinner in our home, with 44 guests.  It was a noisy, raucous affair and a great time was had by all.  It was especially gratifying to see people from all over the country mixing and enjoying each other’s company, all sharing one common bond ~ the love of our horses.  We had attendees from Oregon, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa, Florida, New Mexico, and all over California.

It was a great pleasure to have Laurie Wachter, friend, neighbor, and “mom” to Primo and Zacharias….participating with her two beautiful Lusitanos. Candida Von Braun, whose pictures with Herodes have been featured here, bravely attended the clinic though she had been sick with a flu.  It was great to see you, Candida, and we look forward to having you back in the ring in April!  Sade Cain, Alex Tett, Nina Stein, and Caitlyn Holden made up our youth contingent.  They all did an amazing job with their horses, showing the old folks how truly easy it can be to create a beautiful partnership, in lightness, with your horse.  Brava, girls! Keep up the fabulous work and please….careful over those fences!

We’re currently preparing for the next event in the Symposium Series.  The dates are:  April 15, 16, and 17.  Mark your calendar NOW….make your plane reservations SOON…and come enjoy the warmth and sunshine of a California spring with us.

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The time has come!  The trip to Spain, Portugal, and the VINEXPO in Bordeaux is happening.  All the details are here on the blog, but if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email or call.  Debra and I are very excited to show you the birthplace of our beloved Lusitanos and enjoy the cultural traditions, sights, sounds, and flavors of the Iberic Peninsula.  Join Us!  ( email:  barbierfarm@aol.com   phone: 707 696 2828 )

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Follow the link to the website and shop for books, DVD’s, saddles and more.  Contact Debra (707-696-2828) for the NEW saddles and information about pre-paid lessons or auditing.  It’s a fabulous way to give a gift with lasting meaning and benefit.

The next blog post will have a Brasil trip report….it was WONDERFUL…..and say Hello to Benhur and Zeus.  They will be coming to Barbier Farms in just a little while.  They are marvelous young horses….great Lusitano mind, gorgeous movement…..dream partners. Contact Debra or Dominique for information.

Happy Holidays to all!  See you here in a few days with the trip report.  ~DDBarbier

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Last week, while working with Herodes, an exceedingly refined mature Lusitano, I found that I could not long rein him successfully, as he wanted to come behind the bit.  I wanted to school him from the ground in piaffe and passage and so I thought to work him in hand in these two movements.  It is so special to play with an old soul.  Herodes is one of those beings with so much refinement, so much true awareness, what a privilege it is for me to learn with him.

As soon as I found the correct rein position, he went immediately into a relaxed, but elevated piaffe.  From there, we progressed to a beautiful cadenced passage.  The feeling he gives to the rider, and now working with him on the ground, is pure elation.  Once again, I opened a door only to find the horse waiting for me.  ~ DBarbier

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