MITAVITE Announced as the Major Sponsor for the 2010 QLD Festival of Dressage

In an exceptional show of support for equestrian sport in Queensland, MITAVITE is welcomed on board as the major sponsor for this year’s QLD Festival of Dressage.

Festival Event Manager and MITAVITE sponsored rider, Nicole Tough, says, “With the Festival of Dressage now in its fourth year, we have produced an event of major appeal not only for our devoted spectators, but for major premium companies like Mitavite. This is an exceptional step forward for our Festival, for our sport and for all equestrians because with Mitavite’s support, we can really put on a show to remember”.

MITAVITE has been in attendance at the Festival of Dressage each year and has seen first-hand what this event has done in terms of profiling the sport in an educational and entertainment format. Spectator numbers have grown consistently since the first Festival in 2007 and for 2010, it is expected the event will welcome up to 3000 visitors at Pine Lodge on Saturday 3 July.

“Mitavite is excited to be involved in this leading educational event, which has proved its value to the Queensland equine community for the past 4 years” says Mitavite Queensland Sales Manager Julie de Visser. “We believe that our feeds are ideally suited for dressage horses of all levels and that this partnership with the Qld Festival of Dressage allows us to showcase our range of products, technical expertise and nutritional services to people who are keen to learn more”.

The 2010 MITAVITE Qld Festival of Dressage will showcase 18 ridden educational demonstrations in the Main Arena, featuring Richard Weis, Carlos De Cleermaecker, and Mel Widdis from Fortissimo Freestyles ; 10 topical seminars in the Motorline BMW Seminar Centre; the much anticipated Stallion Parade, Fashion Parade, Silent Auctions, $1000’s in raffles and prize draws are on again bigger than ever – as is the hugely popular TEKNA Festival Trail. The Trade Village has been extended this year – with all vendors offering ‘Festival Only’ discounts, including Horseland Underwood’s 'spend $50+ at their stand and go in the draw to win a Bates Innova Dressage Saddle’ to be drawn and presented on the day!

This will be another Festival full of education, entertainment and surprises, showcased within the grounds of Pine Lodge Equestrian Park on Taylor Road in Thornlands. Gates open at 8:00am with sample bags full of goodies for the first 300 guests to arrive.

Tickets prices are unbeatable in value, being $25 for adults, $15 for children(5-12) and family passes(2 adults, 2 children) for $60.

Save with discounted PrePaid tickets which are available until 25 June 2010 – your PrePaid tickets provide rapid entry and put you in the running for exclusive prize giveaways on the day.

Visit The 2010 MITAVITE QLD Festival of Dressage website www.qlddressagefest.com for full details on ticketing, the Programme of Events, Trade Village participants, and beneficial information from our highly valued sponsors. Set the Festival website as a favourite as it is updated regularly with news and information as it develops.

Cancel all other plans and block out your diary from 8:00am on Saturday 3rd July, 2010.

International Seat Specialist, Richard Weis and Acclaimed Sports Psychologist, Jonah Oliver Announced as Special Guest Demonstrators

After three incredibly successful years, the Queensland Festival of Dressage is back again for 2010 and for this year, the event programme is Big, Biggest, BEST for all things Dressage.

Consistently acknowledged and applauded as a runaway success with equestrian enthusiasts from all over Australia, and in keeping with the Festival’s commitment in delivering what audiences want, this year’s programme of ridden educational demonstrations and equine health presentations is set to deliver the strongest line up to date with the highly anticipated appearances of International Seat Specialist, Richard Weis, and the acclaimed Sports Psychologist, Jonah Oliver.

Uniquely catering to the needs of all dressage and equestrian sports enthusiasts, from the passionate amateur to the professional, this year’s Festival will again feature an enormous selection of training displays covering current topics and requirements for dressage training and competition. With all demonstrations exhibited via the members of the Queensland State Dressage Squad and some of Australia’s leading professional riders and coaches, the Festival’s popular method of producing a full day of ridden demonstrations with rider/trainer headphone commentary provides invaluable insight for those seeking insight and education from the professionals. Acknowledged throughout the world as a leading influence in the education of rider balance and positioning, Richard Weis’ inclusion in this year’s programme will be insightful and useful for every rider, regardless of what discipline you choose to ride.

RICHARD WEIS is a leading authority on the influence of the rider on the horse. His students learn balance and how to move with the horse in such a way as to direct the horse in all elements of coordination; rhythm, bend, impulsion, collection, in the shapes of lateral exercises and changes etc In short, the focus is on DRESSAGE riding TECHNIQUE.

Recently, Richard has presented on this enormous subject in lecture /demonstrations and instructor training clinics for the German, Dutch, Australian and New Zealand Equestrian Federations. He presented at the prestigious '03 Global Dressage Forum in Holland, and was Technical Advisor to the judges at the first National Finals of the ' Sit Competition ' for the Dutch Association of Riding Schools.

In clinics around the world he works with a full range of students, from beginner riders of all ages to Olympians (from five countries) and Paralympians. He has conducted train the trainer clinics at the DOKR (German Olympic Training Centre) and the German Riding School where professionals are examined.

Running concurrently with the ridden demonstrations, the Seminar Centre will again offer a carefully considered collection of educational seminars on current issues and research surrounding rider and equine health and wellbeing. This year, to enhance the outstanding seminars on offer, the highly sought-after Sports Psychologist, Jonah Oliver, will provide his considerable expertise via a specially developed programme on ‘Riding Under Pressure’ .

As the guest sports psychologist for the past 3 years at the QLD State Squad training camps, JONAH OLIVER is a registered sport psychologist with the QLD Psychologists Board as well as being a member of The Australian Association for Exercise and Sports Science (AAESS). Jonah teaches into the undergraduate and postgraduate sport psychology programmes at The University of Queensland and as an applied practitioner, he works with a wide variety of clients ranging from the QLD Roar A-League Football team, elite golfers, Olympic water polo players, national basketball players, national ice-skaters, professional tennis players and coaches, professional kayakers, national track and field athletes as well as endurance tri-athletes to name a few. Jonah is regular guest on an ABC radio program that focuses on current topics relating to sport and has been a QAS Psychology Provider since 2004. He is the author of several publications and conference presentations in the area of sport psychology and motor control/skill acquisition. With his background in psychology as well as his ongoing relationship with academia, Jonah utilises a scientific-practitioner based model in his applied work by integrating the latest research into his psychological skills training programs. Do these things sound familiar to you?... Are you experiencing a performance slump that won´t shift? Do you regularly lose to weaker opponents? Do you perform better in practice than in competition? Do you sometimes `choke´ at critical times? Does fear of failure block your path to great sports performances? Come along and listen to Jonah and the methodology used to overcome these performance blocks – you will be astounded at the insights!

To round off the full day of specialised information and education, all the annual entertainment favourites are back with the spectacular Stallion Parade, extensive Trade Village with VERY special ‘Festival Only’ discounted offers, Fashion Parade and Silent Auctions.

And of course, with special thanks to the generosity of the Trade Village vendors and sponsors, you can look forward to an enormous array of raffles, surprise prize draws and giveaways including the highly valued sample bags for the first 300 guests to arrive.

Showcased within the grounds of Pine Lodge Equestrian Park and uniquely created to inspire all levels of riders to reach new heights in their equestrian pursuits, we can’t wait to share the 2010 QLD Festival of Dressage with you!

Visit the Festival website www.qlddressagefest.com for full details on ticketing, the Programme of Events, Trade Village participants, and beneficial information from our highly valued sponsors. Set the Festival website as a favourite as it is updated regularly with news and information as it develops.

Cancel all other plans and block out your diary from 8:00am on Saturday 3rd July, 2010.

*As a Not-For-Profit special event, all profit from the QLD Festival of Dressage is directed back into the development of Dressage in QLD.

Dressage is the Winner!

Phenomenal Crowds arrive for the 3rd Annual QLD Festival of Dressage.

With double the number of last year’s audiences returning for more of this unique dressage platform, the 2009 QLD Festival of Dressage did not disappoint. From start to finish, the day was literally alive with excitement as spectators packed into the Pine Lodge Equestrian Centre for a complete extravaganza of all things ‘Dressage’.

In the words of the owners of host venue, Pine Lodge, "It has taken the equine industry 30 years of operation to fill the gallery and it was overflowing!" and it certainly was, with keen spectators lining up from 6:45am for the 8:00am opening.

Developed and produced by a passionate volunteer committee, the Festival is a showcase event of major proportions and is an all-inclusive day of dressage training demonstrations, educational seminars and crowd-pleasing entertainment. Not only is this distinctive event created to fundraise and raise the profile of Dressage as a sport in Queensland, but is designed to share the skills of the professionals directly to the greater equestrian community.

The Main Arena stands were overflowing with audiences keen to absorb the undisputed knowledge imparted from key professionals and equestrian sport dignitaries such as Mary Seefried, Carlos DeCleermaecker and Elizabeth Owens. With the inclusion of these luminaries, combined with the talents of leading riders, coaches, judges, members of the QLD State Dressage Squad and equine industry professionals, the dressage enthusiast wanted for nothing during an extraordinary array of ridden demonstrations which covered everything from warming up and riding the ‘new’ dressage tests, the influence of the rider’s position, retraining the ex-racehorse, what the judges are looking for in a Freestyle, the unique ‘Expert Panel’ discussion, to the highly anticipated Master Class with Australian-based German Master and Queensland State Coach, Carlos DeCleermaecker.

Running concurrently with the Main Arena demonstrations was the series of educational presentations from the ‘Magic Millions Sport Horse Sale’ Seminar Centre. With carefully selected industry professionals on hand, the seminars were standing room only with spectators keen to soak the knowledge provided by a selection of equine veterinarian, dental, hoof and nutrition specialists giving presentations on advances in technology in keeping horses sound, happy and healthy in their work.

The Festival is not only about learning and the organisers took every available moment to ensure something was always happening - Delighting everyone, surprise prize draws were announced regularly throughout the day; the Fashion Parade in the Garden was again a huge hit, the breathtaking Stallion Parade left many awestruck with the majesty of Queensland’s leading performance sires, and of course, the extensive Trade Village provided many happy shoppers with the opportunity to purchase the latest products at Festival-Only’ prices.

With the excitement and enthusiasm from this year’s attendees still resonating in the air, the Festival committee has already earmarked another riveting event for 2010.

Ongoing news and information on the 2010 QLD Festival of Dressage will be listed as it develops on the official website at www.qlddressagefest.com. A gallery of photos from the day will be listed shortly and as always, the Committee is keen for your feedback and input on what you want to see, so please list your thoughts on the feedback form which will go live within the next few days.

In closing, and in the words of Festival Manager, Nicole Tough, “To all the spectators, we hope you were inspired to join your local riding group; to pencil whenever the opportunity arises; Don't criticise the judges - become one!; Help set up and take down arenas; If we all do a little bit - then dressage is the winner! We would like to thank everyone for loving dressage as much as us, and we hope everyone had a wonderful day! We'll be here again next year and we hope to welcome you back for 2010!"