Heather Blitz and Paragon Arrive At Cutler Farm Dressage
Medfield, MA (May 31, 2013) – Donna Cameron, owner of Cutler Farm Dressage in Medfield, Massachusetts is thrilled to welcome Olympian and Pan American gold medalist, Heather Blitz to her new role as resident head trainer of the farm. According to Cameron, Blitz and her amazing horse, Paragon, have arrived at the farm and are settling in nicely to their new home and community. The barn is abuzz with activity as clients near and far are already booking into Blitz’s schedule, including the owner of a home Blitz has just purchased in the area. The homeowner even insisted on including a lesson with Blitz in the purchase and sale agreement! Cameron feels this is only a sign of more good things to come for Blitz from this welcoming equestrian community near Boston.
“I was impressed with Heather’s strong work ethic and the fact she had trained her own horse to such a high degree of performance using her exceptional intelligence and her outstanding athletic ability, without anything being handed to her,” says Cameron about selecting her new trainer. “Her integrity and straight forwardness appealed to me. When she conducted a hugely successful clinic at Cutler Farm last winter, we all saw how talented she was as a teacher and how easily she explained complex concepts in simple and workable terms.” During the clinic, Blitz explained how she incorporates the teachings of Mary Wanless into her programs and how she emphasizes the importance of understanding the bio-mechanics of both horse and rider to achieve the highest success as an equestrian. Cameron knew then that Blitz would fit in beautifully at Cutler Farm. “I have followed Heather’s career and her progress with Paragon in the last several years because of my deep interest in incorporating bio-mechanics into the sport of dressage,” Cameron explains. “As a former student of ballet and a fervent Pilates devotee, I was keenly aware of the importance of developing a strong core and of understanding the physics of body movement to achieve a higher degree of harmony between horse and rider,” she continues, “I wanted very much to offer this form of rider education at Cutler Farm because I believed it melds together a scientific concept with an aesthetic grace – a combination of strength and beauty – which, to my mind, is what dressage is all about.”
Blitz and Paragon definitely showed everyone what dressage is all about earlier this year during the 2013 Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Florida, capping the season off with back to back victories at the Wellington Nations Cup CDI 3*. They took first place in the FEI Grand Prix Special CDIO 3* with a score of 72.313%, which followed up their first place win as a part of Team USA 1 with a score of 70.979% in the FEI Grand Prix CDIO 3*. Blitz explained that she has had to be patient with Paragon during his training to get him to this level of competition, mainly because of his size. At 18 hands, they simply had to take their time to develop the strength and balance necessary to support his big frame. Blitz owns Paragon, who is a 10-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding (by Don Schufro x Pari Lord), and is looking forward to the opportunities they have ahead of them at their new home. Blitz says she is looking forward to starting up a great business and serving her new clientele, as well as preparing Paragon for their World Equestrian Games campaign next year.
Cameron also mentioned that Cutler’s stalls are rapidly filling with dressage riders looking to learn from Heather, and that trailer-in lessons are most welome during the week. Blitz also plans to host regular monthly clinics at Cutler for those riders who wish to learn from the best. Stay tuned for news about Cutler Farm’s upcoming open house and welcome reception for Blitz as well as future clinics with Blitz and Mary Wanless.
Cutler Farm’s state of the art facility and convenient location to Boston and the New England equestrian community make it a perfect location to bring a horse for a day, a week, or a month of lessons with an Olympian and world class rider like Blitz. With clients already lining up at the door, it’s clear that Heather Blitz and Paragon are here to stay at their new home of Cutler Farm Dressage.