A tradition of excellence is ensured by the program of the Morven Park International Equestrian Institute, a school for riding instructors located in the rolling hills of Virginia's Loudon County.
About an hours drive from Washington D.C. Morven Park was set up in 1968 to fill the void left by the phasing out of the American Calvary schools, which had played such an important part in the training of American riders. Its Director, Major John Lynch, would seem an important link between the Calvary tradition and the present day; He was an instructor at the British Army Equitation School at Weedon, as well as at English military academies of Sandhurst Woolwich. He has also been coach and trainer for British, Irish, and American Olympic Teams, and has competed successfully in dressage, three-day eventing, and show jumping; as a result, his approach, and that of the Morven Park instructors' program, is aimed at producing equally well in the dressage ring, the show jumping arena, and the steeplechase course.
The main instructors course lasts nine months from September to June and is open only to riders who have reached the B Pony Club standard or have demonstrated at least a similar ability. The nine month course is divided in to two sections, The better to putting practice to Major Lynch's description of the schools program " to teach people to teach after they have been taught themselves. The first half of the instructor's course is devoted to the latter part of this proposition, with students receiving intensive instruction in riding and schooling; The second half of the course puts the emphasis on teaching. Students also receive a through grounding in stable management, veterinary medicine, and elementary farriery both in theoretical form - through lectures - and in practice.
At the beginning of the instructors' course the students are arbitrarily in to two or three groups or "rides", and everyday each group works out for two periods in the indoor school or, weather permitting in the outdoor maneges under the supervision of the groups instructors working under the direction of Major Lynch.
At the same time other 'rides' are having lectures on such subjects as show jumpers, the importance of feed supplements, principles of dressage, the uses of a cavaletti, and the like. There are also demonstrations of various aspects of the art of riding at which all riders attend together. Once the students are have been drilled to ride well enough so that they can demonstrate correctly, they are trained to teach, and a highlight of this of this course is a week in which each student takes on the supervision of his fellow students. At the beginning of the week, the student files a complete plan with his instructor; it includes a daily schedule, an outline of lectures and demonstrations, a complete feed schedule for each horse, a shoeing roster and grooming list for each horse, and designs for any courses to be ridden over in classes or demonstrations. The student 'instructor' is responsible for the well being of students and horses alike during his week of command- a unique preparation for the day that the responsibility will be his job.
Morven Park was rated as the top instructors school in the country as well as one of the top schools in the world.
