A Sweet Briar faculty member's new instructional DVD series gives equestrians an opportunity to refine riding skills on their own turf, terms, and timeline.

Shelby French, director of the SBC Riding Program, conceived "The American System of Forward Riding: Life Lessons Learned with Horses" as a way for riders to develop at-home techniques without an instructor on hand.

"We're trying to give all riders a process that will produce quality in their work with every horse," she said of the four-DVD set. "If you don't have access to an instructor, you can work with these materials at home. They give you a visual picture of what you're trying to accomplish and exercises to accomplish it."

Working with nationally known show judge R. Scot Evans, French presents a system to teach riders a sense of connection and communication with their horse. The technique builds on classic concepts developed in the 1950s by equestrian trainer Vladimir Littauer.

The DVD set, which French both wrote and co-produced, also allows equestrians to train for Affiliated National Riding Commission certification levels without having to find an approved riding center. Accompanied by two workbooks, the DVDs guide riders through the system. Students can earn ratings in the certification program by videotaping their performance of a series of tasks and sending the tape to an ANRC instructor for evaluation and feedback.

French's materials were inspired by the observations of Sarah Babcock '71, who evaluates and trains dogs for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Richmond. Babcock conveyed her concerns about tension she observed between horses and riders in training. The two further discussed the issue, and French set about planning a presentation for the forward riding system -- the foundation of her instructional and coaching approach for the previous two decades.

In an effort to make the training accessible to non-competitive riders, French consulted with Evans, whom she calls "one of the best teachers of this system that I have known. He is very well known in the horse show world and his partnership added a great deal of credibility and clout to the project."

A major focus of the system is to help the horse understand what is being asked of him. But the rider must first learn to think from the horse's perspective and how to develop control of his or her body -- the primary communication between horse and rider. This allows the horse to enjoy the work and makes a better overall experience for both parties.

"The main goal is to promote riding that is empathetic to the horse and creates quality in all riding disciplines," French said. "Riding is in many ways like visiting a foreign country. If you know the language you can be much more relaxed and enjoy the experience, but if you don't understand anything that is going on around you then it can become very frustrating.

"The rider must learn to communicate with the horse in a way he can understand in order to develop a true working partnership."

Using the Sweet Briar campus as a setting for footage and writing much of the video script and workbook text, French managed to create a striking, dynamic learning resource for the riding community at large.

"Scot and I are excited about the results of our two years of work," she said. "Our goal now is to get it in the hands of the grassroots hunter and jumper riders. They were our primary motivation and the horses provided the inspiration."

The series is available at www.anrc.org or www.smartpakequine.com, at various tack shops, and in The Book Shop at Sweet Briar College.

- By Angelica Guarino '06 and Shannon Wells