Testimonials
I would to like to tell you about Louisa. She just does a good job. I am trainer myself and I respect her knowledge, and I highly recommend her. She broke my 3 year old Hanoverian Gelding for me, and she did a great job.
- Irina B.
Irina learned to ride through the upper levels of dressage as a working student in Russia, at the Olympic Equestrian Training Centre in Moscow
Knowledgeable.
Focused.
Kind.
Those are the words I would use to describe Louisa, especially for lower-level riders like I am.
Knowledgeable: As an upper-level rider and trainer, she continually grows in the sport by taking and hosting clinics and sharing what she learns with her students.
Focused: As a teacher, she gives each student her full attention. Knowing that people (and horses) learn in different ways, she’ll try a variety of explanations and techniques until something clicks.
But it’s her kindness that makes her special. Her emphasis always is on doing the best for the horse, and that means riding my best so my horse becomes his best self. And she has no bias as to whether the horse is a Grand Prix contender or, like mine, a training-level quarter horse. I always finish a lesson feeling good about something I accomplished, and about my horse.
— Libby Afflerbach
Looking back to when I began my adventure into the world of dressage, I have to count myself lucky to have found “my" perfect dressage horse, Capella.
She was a beautiful black mare of Rohdiamant lineage. Capella was dreamy to the moon for me!
Little did I know that I my luck would double when I found the perfect dressage trainer for my special horse. Discovering that Louisa Zai’s Helicon Farm was nearby, just on the outskirts of Fort Worth, was perfect.
Louisa has a caring attitude and concern for a horse’s wellbeing. She is also a skilled and talented dressage trainer.
With Louisa as Capella’s rider and trainer, my dream horse progressed up the levels at USDF recognized shows placing well, and winning big most of the time! This magical combination of Louisa and Capella captured a multitude of blue ribbons and championships. Within three years, Louisa brought Capella from starting under saddle to winning at second level and working on third level movements.
Sadly, I had to sell Capella, but I will always remember those days as fun and magical times.
- Connie Henegan
Capella's
Ribbon
Collection
Louisa has been training my mare for 5 months and I have been overwhelmed with the incredible progress. I brought her 1,200 pounds of potential - and wonderfully bred mare whose movement was not making her parents proud. At 4 years old, I knew we had to start seeing some progress soon.
Within the first month, my mare got off her forehand and using her back end properly, and then she started to shine. I noticed that Louisa's gentle but firm training style, gave her not only the skills, but more importantly the confidence, to move like a real dressage horse. After a few short months, her canter was more upright, her trot started to lengthen and she was did it all with her ears up and an "eager to work" attitude. We went to our first show and received great scores - I guess the Judges like the way she is progressing too :)
I will say that although Louisa does this as a business, it is not a job for her. It is her love of horses and passion for dressage that shines through everyday with the smiles and positive attitude that makes the horses and the owners incredibly lucky to have met her.
- Thora Eyford