At ALR Dressage, we strive to provide a positive learning environment for dressage students of all levels. Below are some comments from our current dressage community:
EJ Gotta Attitude and Tracy Arnett
"Riding with Ally is a BLAST. I have learned a lot and worked really hard while training with Ally, but have continued to have fun. Sometimes to Ally's detriment. And anyone that knows me, knows that I enjoy life to the fullest. Ally allows me to be me. I know Ally is just a little bit of a masochist, because she even took on my dad after having me as a student. Ally, along with Jennifer Ward, helped me put together a Freestyle test that really suits Ty and me perfectly. I am sure that I will continue to improve and have fun with Ally as my Dressage trainer in the Memphis area for YEARS to come."
Eventide and Kathy Massey
"I have always told people to look at an instructor’s students to evaluate their effectiveness. Ally students, including me, have progressed amazingly over the several years she has been here. She teaches in a positive manner that encourages each one of us to strive to be better, to understand the mechanics of riding and to continually evaluate our position and response. Only through years of experience of teaching and training, can an instructor bring this insight to her students. There are so many days that I get off smiling and appreciate all she has shared with us."
Fanfare and Patty Fannin
"Five years ago I bought an unbroken 4 year old. While I worked him for two years through the initial breaking and training level, I had never competed or ridden any horse above First Level. So it was no surprise that we hit some major barriers at First Level. It was then that I started working with Ally. With her training, we progressed through First, Second and Third Levels in three years and are now ready to compete at Fourth Level. We placed in the top 5 at the Region 3 Championships for First, Second and Third Level Adult Amateur. In 2005 we ranked 7th nationally for Second Level Adult Amateur and were ranked #1 in the nation for the USDF Oldenburg Breed Awards for Second Level. In 2006, we ranked #2 at Third Level AA Oldenburg 2006 Breed Awards. These accomplishments are especially note worthy considering Ally was bringing both horse and rider through the levels. As an added bonus, this 17 hand horse started to display some seriously unruly and defiant behavior at the age of 6. His antics cleared more than a few practice arenas at area shows. Dealing with this type of behavior took a very high level of horsemanship and more than a little courage. But even during the most difficult sessions, Ally was always quick to praise and reward the horse when he performed well. This is what worked so well for my horse. I sincerely believe that there are not many trainers who could have ridden this horse through his rebellious period and come out the other side with a horse who loves to work and please. Ally has been a great trainer for me as an inexperienced rider and for my young horse. To sum it up, I will be ordering my shadbelly this year, and I owe it all to Ally."
Festival and John Murray
"Ally strives for perfection in everything she does, and you can rest assured that both you and your horse are being trained the correct way. Ally has significantly improved my own riding and led me to buy my horse Eve. We earned an individual bronze medal at young riders in 2003 at Quebec, Canada. Ally has also helped develop some of the Grand Prix movements in my horse, and with Ally’s hard work, we achieved a pretty awesome passage! She is a great trainer and an enduring lifetime friend. Thanks Ally!"
Dressed To Thrill and Tina West
"I recently purchased a beautiful 5 year old Hanoverian mare with Ally's invaluable assistance. We asked her to represent both the seller and me.
Ally was great. She handled the transaction in a very fair and professional manner and all of us were delighted with the deal. The experience for me was seamless. Ally certainly has a real talent for matching horse and rider perfectly.
Within a few weeks, I showed my new horse "Hannah" at the Kentucky Horse Park and got my first 70% score ever, and we qualified for 2008 Region 9 USDF Championships. I'm looking to the future with my new horse, and with Ally's expert instruction. I know we will be successful and have lots of fun along the way."
Hennessy and Morgan Baily Carrier
"I'm 17 years old and began riding with Ally Rogers about 3 1/2 years ago. Prior to that time, I rode hunter/jumper. I knew nothing about dressage and very little about seat control and aids. I began competition Fall of 06' at 1st level, and I'm now preparing for Fourth Level!!! Unbelievable progress - thanks to the super training I've received from Ally- she's the best!!!"
Leopold and Megan Robertson
"When my horse (Louie) and I started training with Ally, he changed from a horse that preferred to stand on two legs during most of the ride, to a horse that traveled on all four legs. For the first time since I got Louie I had a submissive, responsive, willing and happy horse that I was able to compete on. With her amazing training we were able to qualify for the Region 3 Young Rider team and competed in Virginia in August of that same year. Without Ally’s teaching and training Louie and I would still be riding down centerline, stopping and waving to the judge, with Louie’s two front legs high in the air."
Lolita and Vicky Rimstidt
"There's little doubt that I must be one of Ally's greatest challenges. I'm not young (68), not athletic, and I certainly lack the conformation for dressage. However, horses and dressage are my passion. With Ally's skill and patience, I am competing and moving up the levels. This past show season, I completed the requirements for my USDF Bronze Medal. I am half way to a Silver Medal, having earned the Fourth Level scores needed for this award. We are extremely fortunate to have a dressage trainer with this great amount of talent, experience and integrity in the Memphis, Tennessee area."
Lexington and Valerie Simmons
"Ally, I want to say thank you! I would not be where I am without you. I am currently showing at Third level. When we met four years ago I had only recently learned about dressage. Since I had not ridden in 30+ years, I thought this would be a good way to get started. So my goals when we met were simple, to ride a straight line and a circle. This proved to be a much greater challenge than I would have ever dreamed. However, with your guidance, patience, understanding, extensive knowledge, sharp eyes, creative resourcefulness and talent for teaching, I have progressed at an amazing pace. You have been a wonderful teacher and friend and made so much possible for me. I must also thank you for finding my new horse Munstie. He is so cool! We have so much to look forward to because of you. Thank you Ally, you are AWESOME!!!!!!"
Qastalia and Jennifer Ward
"When I came to ride with Ally, I was ready to sell my horse. My mare is very sweet, but sensitive. We were not even able to canter safely. After a short time training with Ally, I began to have fun riding. The change in my horse was dramatic. She developed confidence and relaxation, which allowed us to progress. I have learned so much and accomplished a partnership with my horse that I didn't think was possible. I have been riding since I was 6 years old, but I don't think I really learned to ride until training with Ally. She is supportive, patient, and has an uncanny way of knowing exactly what a horse and rider need at a given time. She didn't allow me to give up on myself or my horse and I am forever grateful. I would have missed out on so much."
Remi and Kelli Kirelawich
"Before Ally came to Memphis, I had come to accept that I would be stuck in the lower levels and my dreams of learning how to ride Fourth Level and above were gone. When I lived in Florida, I was a working student for Nancy Smith, who was long listed for the 1996 Olympics with Focus, and training under Michael Poulan. Then I moved to Memphis! There just wasn’t anyone of this caliber in the area. Now there is! I have worked with Ally and I am still surprised by her "eye" and knowledge of what a student and their partner need to be working on to progress. I have seen her take students who could barely trot on up to competing at Fourth Level! I have seen her take naughty horses stuck at Training Level and blossom into elegant dressage horses! It is something to watch! Thanks to Ally my dream is alive again!"
Sarrotti and Siobhan Byrne
"I enthusiastically recommend Ally as a rider and trainer. Ally was instrumental in helping me to train my young horse up to the FEI levels; I could not have done it without her. She is a skilled, compassionate rider and a teacher who is committed to her students, genuinely wanting them to succeed. Her teaching style encourages one to be an independent, thinking rider. Since working with Ally I have gone on to become a trainer myself, and she has always been encouraging and inspiring. I still call Ally when I need advice! She has been there for me every step of the way in my development as a rider, and also as a friend."
Silvester and Karen Raber
"I’ve ridden with Ally since she came to Tennessee years ago, first on my aging Arabian and then on Wilma (Wish Me Well, now happily jumping Grand Prix fences in Nebraska), but most recently on Silvester, who is proving to be the perfect horse with whom to advance through the FEI levels. Ally found him for me three years ago, and since then we’ve gone from barely ready for Third Level to riding Prix St. Georges at Regionals in the Fall of 2009. Throughout all these years, and with all three horses, Ally has been the ideal instructor—she knows what to say when, and no matter what challenge I’ve faced, they’ve become manageable with her guidance. She never stops searching for answers herself, so we all benefit constantly from her thirst for knowledge and understanding at every stage of a horse’s training. When I first rode with her I wasn’t sure I’d ever make it through Second Level; now, I have no trouble imagining riding a Grand Prix test on Silvester, and getting that gold medal to add to the Silver and Bronze I earned with her."
Ansley Stanfill
"I came to Ally in July of 2009, having been a dressage rider for many years. I thought that since I had ridden to Third level, I knew what I was doing. In reality I had no grasp at all on the basics. Ally has taught me more about dressage in the past seven months than I learned in the seven years previous. I also came to Ally fairly skeptical of my horse being in "full training". I had never handed over my horse to someone else to ride before. But I was frustrated and at my wit's end with my sometimes explosive four year old mare. It seemed to me that she often had a bad attitude and that she would not be able to advance in dressage. My intention was to put her into training for a couple of months and then sell her. After the first month of full training, there was such a difference in my horse that I decided not to put her up for sale. Under Ally, she has become truly a pleasure to ride and can comfortably school some of the Second Level movements. I am hoping to qualify her for regionals at Training level (and maybe First Level!) this year. Ally is just simply the best."
