G.E.I. World

I visited Allida and Global Equestrian Imports shopping for a client of mine. Allida saw something in my ride with Ladino that led her to reaching out to me afterwards and telling me she thought we’d be a good match and we should figure out how to get him home with me. It’s early days still, but I couldn’t be more grateful for Allida’s insight on our match – this horse delights me every day. As a trainer as well, I ride a lot of horses, but this one is special for me and I fall more in love every day. Our experience was fantastic and the next time I have a client in the market, my first call will be to Allida.

Allida has been an incredible coach, mentor, trainer, and friend, since the day I had my first lesson at age 15. I have trained with her for over a decade now and the progress in both my riding and the horses I have worked with are unmatched in the dressage industry. From Training Level to Grand Prix, her talent for transformation is remarkable. Her patience and connection with the horse is breathtaking to watch, and her ability to train the horse and rider to communicate is what makes her the best. She always puts the horses’ health and needs first, and will help anyone reach the goal of true dressage connection, at all levels.

I would highly recommend an international buying trip with Allida because of the plethora of options and the excitement of traveling. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, with her professional help. It was fun and when it was over I immediately said I want to do this again someday!.

We didn’t have much time to spend so we wanted to be as efficient as possible. She got videos and leads prior to heading overseas, then she also went ahead of me to pre-screen, in person. She created an A list and B list. When I arrived, she had a day lined up of the top talent, and if I didn’t like any of those, she had a back up list planned. Of course, I chose one from the A list. I was aware of all the options outside the list and even backups if none of those worked so I felt very comfortable choosing from the first few I saw because of all the pre-work. Allida also worked to organize the vet check, transportation, and importation. It was very seamless and close to effortless, I was amazed!

When my competition horse died, I took some time to think about what my new horse would look like – what its job would be, if I wanted a trained horse or a baby, and would sort of personality I wanted to have around. I decided on a PRE youngster. I spent some time looking at domestic PRE’s and felt quality for money just wasn’t what I hoped for, I wanted a more modern type. So I decided to go find my new friend in Spain.

I had a pretty good idea on what I wanted with respect to type and conformation, but I needed Allida’s help with finding prospects and contacts in Spain. I also relied on her experience for the practicalities of the importation- blood testing, quarantine, transport and flights.

I got my unicorn, even down to the personality. Doing this trip on my own, would have been miserable, and likely would have taken multiple trips before I got it right. I probably also would have ended up spending a lot more money, as I probably would not have found the grass roots farms Allida found, and I would have ended up at a more commercial level barn.

Allida is an extraordinary trainer. I’ve never had anyone help me learn “feel,” or have such a wealth of tools to help me ride the variety of horses that I have ridden. She approaches training with kindness, compassion, and with an eye to support whatever the horse’s needs are, in that moment. She is a rare gem and I can not recommend her highly enough.

Allida is a great trainer for anyone who is looking to develop their horse into an athlete. She teaches the dressage principles of “forward,” “bending,” “straightness” and “engagement” in a methodical and practical way. Allida’s lessons are well balanced – there is a clear warm up, then a few exercises to address the horse’s development, followed by stretching.  She varies the exercises from lesson to lesson, addressing different aspects of the horse’s entire musculature. Her approach is to “build” the horse to its full athletic potential. As a driven competitor herself, Allida expects competence and progress from her students and their horses.

Allida has helped me through many stages in my life as a horse owner and personal growth, both as a rider and emotionally. She has the most sensible approach to training and horsemanship I have come across. Less is more, read the horse, both on the ground and on the back. Some animals and humans can be forced in to doing things they do not enjoy, but will they do it well? I have watched her pairing horses to riders, on the show ground, as an instructor, running a barn. That made it easy for me to decide to become her working student at age 50…