David Guerrero Garcia is a professional dressage trainer and classical dressage instructor with vast experience teaching horses and riders at all levels and abilities, like classical riding, Doma Vaquera, and Alta Escuela. He taught masterclasses and workshops in many countries, including Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, the United States, Canada, and Australia and he is universally appreciated for his profound understanding of horses, his ability to introduce harmony between the horse/rider pair, and his generous sharing of knowledge he gained from many sources.
Recently David Guerrero Garcia is present in Romania at Singureni Manor Equestrian Retreat, offering dressage and training services for horses and riders in various equestrian disciplines, such as Spanish Dressage (Doma Vaquera), Classical Dressage, High School Dressage, and Working Equitation.
Mr. Garcia, you are a professional dressage trainer and classical dressage instructor with vast experience, when did you start your “love story” with horses?
From a very young age, I have felt a very special love for this world and great respect for the horse. My grandfather Juan Marin has been my teacher, a great rider and teacher, he was the one who instilled in me love and respect for horses.
You are an expert in many abilities like classical riding, doma vaquero, and Alta Escuela, Romanians are not very familiar with these techniques, what can you teach them (in a few sentences) about each category? Horse riding is universal, the way to love and respect the horse should be the same in any country and discipline. Although it is true that each discipline transmits different ways of feeling on horseback… Dressage is elegance and perfection, Vaquera dressage is art and naturalness, and High school dressage is lordship and beauty.
I really liked your life motto “A mediocre teacher lectures. A good teacher explains. A superior teacher demonstrates. A great teacher inspires”How do you inspire people around you? Students must be taught to feel the horse and to communicate with it through their bodies, but always with respect.
You have worked in many countries, on many continents, how did you start your collaboration with Singureni Manor? I have traveled almost all over the world teaching horse riding courses and clinics, I saw a job offer at Singureni Manor equestrian retreat and they put me in contact with them, they explained their project to me and I was very interested in being able to take my horse riding to Romania.
I had the privilege to watch you at Karpatia Horse Show 2022 on Domeniul Cantacuzino where you performed Doma Vaquero and on Singureni Manor training a gorgeous Andalusian Horse, two different things, how many hours do you work daily within the horses and what does it really take to get the best performances?
Well, the truth is that to work with horses you have to be very constant and put in many hours a day, it is a very sacrificed job and you must do it with passion.
You are talking about harmony between you and the horse, how can a person “speak” the language of horses? There are several ways to communicate, but equine language is body language made up of gestures… expressions. Sensitivity and when you are capable of interpreting all those signals that the horse expresses at the same time being able to offer them signals so that they understand you, then it is when harmony with the horse arrives.
Why would you encourage the Romanian public to assist in horse dressage shows and what can they learn from this particular/special relationship? From here I invite the entire Romanian public to discover new facilities, to meet our teacher horses imported from Andalusia where an equestrian culture is born, to be able to practice horsemanship and to see the versatility of this beautiful animal such as the horse.
CITESTE SI: Echitatia ca mod de viata, interviu cu Mihnea Virgolici