Crown Park Dressage

Stephen teaches dedicated dressage riding students at Training level up through FEI. His emphasis is teaching the classical dressage principles as taught by The Spanish Riding School, to develop the equine athlete.

Lessons are available at his private facility located in Dayton, or he travels to other stables within approximately a 25 mile radius.

Originally from England, Stephen began his career as a working student at Millfield's Riding School, in London; a grade 4 (out of 4) teaching establishment. While working towards the British Horse Society Instructor (BHSI) certification, he participated in a student exchange program with the United States, eventually earning a position as a rider with the Royal Lipizzan Stallion Show.

After traveling throughout the U.S. and Canada with the show for several years, Stephen settled in Oregon. There, he trained with, and has been strongly influenced by Karl Mikolka, former Chief Rider of The Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria. Karl's teachings form the foundation for Stephen's philosophies.

In 1978, Stephen earned the first USDF medal ever awarded in Oregon. His horse, prophetically named Bronze, also became one of the first horses inducted into the Oregon Dressage Society Hall of Fame (posthumously), in 2011.

In 1979, Stephen was honored to be one of ten instructors chosen from across the country by the USDF to participate in shaping the first National Instructor Training Program. Today this program (now called the USDF Instructor Certification Program) has grown to encompass four levels of proficiency standards for those wishing to teach the classical concepts of dressage.

Today, Stephen maintains his special fondness for the Lipizzan breed, though he is dedicated to developing all breeds, and their riders, to reach their greatest potential!