Renowned Jazz Musician Keeps Leading Horse Trainer in Tune

Renowned Jazz Musician Keeps Leading Horse Trainer in Tune

12 November 2014

Internationally-acclaimed American horse trainer Farah DeJohnette will be visiting New Zealand this weekend to deliver a three-day horsemanship clinic.

Farah brings a unique approach to equine training, developed over more than 20 years in the industry. Her skills derive from both her competitive experience and years of honing her horsemanship skills through natural, classical and holistic approaches.

The daughter of renowned jazz musician Jack DeJohnette, Farah recently introduced her father’s percussion playing to her equine training to discover if her horse Mercury would dance with her.

Jack is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, playing alongside legendary musicians such as Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Joe Henderson and John Scofield.

The result was a different type of horsemanship. “This liberty dancing is completely improvised, as is the music which is made up on the spot by my father and in response to both Mercury and my movements,” explained Farah.

“I’ve watched my father improvise with other musicians all my life, so I thought how can I fit in with this? How can my horse and I dance together without one of us stepping on the other?” she said.

Farah has produced a captivating short film, ‘Sounds of Liberty’, showing her father Jack playing percussion, her horse Mercury sporting hoof bells, and all three ad-libbing a blend of music, art and dance together.

“With jazz music it’s improvisation with another being. Horses are other beings, another life force. It doesn’t have to be about riding or these goals that we have in the traditional horse world, it’s also about having a connection with another being and making something completely different with it,” she said.

New Zealanders will have an opportunity to learn some of Farah’s skills during the upcoming three-day clinic. It’s designed to help riders develop a better understanding of horses and is aimed at improving riders’ connectivity and therefore their relationship with their own horses.

The clinic runs from Saturday 15th to Monday 17th November at Masterton’s RDA, Wairarapa. There is also an opportunity to watch Farah in action during a demonstration evening on Friday 14th (6.30pm-8.30pm).

ENDS

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