My company, Mat to Saddle Method was established in 2009 specializing in Pilates and Pilates-based conditioning and balance work for equestrians. Clinic partcipants particularly value the changes in their horses after working on themselves. Though we are located in Flower Mound, TX. we travel the world bringing Mat to Saddle Method to you.
What to expect at a Mat to Saddle Clinic
Join Debbee Sharpe and a talented guest riding instructor for a day of Pilates, Balance, Core Activation, Centering, and Skill Development for you and your horse.
First will be a Pilates based intensive on the mat with Debbee Sharpe, owner of The Pilates Body Loft and Mat to Saddle Pilates Method. Debbee has been a fitness educator for over 30 years. She created Mat to Saddle Pilates Method to help riders associate the principles and benefits of Pilates with their riding. In this barefoot clinic we'll be developing an understanding of what your core is, how to activate it, and how to utilize your core to sustain better balance and efficient movement in the saddle and in your everyday activities. Whether you practice Pilates or not you will benefit from the experience of this clinic. Beginners to Pilates will have much to take away with them. Those who practice Pilates Mat or Equipment work will be looking at the work from a different perspective with the use of beams, balls and mats. Mat to Saddle is structured to make big differences in your body by focusing on the nuances of balance and intrinsic muscle activation.
Using strength, balance, and feel, Debbee will give you the tools to become more in tune with your horse. Pilates strengthens and lengthens
muscles, help you become more fluid and balanced in your movement, become strong and at home in your core and improve your posture. Plus, you'll have more energy by learning how to recruit fewer muscles to do more work. By educating and strengthening your body with my Pilates based program, riding will be a more enjoyable experience for you and your horse.
After lunch the program will be in the saddle with special guest instructors. We will reinforce the benefits of utilizing Pilates centering, core activation and balance to help escalate your riding skills, improve your communication and enhance the partnership between you and your horse. Riders of all skill levels are welcome.
Among the guest instructors that have joined me recently were Champion Reining competitors and trainers Van and Cathy Luse who joined me this spring for a great clinic at their training barn. The Luses' are well known in the equestrian world as accomplished competitors, trainers, and horsemen. As a team they don't miss a single detail when working with their clients. Learn more about Van and Cathy at www.lusehorses.com.
The very talented Jerilyn Caldwell, a 3 Star Parelli Instructor, has joined me several times working on riding skills as a group and giving individual attention where needed. Jerilyn and I reinforce the benefits of utilizing Pilates centering, core activation and balance to help escalate your riding skills, improve your communication, and enhance the partnership between you and your horse. All Parelli levels and other natural
horsemanship modalities are welcome. This fall we're teaming up again for a special Mat to Saddle Trail Clinic at the Grasslands Bed and Barn in Decatur. Learn more about Jerilyn at www.jerilyncaldwell.com.
I'm pleased to have Shea Stewart joining me this fall as a guest instructor. Shea has become a Pilates student of mine and truely
understands how the work connects to you and your horse. Shea's philosophy is to give attention to the horse's mind - how he feels at the moment, where his mind is, and how to offer him the help he is looking for in order to be mentally present and soft with his rider. She will help you learn how to truly connect to your horse, how to work with them in a way that is mutually rewarding. Shea's principals of horsemanship are from the horse's point of view, and is committed to what works for the horse. Shea works with each rider individually to help
them get more out of their own relationship with their horse, all while honoring the horse's integrity and spirit. Learn more about Shea at www.stewartranch.net.
First will be a Pilates based intensive on the mat with Debbee Sharpe, owner of The Pilates Body Loft and Mat to Saddle Pilates Method. Debbee has been a fitness educator for over 30 years. She created Mat to Saddle Pilates Method to help riders associate the principles and benefits of Pilates with their riding. In this barefoot clinic we'll be developing an understanding of what your core is, how to activate it, and how to utilize your core to sustain better balance and efficient movement in the saddle and in your everyday activities. Whether you practice Pilates or not you will benefit from the experience of this clinic. Beginners to Pilates will have much to take away with them. Those who practice Pilates Mat or Equipment work will be looking at the work from a different perspective with the use of beams, balls and mats. Mat to Saddle is structured to make big differences in your body by focusing on the nuances of balance and intrinsic muscle activation.
Using strength, balance, and feel, Debbee will give you the tools to become more in tune with your horse. Pilates strengthens and lengthens
muscles, help you become more fluid and balanced in your movement, become strong and at home in your core and improve your posture. Plus, you'll have more energy by learning how to recruit fewer muscles to do more work. By educating and strengthening your body with my Pilates based program, riding will be a more enjoyable experience for you and your horse.
After lunch the program will be in the saddle with special guest instructors. We will reinforce the benefits of utilizing Pilates centering, core activation and balance to help escalate your riding skills, improve your communication and enhance the partnership between you and your horse. Riders of all skill levels are welcome.
Among the guest instructors that have joined me recently were Champion Reining competitors and trainers Van and Cathy Luse who joined me this spring for a great clinic at their training barn. The Luses' are well known in the equestrian world as accomplished competitors, trainers, and horsemen. As a team they don't miss a single detail when working with their clients. Learn more about Van and Cathy at www.lusehorses.com.
The very talented Jerilyn Caldwell, a 3 Star Parelli Instructor, has joined me several times working on riding skills as a group and giving individual attention where needed. Jerilyn and I reinforce the benefits of utilizing Pilates centering, core activation and balance to help escalate your riding skills, improve your communication, and enhance the partnership between you and your horse. All Parelli levels and other natural
horsemanship modalities are welcome. This fall we're teaming up again for a special Mat to Saddle Trail Clinic at the Grasslands Bed and Barn in Decatur. Learn more about Jerilyn at www.jerilyncaldwell.com.
I'm pleased to have Shea Stewart joining me this fall as a guest instructor. Shea has become a Pilates student of mine and truely
understands how the work connects to you and your horse. Shea's philosophy is to give attention to the horse's mind - how he feels at the moment, where his mind is, and how to offer him the help he is looking for in order to be mentally present and soft with his rider. She will help you learn how to truly connect to your horse, how to work with them in a way that is mutually rewarding. Shea's principals of horsemanship are from the horse's point of view, and is committed to what works for the horse. Shea works with each rider individually to help
them get more out of their own relationship with their horse, all while honoring the horse's integrity and spirit. Learn more about Shea at www.stewartranch.net.
Debbee Sharpe, founder of Mat to Saddle Method
Debbee is the owner of The Pilates Body Loft, GravityFitness at the Loft - a suspension training studio, and Mat to Saddle Pilates Method Clinics. She has been a fitness trainer and instructor for more than 30 years teaching classes, training clients and other instructors. She started the first aerobics studio in Durham, North Carolina in 1980 and was the standard in fitness until she sold it in 1991. Ms. Sharpe designed the first onsite fitness program for the Duke University Hospital employees and was later ask to join the PE staff at Duke University and taught an aerobic fitness program at her studio for undergrads.
Currently, Debbee writes a monthly column, Mat to Saddle Athlete, for the online ipad magazine, Saddle and Stirrups. Debbee was one of the featured instructors on Crunch Fitness aired on ESPN2. She was one of the Fit Team for "Jenny Craig's Fit in 15" on the Health Channel. Her videos include Crunch Fitness Turbo Sculpt; Harper's Bazaar Greenhouse Spa; and Jenny Craig's Tube and Tone Workout. She continues to be involved in video, training talent for camera. She has also written articles and designed several workout programs for featured articles in Shape Magazine.
She is one of the Elite Trainers for Beamfit and uses the Beam in her Mat to Saddle Clinics. Learn more about this challenging sensory barefoot training at Beamfit.com.
Sharpe's Workout was a continuing education provider for ACE for several years and Ms. Sharpe taught instructor workshops and lectured throughout the US. Debb has presented at local and international fitness conventions. She chaired the first Workout for Hope in North Carolina. As a civilian she was a fitness provider for the US Military during the Gulf War and spent two months in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia.
Ms. Sharpe has many general and specific fitness certifications and trains clients at her studio in Coppell as well as in home training. Debbee created Mat to Saddle Pilates Method in 2009 to help humans help their horses. Her workshops involve Pilates-based work on the ground and practice on one's horse to feel how riding is directly and positively affected by Pilates and refocusing one's energy and control.
Pilates has become Ms. Sharpe's focus and love. With the Pilates method of training she has seen incredible positive changes in her clients posture, carriage, strength, and attitudes. She incorporates many forms of barefoot training into her programs and all include the Principles and Fundamentals of Pilates. Sharing this knowledge and her passions, horses and Pilates, with you is her joy and privilege.
Currently, Debbee writes a monthly column, Mat to Saddle Athlete, for the online ipad magazine, Saddle and Stirrups. Debbee was one of the featured instructors on Crunch Fitness aired on ESPN2. She was one of the Fit Team for "Jenny Craig's Fit in 15" on the Health Channel. Her videos include Crunch Fitness Turbo Sculpt; Harper's Bazaar Greenhouse Spa; and Jenny Craig's Tube and Tone Workout. She continues to be involved in video, training talent for camera. She has also written articles and designed several workout programs for featured articles in Shape Magazine.
She is one of the Elite Trainers for Beamfit and uses the Beam in her Mat to Saddle Clinics. Learn more about this challenging sensory barefoot training at Beamfit.com.
Sharpe's Workout was a continuing education provider for ACE for several years and Ms. Sharpe taught instructor workshops and lectured throughout the US. Debb has presented at local and international fitness conventions. She chaired the first Workout for Hope in North Carolina. As a civilian she was a fitness provider for the US Military during the Gulf War and spent two months in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia.
Ms. Sharpe has many general and specific fitness certifications and trains clients at her studio in Coppell as well as in home training. Debbee created Mat to Saddle Pilates Method in 2009 to help humans help their horses. Her workshops involve Pilates-based work on the ground and practice on one's horse to feel how riding is directly and positively affected by Pilates and refocusing one's energy and control.
Pilates has become Ms. Sharpe's focus and love. With the Pilates method of training she has seen incredible positive changes in her clients posture, carriage, strength, and attitudes. She incorporates many forms of barefoot training into her programs and all include the Principles and Fundamentals of Pilates. Sharing this knowledge and her passions, horses and Pilates, with you is her joy and privilege.
