“Karen Hamdan is the most talented and professional trainer that I have ever known. I have been riding and showing throughout my life in the US and Canada, and I have yet to find another trainer that impresses me like Karen. She is extremely knowledgeable, motivating and is passionate about her training and her students. My horses and I wouldn’t be where we are today without Karen!”

“What strikes me about Karen is not only her ability to make a challenging horse look easy to ride, but also her ability to teach and connect with her students. Every lesson I had with her brought me to another level in my riding. She encouraged me to be better and pushed me out of my comfort zone to make me a much stronger, more skilled rider. Her training is individualized for every horse and rider and I have taken this approach in how I teach and relate to my own students. I admire her talent and classical foundation in riding as well as her character as a true horsewoman.”

“Karen was a huge influence on my riding.  Before I came to her I thought I was a rider, but I was just a passenger.  Karen gave me the knowledge I needed to bring my riding to the next level. I highly recommender her as a rider, a trainer, and a riding instructor.”

“Karen Hamdan has been an invaluable asset in the training of my horse. She has been my “eyes on the ground”- so important in the training and development of dressage horse, or any horse. With her constructive criticism and positive attitude, Karen has helped me to train my horse to achieve a much higher goal than I would have been able to do on my own. Karen has gone out of her way to observe my training sessions with other elite level trainers. She loves to learn from other professionals and she then applies those skills when we are back home. Karen has learned to long-line to teach the passage and piaffe so needed for upper level competition. My horse Ukarde last year was 3rd in the country 3rd level adult amateur, New England high score and East Coast Rider champion. This year-2012- he was 3rd in the country at 4th level, New England high score, East Coast Rider champion and high score adult amateur at Dressge at Devon. Karen’s dedication and enthusiasm have certainly contributed to our success!”

“I met Karen early in 2012 and I was immediately struck by her style. I purchased a fiery 12-year-old Trakener mare in 2010 and after two years of struggle and multiple trainers I had all but given up. Karen started working with Sophie, riding her 4 days per week and after four months she delivered to me a horse that not only could I finally begin to progress on but she too had discovered Sophie’s potential as a promising Dressage and jumping athlete.
Karen has the amazing ability to isolate a horse’s inherent strength, focusing her training on building on strengths, balancing and realigning problem areas that had prohibited us from excelling. As an instructor she is right on the mark with constant feedback that has helped both my horse and I become a more balanced team. Instead of fighting with my horse I now enjoy the process and learning from Karen, someone I believe to be among the best in the field.”

“Karen Hamdan is an excellent riding instructor. She is knowledgeable, explains techniques clearly and seems to understand just what to do to help build your confidence. I started taking lessons with Karen in 2008, just after suffering traumatic injuries on a mountain bike. The accident destroyed my confidence and made me fearful. I was around horses frequently at that time as I was the Volunteer Director of the South FL SPCA. I had knowledge about their care but I knew very little about riding horses. In the beginning, I couldn’t make the horse move forward or control our direction and I could barely make it through the lesson physically. Karen helped build my strength and my confidence and encouraged me to go beyond what I thought was possible. Today I am healthy, a strong rider and not only enjoy cantering but also going over jumps! Karen played a critical role in my rehabilitation and she gave me skills that helped improve the lives of many rescued horses.”