Tuny Page, International Dressage Rider and owner of Stillpoint Farm in Wellington, Florida has been riding on both MC Ecotrack® and Clopf® Fiber since their new installation in 2010, and is an avid ambassador and supporter of our products.
“The goal for Stillpoint Farm is to provide dedicated riders a venue that inspires excellence. To that end we focused on the three main points: the comfort of our horses in their stables, comfort for our horses on the riding surfaces, and comfort for our riders and trainers. My dream was that by creating such a facility I would attract like-minded colleagues to complete the vision.”
Stillpoint is designed to provide the best possible environment for developing top sport horses and riders and is home to several other powerhouse trainers such as Robert Dover, Susie Dutta and Oded Shimoni.
We had the opportunity recently to catch up with Tuny and to chat about her facility, students, horses and competition season. As always, Stillpoint Farm remains the hub for owners and trainers who are serious about their horse’s soundness and training programs. During the busy winter months, it is typical for 60 horses to be in full training board and the facility buzzes with the activity of other top competitors shipping in for training or lessons. Last year Stillpoint acted as home base for the Canadian Dressage team when Robert Dover coached them in 2010, and Captain Mark Phillips utilized the facility to coach the US 3 Day Event Team!
Tuny points to the successes of several riders who have trained at Stillpoint and emphatically believes that their competition achievements are due in part to their horse’s soundness while training on her choice in riding surfaces. “Christina Vineos, who has 3 lovely young horses who earned top placings at the East Coast Championships at Lamplight, trained at Stillpoint. Susie Dutta, who trains all winter at our facility, has had multiple Grand Prix and Freestyle CDI wins while training on our surface……and of course Lisa Wilcox, who has moved to begin her own facility, also enjoyed multiple wins while training at our facility.”
Tuny has 3 upper level competitive partners, Alina, Ice Cup and Wild One have enjoyed consistent soundness while training & conditioning on the Martin Collins surfaces. Notably, Wild One, her 15 year old competition partner who was off for 2 years due to a career ending injury, has been able to come back into work and qualify for Gladstone on the Martin Collins surfaces! “He was able to return to his prior competitive fitness levels through careful preparation on our really great footing! His 10th overall finish at Gladstone gives me the green light to train more aggressively for next season.”
As Martin Collins continues to establish their name in US barns and show venues, American riders grow more aware of the importance of training daily on an appropriate riding surface. Tuny reiterated how crucial it is to invest in your daily surface and to chose venues for competition that do the same. Additionally she mentioned that her choice in Martin Collins was also due to the expert relationship that she has with Glynnie Walford, head of Martin Collins USA, who has been with the company for 18+ years. “Stillpoint’s competitive success is due largely in part to our choice in Martin Collins Surfaces”, and according to Tuny, “If you want to know how top international riders can ‘go for it’ on their surfaces, call Martin Collins to find out why!”
Photo Credits Susan J. Stickle