JEAN-LUC CORNILLE

has gained worldwide recognition for the practical application of science to the training of the equine athlete. Influenced by his background as a gymnast, Jean Luc has seen how deeply equine training can be enhanced by contemporary scientific research. This concept has been the trademark of his training approach. He embodies a unique combination of riding skill, training experience and extensive knowledge of the equine physiology, which enable him to “translate” scientific insights into language comprehensible to both horse and rider.

Jean Luc’s competitive career is as impressive as it is diversified. Successfully competing at French national and international levels in dressage, steeplechase, three-day eventing and stadium jumping, he has won several team and individual gold, silver and bronze medals. Notably, Jean Luc was Individual and team gold medal at the military world championship of Fontainebleau in 1973. He was silver medal at the world championship of Punchestown in 1971. Jean Luc feels that his greatest success has been the physical and mental condition of each horse the day after their victories.

A 1968 graduate of the Equestrian Military School, Le Cadre Noir de Vaumur, Jean Luc went on to help prepare two Olympic teams (1972, 19’780) working closely with Michel Cochenet, national coach of the French three-day event team. He also received intensive training from Joseph Neckerman, Willy Schulteis, and Hans Gunter Winkler. Jean Luc teaching is as impressive as his riding accomplishments. Margit Otto Crepin, the French and Olympic Champion, is one of Jean Luc’s most prominent dressage students.

Jean Luc moved to the United States in the mid-1980’s, and in 1988 he created the Sport Horse Workshop, a training facility in Madison, VA. His extensive program of clinics and seminars has taken him throughout the United States and Canada.

His training regiment is dedicated to discovering better ways to:
a) improve our understanding of the training of superior equine athletes and;
b) increase the success rate of the rehabilitation of lame horses.

To that end, he has published a series of articles on biomechanics, a video exploring the subject of equine intelligence, and he is continuing his research in the dynamics of equine motion with DVD and Motion Microscope technology.

Most recently, Jean Luc has founded E.C.A.P.E. (Equine Center for Analysis, Performance, and Education, which has as its mission to:
a)serve the equestrian community with scientific research affecting performance, career longevity, soundness, and quality of life of horses by applying established training and riding principles according to contemporary knowledge of the equine physiology;
b) educate the general public on the various aspects of the training of the equine athlete through the publication, dissemination, and use of educational DVD, books, lectures, seminars, and demonstrations;
c) conduct ongoing research to advance the practical application of scientific findings to the training of the equine athlete.