instructor
Mary Anne Campbell
In her own words…
“This Bittersweet Life” Podcast: March 2022.
Katy Sewall interviews Mary Anne on how horses teach us about life.
Interviews with “Digi-Ponies” podcaster Betsy Bilhorn, a good introduction to the work and to the trainer.
on "Equitation for Everyone"
on "French Classical Roots in History"
what’s ms. Campbell’s riding background?
Mary Anne Campbell has been working professionally with horses most of her adult life.
Her initial work with horses began in Portland, Oregon, riding a friend’s horse at Forest Park Stables and providing care for the race horses and polo ponies belonging to a neighboring veterinarian. She then went to Art school at UC Davis where she discovered at their equine center there that - who knew? one could study equitation! Hungry for information she took every discipline, including huntseat, dressage, western pleasure, reining, and trail. She began to notice that there were some interesting points to explore. What is the relationship between movement and posture? What is the value of the rider’s posture, and why do different disciplines call for different postures? Is there a ‘correct’ posture for the horse? For the rider? What are ‘good hands’? What is a ‘good seat’? Why does EVERY instructor say they have the ‘one correct method’ and why do each of them look down their noses at the others? Why is the horse expected to put up with such confusion? More questions than answers! But good questions.
Back in Portland after college Mary Anne worked with Keith Schramm, a wonderful combined training instructor. She also studied with Susie Schramm who ran a marvelous kids program called ‘Once Upon A Horse’. Both taught Mary Anne about working well and not taking it all so seriously!
She held a position as manager for a few years for a young man who was importing high-end show jumpers and learned to navigate the world of the international Warmblood breeder. There she began to get a sense of the difference in outlook of the professional trainer and the competitive amateur, to have an appreciation of the international equine scene, and to understand the care, upkeep and promotion of performance horses.
During this time she studied with a Tom Dorrance protégé, Dave Williams. The next adventure was putting together her management and equine skills to run the Lake Oswego Hunt Club riding school.
Then in 2004 she met and began studying with Craig Stevens. The world of French Classical Dressage opened up to her— and she had found home.
Classical years
Starting with real balance, riding without fear because the balance is real— not ‘looks right’ but IS right. Directing the horse through real connection, and finding what is beautiful in every horse and every rider— this was riding as Mary Anne had always dreamed it could be.
Her equitation began to truly grow. She stayed on and managed the farm for Craig. While she was studying the riding she was maintaining the online presence, writing, designing online teaching, creating videos, teaching, supporting the training and developing the school horses. Together Mary Anne and Craig taught work in hand, longe work, pillars clinics, clinics on the whip, and more. They studied together and developed the old-world work called “Mediterranean Horsemanship”, finding it brought every aspect of the training and riding to a whole new level. They developed online coursework, taught internationally, and started a Foundation to protect this old way of training. Craig and Mary Anne married, and although eventually they parted ways they remained friends and teaching partners until his death in 2024.
Ms. Campbell continues the work, acknowledging the gifts that Craig gave her with gratitude— and appreciating the gifts that students, horses, reading and observing horses bring her every day.
Mary Anne has written extensively, with articles in magazines carried both in the US and abroad. She’s also co-author of the book “Quotes and Commentary” with Craig Stevens, and helped with the translation and publication of “Method of Equitation based on New Principles” both now available through Amazon. She is presently completing “The Work in Hand”, as well as “Mediterranean Horsemanship: The old world work.”
Ms. Campbell has developed a following as a clinician, teaching not only at facilities across the US but in Europe, Asia and Australia.
Mary Anne Campbell enjoys working with riders at any level, and is particularly interested in training people who wish to become professional practitioners of this old art as under the weight of the prevailing paradigm this old way of working is very much endangered. We need all the voices we can bring into this conversation to carry the song to the next generations. Mary Anne and Craig, with the support and engagement of long time students, created a non-profit called the Foundation for the Equestrian Arts that not only translates and publishes hard to find manuscripts but tests, certifies and offers credentials for trainers and instructors in this older form.
Mary Anne Campbell is a fully accredited instructor and clinician through the Foundation and it’s a tough certification process! She keeps that credential up to date with continuing education.
Having sold the farm in 2024, Ms. Campbell now boards at Troy Griffith’s barn in Aumsville Oregon, where she teaches private lessons, seatwork, intensives and clinics. She travels north to the Seattle area every month or so to teach private lessons and clinics there, and is developing a following in the Portland area as well.
