Sophie H. Pirie Clifton, a former professor at Stanford Law School, is a graduate "A" member of the U.S. Pony Clubs, member of the winning 1979 North American Young Rider's 3- Day Championships Team and an USDF bronze and silver medalist. She grew up competing in eventing, dressage and on the "A" show circuit. Starting in 1973, she has taught these disciplines throughout the USA and overseas in such countries as Australia, Thailand and South Africa. She now trains event and dressage horses up through the FEI levels, one of which she developed under Jill Hassler Scoop's guidance from when he was a barely started 4 year old stud, first as an event horse and then as an FEI dressage horse.

In addition to giving regular clinics throughout the U.S. and internationally, Sophie spent the last 10 years teaching a select group of students and other trainers from her base in Bozeman, Montana. In the autumn of 2007, she founded her own training center at Blue Moon Farm in Tryon, North Carolina. In addition to teaching regular lessons, Blue Moon Farm accepts a limited number of horses in training and welcomes students to come with their horses for intensive training focused on both the classical -- technical and gymnastic -- training of horse and rider and on balanced movement and functionality for the rider through individualized exercises based on GYROTONIC™, Balimo™, and Functional Anatomy.

Related activities include serving on the on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Equestrian Land Conservation Resource and on the U.S. Pony Clubs Board of Governors. Sophie is also certified to teach GYROTONIC™ and GYROKINESIS™, a body motion system well known in Germany and increasingly available in the USA, that she integrates into her own riding and teaching, along with the work she has done with Clete Linebarger, DCM (EES Workshop Faculty) over the last decade.

Sophie has always been involved in teaching and educational program design, even when in academia. The hallmarks of her teaching are her highly individualized approach to each horse and rider and her emphasis on interdisciplinary integration as one of the most powerful tools for creative problem solving. Because many of today's riders did not grow up, like she did, riding before they could walk, experiencing all aspects of horsemanship and riding multiple disciplines as an integral part of learning to ride, they often face special physical and/or psychological challenges. Sophie believes that Balimo™'s interdisciplinary focus on how people learn balance and movement patterns offers both riders and instructors useful tools for making significant and sustained progress in meeting riding and training goals.

Sophie is faculty member for DL & Advisor to EES