Brookfield's Ballou Publishes
Instruction Book for Riders

Brookfield native Jec Ballou, whose early horse riding at her West Street farm has blossomed into a career, has published the first-ever guide for students of dressage.

The book, "101 Dressage Exercises for Horse & Rider" has been published by Storey Publishing in a handsome easy-to-use format. The forward is by Lisa Wilcox, a medalist in the 2004 Olympics.

Ballou—who as an author uses her full name of Jec Aristotle Ballou—told The Herald this week that the project has taken her three years. It's based on her experience as a teacher of dressage in Santa Cruz, Cal.

As a teacher, she noticed that many of her students were progressing more slowly than desired because they had no guide telling them how to practice at home.

"I brainstormed a book/manual that would be a tool for them to use during those times they have no clue what to work on," she explained. "It's intended to keep riders focused and to facilitate them in discovering how to make better athletes of their horses."

Ballou said that so far she has received "VERY positive feedback about the book."

In fact, she said "I have been asked to sign copies of it at the annual United States Dressage Federation convention, in Los Angeles this year."

The targeted audience is adult amateur dressage riders, and it's a large market, she said.

The book has already been picked up by a British publisher and will be printed and distributed in the UK beginning in the fall.

In Santa Cruz, Ballou said, she keeps several horses in full-training in addition to teaching clinics throughout the state.

She also travels to Portugal to study every January (an account of her first trip there was carried in The Herald's Vacation Edition some years ago). She writes articles for the major equestrian publications and has her own website at www.jecballou.com.

Ballou graduated from RUHS in 1995, where she was a standout on the state championship basketball team, and from Smith College in 1999.