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Marvin Smink Dressage

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Marvin Smink Dressage

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The place where horse welfare and sport come together Marvin has trained with a number of well known horse trainers.

Educationally appropriate instruction has been very important for years at Smink Dressage Group and it still is. Marvin Smink is a Dutch bereiter who completed his Masters in training dressage horses at NHB Deurne which is the Dutch Equine school. To name a few; Ger Geertsen, Rien and Inge van der Schaft, Johan Hamminga, Marion Schreuder, Renate Langeberg, Mascha Reijs, Francis Verbeek van Rooy and Mary Hanna. Marvin trains the horses and teaches his students on a regular basis. The professional as well as the amateur will benefit from Marvin's expert guidance which is also available for clinics throughout Australia. There is also the possibility to have your dressage horse boarded for correction or further schooling. To discuss your dressage future don't hesitate to contact Marvin! For sale

Not only horses raised by "Smink Dressage Group" but also talented horses bought and trained professionally are available for sale. The horses are selected with the utmost care. Selection criteria are: exterior, pedigree, character, movement and rideability. The horses selected by "SDH" posess an above average suitability towards upper level dressage and of course all are medically examined. When you are seriously looking for a dressage horse, please contact Marvin Smink.

25/10/2026

Fingers crossed 🤞🏻 for a successful embryo transfer from my mare Jazdan Finesse (Furst Jazz x Royal Classic) with David Shoobridge’s incredible Maracaná.

I’m really excited about this combination. Finesse already has plenty of quality, sensitivity and athleticism, and I think Maracaná can complement her beautifully with his scope, power, elasticity and presence.

His pedigree was another big attraction for me, bringing together some bloodlines I particularly value — including Easy Game, sire of Dalera, and Lord Loxley, whose influence can also be found behind Glamourdale.

We are incredibly fortunate to have a stallion of this calibre available here in Australia, particularly for mares that can be more difficult to breed with frozen semen. Having access to a stallion with this quality, pedigree and athleticism makes for a very exciting opportunity.

Now we keep everything crossed for a successful embryo transfer 🤞🏻✨

Jazdan Finesse × Maracaná — hopefully something very special in the making. 🤞🏻

15/09/2026

Contact is an illusion

I often say to my students: contact is an illusion.

You can’t grab onto it and hold it like a Jack Russell with a toy. 😂

True contact isn’t something you take or hold. You allow it to come to you—and then you allow it to go again.

As the horse swings through the body and moves towards balance, the contact will naturally come and go.

When the contact comes, that is where it can help you rebalance the horse. This is where the half-halt becomes a transition—a moment where you influence the balance without taking the horse’s balance away from them.

When the contact goes, that’s where the magic happens.

You don’t chase it. You don’t grab for it. You allow the horse to seek the contact, stretch into it and find their own balance.

The goal isn’t to constantly feel the horse in your hands.

The goal is to create a horse that chooses to stay connected to your hand because they have found balance through your seat, leg and the way you influence their body.

The contact comes.

The contact goes.

And somewhere in between those two moments, the horse finds balance.

Of course, in riding, we never stop assessing, analysing and thinking about how we can improve our influence, our timing and our technique.

There is so much more to this philosophy, and so much more we could talk about when it comes to contact, balance and influence.

But that’s for another day 😏

© Marvin Smink | Smink Dressage Group

www.marvinsmink.com

Photo credit: James Abernethy

r.breeches

12/05/2026

Total King SDG aka “Teekay” last week ✨
Looking an absolute treat at just 1.5 years old.

By Total Hope out of a Benicio mare — a pedigree that speaks for itself. Excited to watch this one develop. 🔥

horseofinstagram

15/03/2026

🌟 For Sale: KP Topaz 🌟

KP Topaz
4-year-old mare
16.3hh | Black
Total Hope x Sir Donnerhall x Jazz

A stunning young mare with exceptional breeding and all the ingredients for a serious dressage career.

By Total Hope—one of the most exciting young sires in modern dressage—out of a damline combining the proven influence of Sir Donnerhall and Jazz, KP Topaz offers world-class genetics for sport and breeding.

Topaz is a modern, elegant mare with a beautiful black coat, uphill frame and three expressive, elastic paces. She shows excellent natural balance and rhythm with a particularly impressive trot and a naturally uphill canter.

She has a trainable, intelligent temperament and is developing well under saddle, showing the rideability and work ethic expected from this pedigree. A quality young horse with the potential to excel through the young horse classes and develop into a high-level dressage prospect.

✔ Modern dressage type
✔ Elegant, uphill build
✔ Three quality paces
✔ Trainable temperament
✔ Outstanding pedigree

A fantastic opportunity to secure a talented young mare for the future.
The option to purchase this talented mare and continue her education at Smink Dressage Group is also available.

📍 Located in Skye, VIC, Australia
📩 For more information: [email protected]
🛜 www.marvinsmink.com

🎥 Total Hope x Sir Donnerhall x Jazz 4yo mare KP Topaz Indoor
https://youtu.be/WnfmOTjDwaM

🎥 Total Hope x Sir Donnerhall x Jazz 4yo mare KP Topaz outdoor
https://youtu.be/C78v5VZQVRo

10/12/2025

I bought a horse named Moonlight to train as a polo prospect. In a practice game early in her training another player took a back shot where they hit a ball backward while riding forward. I was riding beside that player's horse and a tad behind when he took his back shot, which is not legal if the player's mallet swing might hit a nearby horse as Moonlight and I were that close.

That player's mallet followed through from his shot hit Moonlight in the teeth. At a gallop she managed to do a slight rear up from the pain of the hit. She never played polo well again. That one incident soured her on the game.

Experienced horse trainers know that setbacks in training can be devastating. My mistake with Moonlight was trusting that player to follow the rules and not hit her. While she ended up being a top equine therapy horse, my polo goal for her ended at a significant loss to me.

Setbacks in training can be disastrous. Even small mistakes can take weeks to fix, and a potential training mistake is never obvious until it happens unless you have a lot of experience. The only way I know to avoid training mistakes is to be very vigilant about the potential of every method and circumstance in training that could go wrong and to stack the deck so as to avoid possible bad outcomes.

Training mistakes usually come from too much emphasis on one specific outcome. A trainer might get impatient for an outcome or otherwise push the process too fast without regard for the possible pitfalls in a training sequence. One common pitfall is not seeing that the prospect is not ready for what the trainer wants the horse to learn.

Short term inpatient training mistakes include working a horse beyond their attention span in a session. Long term mistakes are usually something like "I have to get this horse ready for a show next month." In either case, the trainer forces a horse into a learning circumstance that the horse is not ready for. The result is always the same, more training time is required to undo the mistake.

Slow, deliberate, well planned training is always faster than impatient, gotta get an outcome training.

Horse trainers like Andreas Helgstrand (left image from the video that got him FEI suspended for tying a horse's head down to its chest for a long period & more) and Andrew McConnon who forced very narrow training outcomes for specific competition. Horses trained in rushed ways turn into sad, one trick ponies ruined for any future comfortable life as a horse.

The right image shows what happens when a horse is pushed past their attention span. Training horses is like the old saying, "Life is a journey, not a destination". We want outcomes but outcomes cannot be the singular focus of the training.

17/10/2025

We are overjoyed to announce that has purchased our promising athletic yearling c**t, Soleado SDG! Sired by Trakehner stallion Sir Sansibar (Millenium x Cadeau) and out of Belle Histoire SDG (Benicio x Casanova), he has an exceptional future ahead. Soleado will initially stay with to establish himself under saddle before Julia takes the reins. We're thrilled to be part of their journey

15/10/2025

Congratulations to on acquiring Furst Star SDG aka “Charlie”! This 2yo gelding, out of our Casanova x Argentinus mare Sascha, boasts an incredible temperament and talent. We’re looking forward to seeing their journey!

11/09/2025

✨ From Foundations to Grand Prix ✨
Coaching • Clinics • Training

I’m opening up a few new spots for horses 🐎 and riders to join me at our facility on the Mornington Peninsula, VIC (3910) 🌿

📍 35 min from Melbourne
📍 40 min from Boneo Park
📍 60 min from Werribee Park

💫 What’s on offer:
🔹 Tailored horse & rider training (young horse ➝ Grand Prix)
🔹 Private coaching sessions
🔹 Clinics available Australia-wide
🔹 Young horse foundation & handling
🔹 Performance horse management
🔹 Rehab & injury prevention with top health professionals
🔹 Float loading training
🔹 Sales prep & sourcing your next equine partner

🏅 About me:
International Grand Prix Rider ✨
Level 3 International Trainers Passport (EA Level 2 equivalent)
Trained in the Netherlands 🇳🇱 with Rien & Inge van der Schaft
Fully insured ✅

🏡 Facilities:
✔️ Indoor 25x65 (Geopad fibre surface)
✔️ Outdoor 25x70 (premium footing)
✔️ 4x4 stables w/ cushioned flooring
✔️ Excellent pasture & hotwash

📞 Call/text: 0467 431 930
📧 [email protected]
🌐 www.marvinsmink.com

Let’s take you & your horse to the next level! 🚀

01/07/2024

This weekend was about stepping it up a level for all 3 horses competing at the winter series of VDC and WPVDC at Werribee.

Dazzling Smile (Dante’s Junior x Bretton Woods x Furst Romancier) stepped up to Novice. She was a little overwhelmed at the first test on both days bothered by what was happening behind the infamous hedge (creating some squeals and spectacular “unrequired” moves 🙈🙉🙊). For the second test we managed to keep it to together for the the win with scores over 73%✨
You have to love the young horses 🤩

Nouveau Versailles (Desperado x Sandreo x Nimmerdor) made the step up to Elementary with success with scores up to 68/69% and second placings. He’s well on his way with his training for Medium/Advanced which we will give him a few more months to consolidate for. Im so pleased with his development 😍.

Louvier (Lauries As x Sunny Boy) had his first start at Prix Saint George level with scores of 65.8% and 64,6% and a second placing on Saturday. I have been training this gentleman for 6 months now and very impressed with how far we have come in a very short time 🤗.

This gentlemen of a horse is for sale and would make a super schoolmaster for anyone looking for a fun and competitive horse. I enjoy training this horse very much. Inquire to arrange a test ride.

It was also my birthday on Sunday. Thank you to all the messages and who wished me a happy birthday at the show 🥳. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my birthday than doing what I love with my crew

As always thank you to my support crew and dedicated owners Sharon Roberts, Pamela Lloyd and Elaine Castellini for trusting your precious horses to me and allowing me to educate and becoming a team with them to the best of my ability✨

Thank you to the team at home keeping everything going and Brylie Dehne for grooming and making sure the horses weren’t short of anything. Competing several horses can become very demanding, us professionals couldn’t do it without a great team around us.

Thank you Marcel Löb coming to help and support me and the horses over the weekend. I had a blast 💥.

A special thanks to Joanne Lee-Archibald and Jan Donald for organising these events. It often goes unnoticed but we riders are so appreciative of you and your teams.
Photo’s taken by the brilliant Sharlene Phillips of Oneeyedfrog Photography

Smiley and Louvier are ridden in the Erreplus Connect supplied by Performance Saddlefits VIC✨

Fueled by Stance Equilibrium & Stance Equitec Stance Equitec Australia

The most comfortable bedding, easy to use and store. Horsemate

Sporting the Passier Atlas bridle from CALEVO

03/06/2024

🌟 Fürst Casanova SDG 🌟

Fursten-Look x Kaneto Casanova x Argentinus c**t, incredible, temperament, confirmation and movement

Fursten-Look
▪️Many Champion offspring
▪️ Looks and confirmation for the showring. Incredible talent for the dressage ring
▪️ a score of 10 for willingness and 9.41 for overall perspective

Kaneto Casanova:
- Contango 11 x Azarro
- Australian bred show jumper, sired many successful dressage horses and Show-jumpers including Kate Kyros’ young rider horse Caddyman
- Known for his beautiful amateur friendly temperament

👦 Born 30/10/2023
🐴 Est. mature height 16.2hh
📍 Located Athlone, Victoria
☎️ Please PM for more information, video and 🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕

Address

875 Westernport Highway
Skye, VIC
3928

Opening Hours

Monday	6am - 8pm
Tuesday	6am - 8pm
Wednesday	6am - 8pm
Thursday	6am - 8pm
Friday	6am - 8pm
Saturday	6am - 8pm
Sunday	6am - 8pm

Telephone

0467431930

Website

http://www.marvinsmink.com/

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