Charles Throckmorton
Four Winds is excited to open lessons to Charles Throckmorton for day clinics! He caters to all level of riders and offers lessons on a semi-private (2 total people) or private basis. Saturdays from 9:00am to 3:00pm may be occasionally available, as well as Thursdays.
$80 for semi-private lessons
$120 for private lessons
Stalls: $50 per day (separate payment made to facility upon arrival)
USHJA “R” Hunter Course designer, and “r” Jumper Course Designer
Maintained his “R” Hunter/Equitation Judging license through 2010, until course designing took precedence.
Coached Junior Riders to success on the Indoors circuit
Won his first Grand Prix at National Western Stockshow
Won a bet that he would never touch the reins for an entire hunter course
Course designed the $75,000 International Hunter Derby at Sonoma
Course designed the MACLAY Regional Finals
Course designed for the Hampton Classics during a hurricane
Charles Throckmorton’s first experience with horses was being run away with on his pony, Diamond, at the age of eight. Diamond didn’t deter Charles, who joined 4H and Pony Club at nine and practiced both Western and English riding until he was a young teen. When he was a junior, he focused on Dressage and trained with Bodo Hagan, one of the premier dressage trainers from Germany of his time.
Under Bodo’s tutelage, Charles earned numerous awards in Training through Third Level Dressage, including regional and national championships. During this time, he also started competing in 3-Day Eventing, winning accolades up to Preliminary (which was the highest he could compete as a junior).
His parents started the Four Winds in 1977, and Charles started coaching riders shortly after they opened the stable doors. By 1982, the Throckmorton family decided to switch their emphasis as a farm to the hunter/jumper industry. From 1982 to the early 2000s, Charles coached riders professionally, trained horses, and competed. He coached junior riders to Indoors, where they successfully showed, and was blessed to show in the Grand Prix arena with a few top quality horses, such as “Painted Tiger,” “Nightwind,” and “Ultralight”.
Having semi-retired in the mid 2000s, he directed his energy towards course designing and officiating national “A” horseshows throughout the country. His daughters took over management of the barn, and with their encouragement, he’s recently rekindled his passion for coaching and helping riders develop their “feel”.