About Michelle

CIAT Lissago Borgo di Mustonate, Varese ItalyMichelle Blackler represents the US driving community at 2015 CIAT [Concours International d'Attelage de Tradition], driving for Francesco Alleti Montano in Lissago, Italy. Photo credit: Giovanni Vitale
​
Michelle Blackler is an FEI 2* Combined Driving athlete and trainer based in the rolling hills of Eastern Iowa, specializing in dressage under saddle, traditional pleasure driving, combined driving, and the breeding of Morgan sport horses.
Competition Highlights
  • Single horse open champion, Villa Louis Carriage Classic, 1999
  • Tandem champion, Kentucky Carriage Classic, 2017; Reserve Champion 2015 & 2016
  • Tandem Preliminary Dressage Champion, score 39: for a tandem, this is extraordinary.
  • FEI 2* qualification in large pony combined driving Kingdom of the Sun CIAT 2*
  • 3rd place, CIAT Lissago, Varese, Italy — 29 international competitors
  • 1st place, Haflinger Division (42 entries), Royal Windsor Virtual Show, 2020
Client Championships
·  Villa Louis Carriage Classic  ·  Walnut Hill Carriage Classic  ·  Kentucky Carriage Classic  ·  Black Prong Combined Driving
·  Four homebred Morgans competing and winning in Midwest dressage

Professional Associations
American Driving Society  ·  USEF  ·  American Morgan Horse Association  ·  Carriage Association of America

Royal Windsor
At the 2020 Royal Windsor Virtual Show — one of the most prestigious carriage driving competitions in the world — Michelle's entry in the Haflinger Division placed first among 42 horses. International judge Nigel Hollings cited the horse's athletic form as the deciding factor. That form, as Michelle will tell you without hesitation, came entirely from training and correct development. It is what she does.

Villa Louis 
At Villa Louis Carriage Classic, one of the premier traditional driving shows in the country, Michelle is reliably found outside the arena supporting her clients or showing their horses rather than campaigning her own horses. She has prioritized their results over her own there since her single horse open championship in 1999 — which, in its own way, says everything about where her priorities lie.

Form to Function Philosophy
The range is intentional. Dressage and driving are not separate worlds — they are the same discipline viewed from different seats. A horse schooled correctly under saddle is a better driving horse. A driver who understands collection and straightness drives better. Michelle's training philosophy, Form to Function, is built on that principle: correctness and brilliance reinforce each other.

Michelle is currently writing The Dressage Rubric — a kinesiologically grounded curriculum built on the German Training Scale, for adult amateur riders who are deeply dedicated and deeply frustrated. It is the book she wishes had existed when she needed it.

Breeding & Goals
Her breeding program centers on Morgan sport horses purpose-bred for performance — horses with the intelligence and athleticism the breed is known for, developed to compete from Training Level through FEI. Her current goal is her third FEI star and perform a musical freestyle in dressage.

In Closing, A Personal Note From Michelle
"I've had clients tell me their main goal is to one day beat me. I always tell them I would be delighted — because either way, I win."

​