Interested in horses at an early age, Brad's formal training began at age 14 with four-time British Olympic dressage coach Robert Hall. His training continued with dressage experts Belinda Nairn, Carol Olford Grant, and Kyra Kyrklund. Through these and other talented trainers, his skills and theories continue to develop.
Brad's skill in uncovering the basis of problems and treating horses as individuals enables him to formulate training strategies for his students that keep them progressing between clinics. His experience in adapting training methods while holding principles constant has enabled him to achieve success with a wide variety of horses and riders. Sound theories, realistic application, and a true love for the art of dressage make him a popular trainer, instructor, and clinician throughout the Midwest.
He also imports horses from Europe through Landmark Dressage. His approach to training, emphasizing softness and suppleness, has been developed during almost 30 years of training with some of the world's leading dressage riders and trainers.
He is a Bronze, Silver and Gold Medalist with the United States Dressage Federation (USDF).
Brad has served on several USDF committees, including the competitors council and awards council, as well as serving six years as a PM delegate for Region 2.
Brad's philosophy of continuous improvement has included riding in clinics with the following experts to improve his education and knowledge.
| Debbie Bowman | Gabrielle Grillo | Karl Mikolka | Gunter Seidel |
| Charlotte Bredahl | Rosie Kirklin | Steffan Peters | Betsy Steiner |
| Bill Davidson | Carol Lavell | Lars Peterson | Uwe Steiner |
| Robert Dover | Eric Lette | Herbet Rehbein | Lisa Wilcox |
| Jan Ebeling | Debbie McDonald | Gary Rockwell | Robert Hall |
"Many dedicated and disciplined riders including myself aspire to represent their countries at the Olympics. If there were an Olympic event for teaching dressage I would work hard to be on that team as well." Brad Cutshall, Grand Prix Rider, Trainer, and Clinician.
Kyra has developed a system of training horses that combines the core elements of the German and Swedish systems with her own, unique, techniques. The system has been applied to many different horse and rider combinations with great success. The basics aim to develop the horse based on his own capabilities.
Kyra is a fundamentalist and believes strongly that the quality of the paces reflect the basic training. Every horse that comes for training is evaluated along the same lines - is it forward, is it straight and is it submissive in a relaxed way.
In 1982, after the purchase of Inspo from previous owner and founder Dave Johns, Belinda shifted from Inspo's focus on Hanoverians and began her long association with Dutch horses. Her first KWPN horse was Christopher (Cadmus x Farn), who eventually took her to the Seoul Olympics in 1988.
Belinda also spent considerable time training with Gunnar Oostergaard, George Theodorescu, and Herbert Rehbein. Her nearly one and a half year stay in Germany at the Theodorescu's Gestüt Lindenhof was followed by her first selection for the USA's Olympic Dressage Team in 1984, with Alegria.
Belinda has made several trips to Gladstone to compete for various Championships, and spots on USET Teams. Some of the well known horses that Belinda imported and trained to FEI level include: Alegria, Winslow, Christopher, Zodiac, Disney, Candyboy, Calimero, Cidor, Sorcerer, Kirby, Sir Sinclair, and the great Friesian stallion Goffert 369.
Carole Grant has had a successful career as both world renowned rider and horse trainer. With her horse Percy III, she represented the United States at the 1982 World Equestrian Games in Lausanne, Switzerland. She earned two Gold Medals at the 1983 Pan-Am Games in Venezuela. She has owned and trained countless international horses to Grand Prix, and trained riders all the way to the Olympic level. In 1984, the USET Foundation awarded Carole with the Whitney Stone Cup. Per the USET Foundation News posted January 30, 2012, "The award is presented annually to an active competitor who displays consistent excellence in international competition and high standards of sportsmanlike conduct while serving as an ambassador for the United States and equestrian sport."
In the early 1980's, as part of the Kentucky horse park tour, Brad viewed a movie that showcased many Olympic riders including John Winnett, and thought “Wouldn’t it be great to compete in the same company as him?”
Several years later he found himself in Wellington Florida at a CDI. He had a great mid-morning ride in a huge class with over 70 competitors. The second to last ride was a horse ridden by guess who - John Winnett. His ride was amazing and he beat Brad by one point.
As Brad sat on his horse in the awards ceremony next to a man that had become a symbol of achievement to him, John leaned over and said “I saw your ride this morning, you made me ride my a** off to win this”. That second place is still one of Brad's career highs and was just as good, if not better, than winning.
"Brad takes the mystery out of dressage and makes riding more logical."
Jenny Warner, Head Trainer, Otter Creek Farms
Teaching clinics - traveling to barns, and working with other trainers and their students, as well as engaging the people auditing, is something he finds very rewarding. There are many times when an instructor looks at a horse/rider combination on a regular basis and recognizes multiple issues. “Where do you begin, what should you fix first” are questions that many instructors ask themselves. (Read more).
Landmark Dressage offers a comprehensive program for both horse and rider. We have many training options available. We are able to handle all of your needs whether you would like to improve your position or are aiming for high level FEI competition.
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The key to our success has been finding out how the horse prefers to work, and what makes them happiest. This involves getting them comfortable in their training and, equally important, their mind and body. If your horse is comfortable and happy, they will not only work for you but with you. (Read more).
