At Sport Innovations we like to use the #TherapyOfChampions hashtag. We do that because we know our products help horses and partnerships achieve big goals in all arenas. Our hope is by featuring riders who use our product it can inspire you!

Meet Jessica Jo “JJ” Tate

JJ Tate is a U.S. Dressage Federation (USDF) Bronze, Silver, and Gold medalist. She represented the United States in the 2007 FEI World Breeding Championships for Young Dressage Horses in Verden, Germany. JJ Tate was also a World Cup reserve finalist and was long-listed for the World Equestrian Games in 2006. She is on the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s (USEF) Developing Riders List. JJ has competed over 30 horses at the FEI levels, many at the Grand Prix!

Recent notable wins include Dressage at Devon World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle in September 2018 and the Global Dressage Festival CDI4* Grand Prix Freestyle in February of 2020.

Having such an expert use our product, we sat down with JJ to hear more about her journey and why she likes our ProSeries 3-1.

Tell us about yourself...

​I have had a dressage training business for over 20 years. I first went to train in Europe for 2 1/2 years, studying with an Olympic trainer. I had a barn first in Wisconsin, then I moved out east to Maryland, and now I live and own a farm in South Carolina.
I teach clinics all over the country and now with my new online academy, we have gone global! We are really excited to bring world class, classical dressage to everybody at home and even on their phones, because we even have an app! It truly is a great solution for those who are in remote areas or are wanting to stay distant because of the COVID 19 Pandemic. We launched Team Tate Academy in June of 2020 and now have nearly 600 members!

I spent over 20 years teaching clinics around the country and have had a lot of opportunities to work with all kinds of different horses. It has been a craft, but I am proud to say I have really found a way to communicate to my clients and explain things in a very clear and concise manner. Most of our videos are under 15 minutes so it's a quick study on different topics such as effectiveness of the seat and training principles

How did you find out about Sport Innovations and what drew you to the product?

​I’ve known Hanna for a long time. I have always seen the product and have been very intrigued by it. As most people know, dressage horses need to have supple bodies and loose moving backs, so the blanket was very appealing to me!

What is your favorite feature in the ProSeries?

​I have to say I can’t really choose! We live in a very warm climate in South Carolina, but I do think the added ability to add heat is pretty cool! I love the idea of the PEMF and of course who doesn’t love a good massage!

“THE WHOLE POINT IS TO GET THE HORSE’S MOLECULES AND CIRCULATION MOVING IN A BETTER WAY SO THAT THEY CAN COME TO THE TRAINING IN A LOOSER, MORE RELAXED WAY! BODY AND MIND!”
— JJ Tate

Do you have any tips when using it?

We have a pretty large program at our facility. There are 20 horses in training who could all benefit from relaxation or are just stiff. Many of our younger horses benefit from a 30-minute massage before they work. The assistance to relax helps them be more supple in training, and in return helps us get more out of each ride. Especially in cold weather, using the heat function on ProSeries shortens our warm up time which adds to the productivity for both our young horses and our mature Grand Prix horses.
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Before a horse is ridden we wrap the legs and toss the blanket on for a session. When their time is up, we will put them in their stall for a couple minutes, then we will get ready to work.