Category Archives: Training

One of my students came up to me a few weeks ago and started listing her goals for the season. Being a goal oriented person myself, I was intrigued. Claire...

Nothing will ever replace my childhood daydreams of galloping my horse down the beach without a saddle or bridle, just like Alec Ramsey and "Black" in the first of "The...

Admit it: it is one of the trickiest lines to walk as a horse owner and rider. Most of us want our horses to be happy, comfortable, and love us...

Miniature Horses and small ponies can be just as athletic as their full-sized counterparts. We often see them driven or performing tricks, but believe it or not, they can also...

Have you ever watched or ridden your friend’s horse and thought: “I wish my horse was like that?” Have you ever known the husband or wife of one of your...

Elisa Wallace knows a good horse when she sees one. Problem is, she's capable of bringing out the good in every horse she encounters. So it was no surprise to find Wallace...

“Jumping courses today in different disciplines requires different seats at different moments in time on course. Sometimes we are up out of the saddle, sometimes up more, sometimes sinking into...

Anyone who has been fortunate enough to get a glimpse at the inner workings of Millar Brooke Farm knows that the devil is in the details. But here’s a little...

How often have you gone through the motions of your ride, kind of touching on things you really need to work on, but only settling for a '7 out of...

Last week, T.J. O'Mara captured his second major equitation title in as many weeks weeks. (He's the 2016 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals—East and 2016 Pessoa/US Hunter Seat Medal Final champion). Consider him your equitation...

Most of us hold tension in some part of our bodies—our shoulders, our lower backs, our jaws maybe. It might begin as just a little tweak (say, on Monday) and...

The advantage of a horse’s powerful hindquarters is that one lightning-fast hoof strike can end an argument with a mountain lion. Instantly. The drawback of that fact is that when...

It’s equitation finals season! Time to drop the stirrups and pick up a few position tips from the pros—so we can all learn to ride with the precision of Victoria Colvin,...

We all know how many things there are about which we can say, "I wish I'd known then what I know now." For me, one of the most profound, as...

Have you ever dealt with a horse with an unsafe hind end? You know, the type that could wheel around, kick you in the forehead and land you in the...

When I started riding, one of the first bits of information shared by the instructor was the principle of “natural aids.” In subsequent classes at the beginner level, she would...

If you’re like me, you look at your first-pony photos (it’s all about nostalgia these days) and cringe a bit at the position of your leg—no doubt, stuck a little...

When we work horses, especially young ones, we ask them to give us not only their total focus but also a very high degree of physical exertion. As with human...

I never canter randomly. Whether on an event horse or a Morgan, in a jumping saddle or dressage saddle, I constantly work to improve my eye for a distance. I'll...

So, you have been seduced by the misty allure of sporting scenes from Downton Abbey and aspire to follow hounds this fall? Perhaps you’re a literary type, and the romance...