Sandbeck Equestrian

13/12/2023

Hi all,

As many of you know, I have a couple of health conditions that we have been monitoring over the past couple years. Now that I’ve finished uni (woohoo!), these health issues have caught up to me and unfortunately I am experiencing a minor complication. Because of this, I will need to take the next short (hopefully very short) while off coaching which I am so incredibly sorry for 😢

Messages regarding lessons will be sent to my riders/their guardians ASAP.

Fingers crossed everything settles quickly, but please accept my sincere apologies for the current disruption ❤️

17/09/2023

Happy 2 year anniversary Nelly!

Welcoming the new addition!

A smidge taller than Cleo but just as sweet, gentle and cheeky! He is already being pampered by riders ❤️

Thank you to Kim Evans for letting me look after Nelly, and to Kim Phillips for recommending Sandbeck Equestrian 🦄

15/09/2023

Hi all!

Apologies for being quiet with my social media lately, I’m nearing the end of my final semester at uni so my time is currently spent either coaching or studying!

I have become aware of some concerns surrounding the property, business, and horses, but want to assure everyone that we are NOT selling our land, we are NOT selling the horses, and I am continuing coaching! 😍

Just wanted to clear up any confusion as our next door neighbours (another Equestrian business) property is for sale, but I (and the horses) are staying put.

17/08/2023

A huge well done to one of my riders today, milestones were achieved and her effort was definitely rewarded with an amazing ride! 🐴

Not only were her canter transitions prepared for and executed amazingly, as well as her circles being very well shaped (which all equestrians know how hard that is!), but I could see her going through her ‘mental checklist’ of what she needed to do to get the desired outcome. And to see her smile at the end once she realised what she achieved was heartwarming, it was a very proud coach moment 😍

I am very lucky with all of my riders, and I love seeing them strive for greatness and being proud of their accomplishments along the way ❤️

09/08/2023

Learning how to clean tack… all apart of horse care and maintenance! 🧽🫧

02/08/2023

Things your riding instructor wants you to know:
1. This sport is hard. You don't get to bypass the hard…..every good rider has gone through it. You make progress, then you don't, and then you make progress again. Your riding instructor can coach you through it, but they cannot make it easy.

2. You're going to ride horses you don't want to ride. If you're teachable, you will learn from every horse you ride. Each horse in the barn can teach you if you let them. IF YOU LET THEM. Which leads me to…

3. You MUST be teachable to succeed in this sport. You must be teachable to succeed at anything, but that is another conversation. Being teachable often means going back to basics time and time and time again. If you find basics boring, then your not looking at them as an opportunity to learn. Which brings me to…..

4. This sport is a COMMITMENT. Read that, then read it again. Every sport is a commitment, but in this sport your teammate weighs 1200 lbs and speaks a different language. Good riders don't get good by riding every once in awhile….they improve because they make riding a priority and give themsevles opportunity to practice.

5. EVERY RIDE IS AN OPPORTUNITY. Even the walk ones. Even the hard ones. Every. Single. Ride. Remember when you just wished someone would lead you around on a horse? Find the happiness in just being able to RIDE. If you make every ride about what your AREN'T doing, you take the fun out of the experience for yourself, your horse, and your instructor. Just enjoy the process. Which brings me to...

6. Riding should be fun. It is work. and work isn't always fun.....but if you (or your rider) are consistently choosing other activities or find yourself not looking forward to lessons, it's time to take a break. The horses already know you don't want to be here, and you set yourself up for failure if you are already dreading the lesson before you get here.

7. You'll learn more about horses from the ground than you ever will while riding. That's why ground lessons are important, too. If you're skipping ground lessons (or the part of your lesson that takes place on the ground), you're missing out on the most important parts of the lesson. You spend far more time on the ground with horses than you do in the saddle.

8. Ask questions and communicate. If you're wondering why your coach is having you ride a particular horse or do an exercise, ask them. Then listen to their answer and refer to #3 above.

9. We are human beings. We make decisions (some of them life and death ones) every day. We balance learning for students with workloads for horses and carry the bulk of this business on our shoulders. A little courtesy goes a long way.

Of all the sports your child will try through their school years, riding is one of 3 that they may continue regularly as adults (golf and skiing are the others). People who coach riding spend the better part of their free time and much of their disposable income trying to improve their own riding and caring for the horses who help teach your child. They love this sport and teaching others…..but they all have their limits. Not all good riders are good coaches, but all good coaches will tell you that the process to get good is not an easy one.

*thank you to whoever wrote this! Not my words, but certainly a shared sentiment!

14/07/2023

Another anniversary post!

2 years since this young rider started (maybe longer… I’m a bit late posting 🤦🏼‍♀️) and she is excelling in all aspects of horse riding and care.

She rides both Nelly and Rocco, focusing on different ‘challenges’ with each horse. Lately she has made huge improvements with her lower leg position, which has given her a better seat in the canter (which is apparently her new favourite thing to do!) ❤️

Nelly looks rather impressed with himself after their amazing lesson this afternoon 🙈

12/07/2023

Hi all!

As many of you know, I tend to be rather injury prone! After 6 weeks on crutches with ligament damage (in my good knee 🤦🏼‍♀️) I am slowly getting back into coaching normally again, and just in time to celebrate this young riders 1 year anniversary of riding!! 😍

This young man has improved immensely over the past 12 months, from being a complete beginner and non-horsey, to now trotting along by himself as well as learning about horse behaviour and care 👌🏼 pretty impressive for just 1 lesson a week! He even wants his own pony now… sorry to his mum and dad 🙈😂 His biggest goal at the moment is to canter, can’t wait to update everyone once he achieves it 🐴

07/07/2023

SATURDAY LESSONS CANCELLED ⛈️

Hi all, due to severe weather warnings I have made the decision to cancel todays (8/7) lessons for rider and horse safety. I will be in touch with all riders who wish to book an extra lesson during school holidays.

Stay safe and dry everyone!

Pictured is Wally having a look through the Equestrian Australia website… lots of great resources and information if anyone wants something to keep them busy whilst indoors today https://www.equestrian.org.au

🐴

25/05/2023

Hi all!

For those I haven’t contacted yet, please be prepared for a slight change in routine for the next week (roughly… hopefully…). During lessons we prioritise horse management and theory knowledge as much as the ridden component, and this will have an extra emphasis at the moment as I am on crutches for the time being, with an MRI booked for tomorrow.

This has come at a tricky time with the weather as it’s a bit challenging for me to make my way through paddocks, so I may need some extra help carrying feed buckets and the like! Looking forward to helping you all become better horsewomen and men, especially as we will all experience challenges in our ridden journeys at some point but our job is to adapt, make do, and make sure the horses are still looked after ❤️

21/05/2023

Anddddd while we are on the topic of first canters, remember the video I posted recently where my darling mother filmed the ground instead of the rider? 😂

Well we had a take 2 and have the evidence of her first (second…) canter now!! 👌🏼

Very proud of my riders who are currently experiencing big milestones, onwards and upwards! ❤️🐴

21/05/2023

This rider has been beyond excited recently after doing her first canter!!! I love this video as it shows the work and training she put in beforehand to improve her balance and seat. I think it’s a pretty good job for the first try 😍🐴

Also, I am currently in an extremely busy part of the semester with final assessments and exams approaching, so please bear with me as it might take a while longer to respond to messages ❤️

24/04/2023

Practicing our centrelines and understanding how challenging they can be! It is great for the riders to learn that even tasks that look and sound easy, may not be as such… but I love how dedicated they become to improving, like this young rider pictured! 👌🏼🐴

21/04/2023

Well, one of my riders this morning achieved a huge milestone by practicing her first ever canter. Luckily for us, my mum was kind enough to film it… perhaps next time we can hit record a bit earlier? 😂😂😂

Able Stables

21/04/2023

Hi all!

This year I’m continuing my role as Equine Entertainment Coordinator at AGFEST and will be away from lessons from the 4-6th of May. I will send out messages to those who will miss lessons, but I encourage everyone to come along and see what’s on offer at Quercus 👌🏼

I have many great equine demos lined up, but there are loads of cool things across the site to suit the whole family, so make sure you take your walking shoes! 🐴🐄🚜

Agfest 2023 is just 2 weeks away! We are looking forward to welcoming everyone from Thursday 4 May to Saturday 6 May.

There are no limits on ticket numbers and tickets will remain on sale right through to until the last day of Agfest. All tickets must be purchased online and there will be no gate sales. Single day tickets only are available to purchase for this year’s event.
Please click here to purchase your tickets https://bit.ly/AgfestTickets

Ticket Prices for Agfest 2023
Adult One Day Pass → $25
Seniors / Age Pension One Day Pass→ $20
Children (5-17 inclusive) One Day Pass→ $10
Children under 5 → Free (ticket required)
(Booking fees apply)

09/04/2023

Some ponies getting rugged up ahead of a chilly night ❄️

01/04/2023

Hi all!

Just letting all of my riders know that I am not taking any time off over the Easter break and lessons are going ahead as per usual. Please let me know if you’re planning on being away!

🐰🐰

23/03/2023

Nelly was very much enjoying his brush tonight 😂

19/03/2023

Lesson is now filled!

Hi all,

Due to a cancellation I have an available lesson tomorrow at 4:30pm if anyone would like some extra time in the saddle 🐴

15/03/2023

Another young rider is independently trotting 👌🏼

We do a lot of work on our position, balance, and connection with the horse in walk, so once it comes time to trot, I find it pieces together rather well ❤️

02/03/2023

One of the milestones achieved recently has been this young girls confidence with her independent trotting 😍

As we all know, our confidence plays a big part in our riding journey, but through small steps, lots of encouragement, as well as a mix of being pushed outside of their comfort zone whilst still having a voice, we can work through challenges. Especially when we make it as fun as possible! 🐴

I am so proud of this young rider with how she is developing. Looking forward to seeing further progression! 💪🏼

02/03/2023

2 weeks in since coming back from holidays and everyone is feeling refreshed and ready to go!

I have had riders achieve huge milestones recently but more about that later… for now let’s enjoy this sunny weather while we can! ☀️

09/02/2023

We all know that if you wear a white shirt to your riding lesson, it’s the horses responsibility to sneeze on you at least once 🙈😂

11/01/2023

With the few days I’ve been back at work before I head to Brisbane (yay!) on Friday, we have been extremely busy with new focuses 🐴

A few months ago my coach said something to me that was a major lightbulb moment and has influenced how I am approaching habits with my own riders. It is all about awareness. I have now started asking my riders 3 questions when they give an instruction (kick, click, ect…)

1) what are you trying to achieve from that?

Often the answer is ‘more activity or energy’

2) is it working?

If the answer is yes, that is fantastic! Means our communication is clear, we can then look at improving our instructions even further. If the answer is no, the third question asks:

3) what can we do to make our communication clearer so our horse understands?

So far this has been excellent for riders who are in the habit of continuously doing small, little kicks, usually without even realising. It highlights to them that they are giving an instruction, but are not getting a result. This is helping break lots of tricky habits which benefit both rider and horse!

Also, I think we have a new winner for being matchy matchy!! This rider wore blue and green tones for her recent lesson… and her hair was dyed blue! 💙

30/12/2022

Just a reminder to all my clients about my holidays. Messages have been sent to everyone so please remember I am having a break from now til Friday, so no lessons! ❤️

Enjoy a pic of Rocco pony giving Jamison the alpaca some (unwanted) love 🙈😂

30/12/2022

Lessons for 2022 have now finished!

I have been reflecting upon the past 12 months recently whilst reading Christmas cards given to me by riders, and I cannot believe all we have achieved this year.

There are plenty of rider accomplishments that deserve a mention, but this post would become way too long! So, before we head into the new year I owe you all a big thank you for your support, encouragement, and for allowing me to share my love of horses with you.

For now, I am on holidays! I am looking forward to continuing your Equestrian journeys once I return ❤️

29/12/2022

Well it looks like the adult riders have taken on the ‘matchy matchy’ challenge! 🙈😂

28/12/2022

This week has been one of many milestones… and we still have another 2 days of lessons!

I think a big congratulations is in order for 3 of my young riders who did their first ever independent rising trot, as well as another 1 of my young riders who did her first rising trot 😍

What a great way for them to finish off 2022 lessons 👌🏼

Below we have superstar lesson pony, Rocco, getting a well deserved rinse off after a lesson 🐴