Pure Harmony Equine

08/17/2024

Advanced vaulting camp was a successful blast! So much fun and huge improvements. A large focus on teamwork and fostering an amazing community.

08/04/2024

All my clients big and small carry their saddles (some with help) and it is one of the most important parts of each lesson there is. Riding is not just riding, it is the care for the horse, the responsibility, the work ethic, the compassion, problem solving and learning of life skills that shape us all. Make them carry their saddles!

Make Them Carry Their Saddle

A father of a darling girl and I were talking last week and he said that he wanted his daughter to ride more and not have to do the work part of the catching, grooming, and saddling. I smiled as I explained.

Riding horses is a combination of strength, timing, and balance. Kids in this country are physically weak (unless they are actively involved with weight training and physical conditioning 4+ times a week.)

When you walk out to the field, you are clearing your stress from being under fluorescent lights all day; feeling the sun soak into your bones. As your body moves on uneven surfaces, it strengthens your legs and core.

When you groom your horse (especially currying), you are toning your arms and stabilizing your core.

When you carry your saddle, your arms, chest, and back are doing isolated strengthening work.

Being near horses, calms and makes you tune into the splendor of these empathetic animals.

When you ride at a posting trot, it’s equivalent to a slow jog calorie burn wise.

After a lesson, the riders are physically tired and mentally quiet and balanced.

Horses feel your heart beat and mirror your emotions back.

Riding large and somewhat unpredictable animals makes you resilient and pushes your expectations.

Working with horses is so much more than learning how to ride.

So parents, make your children carry their saddles. Don’t do the hard parts for them, as long term it actually hurts them. To advance with their riding, they must get stronger. You can help by doing the high parts.

I love having you all at the farm, and am so grateful to get to share these fascinating animals with you.

Hannah Campbell Zapletal

07/20/2024

Vaulting camp fun! Only a couple spots available in the advanced camp!

07/02/2024

06/21/2024

Mark your calendars for our Advanced vaulting camp in August!!

This camp is for vaulters who have prior experience vaulting and want to get better at their freestyles and improve their overall performance!

06/20/2024

First vaulting camp of summer starting to fill up! Contact us now to secure your spot!!!

Interested in vaulting??

Come join us for a beginner level vaulting camp! This camp will focus on the basic skills that make up a great vaulter at an introduction level.

06/12/2024

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!

05/12/2024

04/29/2024

A huge thank you to Horse Expo Canada for the invitation to be a clinician at Horse Expo Canada 2024. It was an honour to be a part of this fantastic event and share my passion of working equitation and be able to feature my coaching and training philosophies with everyone. It was a truly incredible weekend!

A large thank you to Dani Ornawka of Rain Or Shine Equine for coming with me and helping me all weekend. Thank you to Prairie West Chapter Working Equitation Canada and their volunteers for Assisting with my booth while I was teaching or presenting and for supplying the obstacles and doing all the setup and running as ground crew.

04/28/2024

Wrapped up day 2 at equine expo with a busy day of presentations, teaching and a ton of great conversations and visits with people! A huge thank you to Dani Ornawka for all your help this weekend!!!

04/26/2024

Good Morning from Horse Expo Canada!

Booth is set up and we are excited to visit with everyone and share my program and working equitation with everyone!!!

Presentation today at noon and WE clinic in the arena at 5:30; come check them out!

Ask have some madbarn and merch onsite!!!

04/04/2024

Mad Barn is here!!! This is a product I am happy to support based on the science behind it and I look forward to being able to share it with everyone else. If you need Mad Barn products let me know! Located at Rain Or Shine Equine Shipping is also available!

04/02/2024

Looking forward to this event! Feel free to stop by and visit, I’m always happy to talk horses, training and Working Eq

03/28/2024

Something to be aware of

All 3 of these bones are the same vertabrae…….

These are all C6 cervical vertabrae from the equine neck, the first is from a standardbred(bi-lateral), the second along is from a Swedish warmblood(uni-lateral) and the third is from an Appaloosa(normal). The first two are displaying ECVM, if you don’t know what this I have attached an article below from thirza Hendriks that is well balanced and concise. If that peaks your interest, which it should because this affects a sizeable number of our equines then there are full studies online.

https://www.thirzahendriks.com/post/the-un-balanced-horse

This is something all equestrians should know about. The C6 malformation is only a small part of what the problems can be. This can affect cervical vertabrae C6-7, ribs, sternum, muscles, nerves and soft tissue.

To support my work please head to my patreon page

https://www.patreon.com/insights/membership

03/24/2024

Super fun and successful bomb proofing clinic today! Had a blast teaching it and still have sore sides from laughing at our amazing bunny assistant instructor Dani Ornawka 🤣

03/16/2024

Happy to announce I am now an authorized dealer for Mad Barn! Let me know what products you would like and I will make sure I have them for you!

We are very excited to announce that within our partnership with Pure Harmony Equine we will now be selling Madbarn products on site!! Save yourself the trip to Saskatoon or, starting in May I will be making weekly trips to PA and could bring product.
Contact Kim Jungman or Dani Ornawka with your product needs!
If you are in need of a Madbarn representative and Nutritionalist we can recommend one of those to you as well 😊

03/16/2024

So honoured to be a featured clinician at Horse Expo Canada! Only 1 more day to get your rider applications in!!! Looking forward to seeing everyone there. 🐴

Kim Jungman and her family live on a cattle farm in Duck Lake, Sk. She has been a coach for 15+ years focusing on English, western and therapeutic riding disciplines. Kim is passionate about helping to build a harmonious partnership between horse and rider and helping each rider individually improve...

03/12/2024

Cindy makes some very good points in this interview. Worth the listen ❤️

01/31/2024

If you know someone dedicated to improving equine welfare, nominate them and give them the amazing recognition they deserve!! Thank you to all who put the horse first ❤️

Make sure to get your nominations in for the Equine Welfare Awards. All are welcome to enter as long as they are a Saskatchewan resident! Head over to our website to get the form. https://saskhorse.ca/HealthAndWelfareAward

01/28/2024

Such a fun clinic to teach and everyone did so great! Keep an eye open for the next one and don’t hesitate because they fill fast!!!!

12/31/2023

Riding into 2024! If you can pick one goal for 2024 with your horse, what will it be?

I have a goal for each of my horses:
- Get Inigo back in show shape and hit at least 1 dressage show and working eq show
- Sampson get him back in shape and take him to vaulting provincials with Josie
- Finn get him going solid under saddle and hit a local fun show to get him some experience

12/29/2023

Just over a year since we made the long haul on a crazy cold miserable day to pick up this big guy. He was way greener and more flighty then I was looking for we drive that far in stupid weather so we took him. He has come a long ways in the last year.

3 months ago we almost lost this guy not once but multiple close calls to the point I even gave him until the next morning to improve or I was euthanizing him. He pulled through. First pneumonia which didn’t respond to penicillin and he crashed hard, then major jugular vein thrombosis from the catheter, just getting over that and he broke out in a secondary infection in his neck which ruptured a huge gooey spot at his throatlatch. It has been a steady, daily treatment battle and I can’t thank amazing friends enough for helping out whenever needed. Dani Ornawka Brad Ornawka Olivia Donauer.

Sam has made an almost full recovery and is ready to return to being a lesson/vaulting horse. Keep your eyes tuned for an upcoming Welcome Back Sampson Party!

Edited to add: A large thank you to Haley Angell for sharing Sam’s past. It helps shed light on who he is today and I will be extra mindful of this past as we continue to work through his trauma and build more confidence and trust.

12/25/2023

Wishing you all a Happy Holiday Season!!!!

10/28/2023

Halloween Party Fun!

10/06/2023

👌🏻

09/18/2023

This! Well said DJ. Camaraderie and empowering each other is what this industry needs to be about. Take the time at your next event to encourage and help others, to thank organizers and cheer for competitors and team mates alike. Coaches support each other, you are not competition but passionate people sharing your knowledge to help others.

🐎🚫 Stop the Mean Girl Coach Clubs in Equestrian Sport! 🙅‍♀️

In the world of equestrian sports, we must remember the true spirit of our passion – the love for horses and the pursuit of excellence. Coaches, let's be the leaders our riders can admire and respect, not part of "Mean Girl" clubs that do harm.

Exclusive circles in equestrian sports can have dire consequences for our riders, ourselves as coaches, and even lead to rider abuse when they gossip and trainer hop:
🌟Division among riders damages team cohesion.
🌟Encouraging gossip and negativity creates a toxic riding environment.
🌟Young equestrians may feel disheartened and unsupported.

Additionally, when riders engage in gossip and trainer hopping, it can lead to abusive behavior toward coaches:
Coaches may face verbal abuse when trying to maintain a positive training atmosphere.
Trainer hopping disrupts the learning process and fosters impatience and frustration.

As equestrian coaches, our duty is to nurture talent, build character, and foster camaraderie.
💪 Let's break free from Mean Girl behavior, supporting each other, our riders, and creating a safe and respectful environment for all. 🤗💕

06/21/2023

Keeping with camp season I am excited to also offer a WE Camp!

06/21/2023

Vaulting Camp coming up!!! Message me for more details and to register!

05/12/2023

Wrapped up an amazing Connected Riding clinic on Sunday. We went deep with some fantastic discussions on discover and learning, work on the lunge, in hand and under saddle. And we wrapped up with everyone testing out their connection bridleless.

04/26/2023

And know that we are here to help you succeed and your wins and challenges hit us just as hard as they do you. We care deeply!

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!