CR Horsemanship - Training & Lessons

11/02/2025

Alright!! It’s voting time!! I need a Horse & Rider Combo for best dressed, rider who is best dressed and the funniest costume vs scariest costume! These fabulous kiddos want their prizes! Comment your vote on their photos!

11/01/2025

Spooky Halloween with wind 💨🍃 setting off all the babes but this last ride of the night takes the cake 🙌🏼🥰 we have achieved forward. Light start for baby 3 yo, cantering the big ring and a heck of a whoa. Seriously love the Fleetwood babies to start. **tstarting

10/31/2025

Please please please read the provincial email tonight and respond!

Dear Equestrian Canada,

I am writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed rule change A1313. I believe this amendment would have unintended negative consequences for the accessibility, affordability, and long-term growth of equestrian sport in Canada.

PTSO (Provincial/Territorial Sport Organization) competitions are the cornerstone of our sport. They provide an essential and affordable entry point for grassroots riders who are developing their skills and gaining invaluable competition experience. These events foster an inclusive and encouraging environment where riders can learn, compete, and build confidence before progressing to Equestrian Canada–sanctioned levels of competition.

Equally important is maintaining the flexibility to host PTSO and EC competitions concurrently at the same venue. This model allows coaches to bring a range of students—from beginners to advanced riders—to one event, maximizing entries and supporting the financial viability of competitions. It also creates a clear and natural development pathway for riders as they advance through the sport. Removing this flexibility would risk reducing participation, diminishing the number of viable competitions, and weakening the bridge between grassroots and high-performance levels.

Above all, the continued success of equestrian sport in Canada depends on a strong, collaborative partnership between Equestrian Canada and the PTSOs. Grassroots development requires EC’s active support and acknowledgment of the vital role PTSO competitions play in introducing and nurturing new riders. By working together to find a balanced solution—rather than implementing restrictive changes—we can protect affordability, accessibility, and the long-term sustainability of our sport.

I respectfully urge Equestrian Canada to reconsider the proposed changes to A1313 and to prioritize collaboration and inclusivity within our competition framework.

Thank you for your attention and commitment to the future of equestrian sport in Canada.

10/29/2025

10 Silent Apologies I Believe Horses Have Already Accepted

1. Every time you show up softer

2. Every moment you pause instead of push

3. When you say “I see you” without words

4. When you put down the lead rope

5. When you let them graze before asking

6. When you wait for the blink, not the brace

7. When you stop comparing

8. When you learn their language instead of forcing yours

9. When you walk away without resentment

10. When you thank them for trying

They’ve already forgiven you.
They’re just waiting for you to forgive yourself.

I don't believe hold grudges the way we do. They hold imprints—of pressure, tone, rhythm, and trust. And when you shift your presence, they feel it. Instantly.

The healing doesn’t come from proving you’ve changed. It comes from choosing to be different in this moment, in the quiet, in the ordinary acts of care.

Your horse already knows when your heart softens.
That’s when they start to breathe with you again.

Save this one, share it, or carry it quietly in your chest the next time you reach for the halter.

Join me at https://stormymay.com to continue the exploration.

10/29/2025

Possibly unpopular/contoversial opinion:
Quality and consistent schooling and conditioning is more important than things like chiropractic, massage, magnawave, etc.

I'm not saying things such as chiropractic are not important or not valuable...they absolutely are!
However, they can't replace quality, consistent schooling and conditioning....they should work in conjunction with them.

Doing chiropractic, massage, etc without schooling and conditioning is putting several bandaids on a deep cut. It might look ok for a second but it won't last.

Schooling and conditioning should be PROACTIVE not reactive, which is what I see a lot in programs.
A horse is pulled from lessons due to "bad" behavior, being difficult to ride, being uncomfortable and then they are given regular schooling session.
Horse does better and is put back in lessons but schooling and conditioning is stopped when the behaviors or issues are gone.....then the issues crop back up in a few weeks and you're back to square one.

Don't wait for a horse to get pulled from programs, be proactive and invest in quality, consistent, and frequent schooling and conditioning on the ground and mounted.

I get it....its hard to find time, finances, and someone with the knowledge to implement a quality schooling and conditioning program. However, we owe it to the horse and their students to make it happen.

10/28/2025

✨Sharing space✨

Have you ever noticed how often horses will be in close proximity with one another, sharing space without expectation?

The quietness of proximity without physical touch, without expectation of movement, just enjoying each other’s company.

Now, consider how often us humans offer them the same…

If we’re being honest, it’s not very often.

A lot of human-horse interaction has this “get up and go” mentality where you’re at the barn to groom, to ride — to do SOMETHING.

This leaves our interactions with horses steeped in expectation, of using their space rather than mutually sharing and enjoying quiet company.

There is beauty in the nothingness.

In the quiet breaths.

In the relaxed sighs.

Most of us, both at the barn and outside of it, are always on the go.

We are caught up in hustle culture.

It can be hard to slow down.

But, horses are an exceptional lesson of just that:

The quiet.

The peace and harmony that is simply sharing space with those that you love.

The mutual joy in experiencing each other’s existence. ❤️

10/26/2025

So pleased with Morgan 🙌🏼 couldn’t wait to ride this guy. We’ve done intermittent training and lessons throughout the year because he has been such a baby mentally and physically, but he’s filling out lovely and really showing his Fleetwood QH traits that I’ve come to know and love in the past gelding I worked on… first canters for this guy! Monday, we tackle the arena! Having the right herd has balanced him out so much too, learning to be appropriate with other horses. **tstarting

10/23/2025

Ask Dr. Holly Helbig what she worries most about for the future of the sport, and her answer isn’t about judging systems, prize money, or even veterinary shortages. It’s about kids.

“We’ve done this to them,” she said during a recent Plaidcast In Person event. “We’ve tacked up for them, been their grooms, enabled them. They aren’t getting the hours it takes to build intuition around horses.”

That loss of hands-on time—the small, daily habits that teach empathy and awareness—has become one of Helbig’s biggest concerns. And as both a veterinarian and professional trainer, she’s seen how taking those opportunities away doesn’t just change young riders; it changes the horses too.

Helbig describes herself as a “horse-crazy girl, not from a horse family.” She didn’t grow up surrounded by resources, but she found a way to make it work. “My parents went through bankruptcy,” she said. “Being a kid, not coming from a ton of money, I had to be scrappy.”

That scrappiness, she believes, is part of what shaped her success. “I didn’t have the money to pay a braider or a bunch of grooms,” she said. “You just jump in and do what you have to do. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t trade it. My relationship with that horse was stronger because of all the time I spent with him.”

Today, she worries that many young riders aren’t getting those same opportunities. “I think we’ve created a generation that can ride beautifully,” she said, “but hasn’t had the chance to really know horses.”

In her own training program, Helbig made sure her students stayed involved in every aspect of horse care. “My kids tacked for themselves at the horse show,” she said. “We had grooms, but they tacked for themselves.”

When something medical came up, she used it as a teaching moment. “Whenever anything happened in the barn, I’d scoop all the kids up and say, ‘Come look at this. What is it? Look at this ultrasound. Let’s look at this x-ray together.’”

Those experiences, she said, taught her students to see horses as living, breathing partners—not just show animals. “They learned to pay attention, to notice things, and to ask questions. That’s what builds confidence.”

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/10/22/let-the-kids-tack-up-why-the-next-generation-needs-more-time-in-the-barn/
📸 Lauren Mauldin / The Plaid Horse

10/23/2025

Yes yes yes 🙌🙌

10/23/2025

2026 here we go! Competition Coach is done which means more time to get back to clinics and shows with my athletes 🥰