CR Horsemanship - Training & Lessons

04/10/2025

Meet “Skye”! She’s back this year to find her own person as soon as possible as owner is downsizing!
5 yo, stunning buckskin pinto
She is sweet. Friendly and uncomplicated.
12.1hh
Takes up a little 5’2” rider comfortably.
She had 90 days last year, inside and out of arena. Came back into work like a champ this year, walk trot canter under saddle, just in the process of fitting up.
Ground driven, quiet to handle, good with her feet, lunging/loading/tying. Happy to hang out and be loved on. She’s under saddle walk trot currently, been waiting for a bit more balance to canter but steering and whoa is coming along nicely.
Super simple project for a brave youth under guidance can continue- not a beginner. Someone looking for an easy project, nice mover for any discipline.
No pony quirks! Clean slate and well handled.

Middle to higher 4s to good home. Price will go up if she stays. This mare is worth her weight in gold! Would make a great lesson horse down the road, has all the right personality traits.

04/10/2025

Can we please normalise kids riding “average” horses?

Contrary to what the current state of the equestrian world would have you believe, can we just hold up for a second and reintroduce the idea of our kids riding, competing and learning on completely normal, inexpensive and unexciting horses?

The money that has taken over the equestrian industry, is mind boggling, but the expectations of “what” our kids should be sitting on is out of this world 🌎

I’ve grown up with some of the best riders in this country, and watched plenty more on their journey to the top, middle and bottom 🤣 and i can truthfully attest to the fact that never has there been so much pressure to provide the “perfect” horse for our kids.

Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on horses, trucks and gear in the bid to “make a rider” of them, is not only a poor financial investment but in 9 out of 10 cases, completely detrimental to what kids actually need in order to become a riders, rider.

They need average horses, careless horses, uneducated horses, horses that are a bit tricky, hot horses, cold horses, good horses and bad as well as ones that are just plain uncompetitive.

Why?

Because in order to make a rider, we first need to make a problem solver.

And how are you going to make a resilient, problem solver out of your little rider if you continue to buy their way out of doing the hard yards.

It don’t work and there is absolutely no short cuts in this game.

As long as a horse is safe, I don’t see issue with kids doing their time, on the plain Jane’s of the horse world.

As long your kids got a helmet and a pair of boots, and a bit of gear, it doesn’t matter what brand they are, or how much they cost.

These things are irrelevant.

Teach your kids to figure things out, teach them to appreciate the small wins, and if you really want to teach them to be a winner, then first teach them to be a loser; because hunger and being hungry for success will make more of them in riding and in life than your wallet ever will.

Throwback to one of the best horses I’ve ever had, Nutmeg, my pony x trotter x thoroughbred who was the love of my life.

04/08/2025

Absolutely loving this girl 🥰 so great to be back going again. Will be taking on a mileage horse or two this year, dressage or over fences, if you’re looking for fine tuning. Private pen available May 1st. Starters currently booked until July 1st.

04/07/2025

Professional Amateurs, Amateur Professionals.

Over the last 10 years, I’ve been lucky to spend a lot of time shadowing some of the best coaches in the world, and watching how the best riders in the world train and work with their horses.
Officially, the difference between an amateur rider and a professional rider is that one rides for pleasure and one rides for payment - but I’m a massive believer in that amateur riders can ride like professionals.

The key differences:

1️⃣ Stay in the moment.. Amateurs are led by emotion vs Professionals are led by logic.

2️⃣ Choose your hard.. Amateurs want it to feel good/easy now, which can make for hard later down the line vs Professionals will work hard now with the hope it’ll make the next ride easier.

3️⃣ Setting yourself up for success.. Amateur riders usually wait for an opportunity vs Professionals create opportunities, they make things happen.

4️⃣ Pilot/passenger.. Amateurs are usually led by the horse vs Professionals lead the way.

5️⃣ Forward thinking.. Amateurs are usually 1 step behind the horse, or the course, vs Professionals are usually 2 steps ahead.

6️⃣ Ready4Trouble.. Amateur riders start to anticipate an issue vs Professionals acknowledge there may be an issue, are ready for it, but stick to the plan until it happens.

7️⃣ A good dressage judge.. Amateur riders tend to sit on a 6.5 pressure scale (not enough when needed, too much when not needed) vs Professionals will go up to a 9 and down to a 3.

8️⃣ Subtlety.. Amateurs will often use 1 big aid, wait, then apply 1 big aid vs Professionals will continuously be working the power, balance and softness every stride.

9️⃣ Expectation.. Amateurs will often settle for ‘good enough’ vs Professionals will always strive for 1 better.

🔟 Balance.. Amateur riders will be dependant on the horses balance vs Professionals will be completely independent.

1️⃣1️⃣ Stick to the plan. Especially XC and with young horses, Amateurs will try to put the horse on the line and go with them vs Professionals put themselves on the line, and bring the horses with them.

1️⃣2️⃣ Reaction time. Timing of an aid is critical, by the time an Amateur has applied an aid or corrected a mistake, Professionals will have already moved onto the next thing.

1️⃣3️⃣ World Class Basics. Horses learn by repetition, often we think as you go up the levels it’s all about fancy movements and jumping big jumps, but 90% of the time Professionals will continuously be chipping away at the basics.

I asked Chris Bartle last year what makes the guys at the top so good, and he said ‘in the moment, they are willing to do what is necessary, not what they would like to do’.

A BE90/100 rider that has a full time office job outside of horses can ride like a professional, whilst still riding for pleasure (and I’m lucky to work with lots of them).
Having 20 horses in your yard does not make you a professional.

👊🏽
‘That makes you look like an amateur’
‘You rode that like an absolute pro’

04/06/2025

Using the whiteboard to pre prep some our new crew for reading courses at the horse show as we get ready to head to Amberlea end of this month! Off to a late start this year with some minor delays but… better late than never!! So excited to get back to it.

04/03/2025

04/02/2025

Space open immediate due to a client delaying her time until later in the year- Private pen available- must have Coggins, vaccine proof. Preference given to those from closed herds. Suitable for mileage horses, tentative starters (90 days only), and sales horses. **tstarting

03/31/2025

Kids Camp round 2 was a hit! We still have 3 spaces tomorrow! Come out and join the fun 🥰

03/27/2025

03/26/2025

Still a few spaces in tomorrow’s camp!! Come on out and join the fun!

03/24/2025

The Small Trainer/instructor/coach/friend

That moment when your horse is just slightly off, not lame, not colicky, just… weird.
You’re staring at them, they’re staring at you, and neither of you has a clue.

But the small trainer? They notice.

Find a trainer who actually sees you. Sees your horse. Sees that your inside leg is flapping like a fish and kindly pretends not to notice, until you’re ready to hear it.

Because not every big-name rider in a fancy yard is the right fit.

A trainer isn’t just there to shout “MORE LEG!” while sipping coffee from the safety of the arena fence.

A real trainer guides you, teaches you, picks you up when you fall (both literally and emotionally), and occasionally reminds you to breathe.

Before you send your horse off to a big, famous rider, ask yourself:

Are they going to take the time to know you and your horse?
Or will they take one look at your slightly confused face and your horse’s “I work on my schedule” attitude and move on to the next client?

Because it’s the small trainer who actually gives you a chance.

The one who believes in you, even when you’re convinced you’ll never canter in a straight line.

The one who doesn’t judge when you say, I’ve never done this before, but why not?

The one who takes an extra 30 minutes just to make sure that turn is exactly right, so you leave the arena feeling like Carl Hester(even if your horse is feeling more like a Thelwell pony).

The one who’s walking through the yard at 10pm, checking on your horse like an overprotective parent.

The one trying to make your dreams affordable (because, let’s be honest, we all know horses eat money for breakfast).

The one who actually wants your horse to enjoy their job, not just tolerate it.

The one who will try every trick in the book (and some that aren’t in the book) to get the absolute best out of your horse.

That’s why I’m training to be more than just an instructor.
I’m training to be a coach, a mentor, a friend.
Someone who sees you, supports you, and doesn’t let you give up, no matter how many times you forget to sit up.

Because the small trainer?
They’re the ones who make the magic happen…
And they’re also the ones who will laugh with you (not at you)… when your horse suddenly remembers how to rodeo mid-lesson.

03/22/2025

I ran a lesson program years ago, and got really burned out. My horses did too.

I did a lot of things wrong and I am trying to learn from those now -

A big part of what went wrong was not controlling the general attitude people took to riding and horses. The horses became a vehicle for people, or a tool, and as tools are used, they become used up. As horses respond to the poor feel they are offered, students describe these objections as the horses personality - “hes so stubborn, so ornery!” And so on - and this is how the cycle of poor feel, over aiding, and handling horses like a rock deepens, and continues.

Of course there will always be some “taking from” a horse we all do when learning how to post, how to steer, or how to manage problem solving issues. Mistakes will be made, horses will be bumped, thumped or accidentally pulled.

But the attitude makes up for a lot I believe. If the school insists on the general spirit being not just riding but riding even the school horse with feel, Handling the gentle horse with respect and tact, assuming nothing about their tolerance and being fair and smooth in our handling, that goes a very very long way.

Horsemanship is the art of managing the horse: from haltering to picking hooves to feeding to good riding - not just to get those tasks done, but to get them done in a way that can make a horse feel safe, feel good, feel honored. And even if an amateur makes mistakes here, the intention matters.

Slow down, pay attention, do all things with care and respect. Acknowledge your mistakes but don’t beat yourself up about them. Acknowledge when you get something right, you’ve made a horse feel better, move better, live better. That’s something to be proud of, and take back into the world away from the school.

That’s what riding schools should be teaching - and I believe if we could manage that, if we could insist on that, school horses and instructors both would last a lot longer.

Pictured is Tressa Boulden from Traditions Farm Classical Dressage explaining how to guide the horse with the whole body