CR Horsemanship - Training & Lessons

02/18/2025

Every year I try to pick a project or something personally useful to a facility to do. This year, it’s crossties…. Huge thank you to my friend and his new business in the works (details to come) for his time/equipment and expertise. And a huge thank you to Shadowlands (Becky & Corey) for everything they do for our horses and the facility 🥰 so excited for how darn nice they look!!

02/18/2025

Open spaces for riding lessons and summer camps right now! Show lease on 1.10m gelding looking for step down lease. Fantastic fellow with a lot to offer, all the bells and whistles!

02/09/2025

Trip to Vancouver with clients to pony shop last week was a success! The winning pony was a seasoned welsh fellow named Sweet Potato, “Spud” for short! So excited for a brilliant pair of young ladies to enjoy gaining some experience with this handsome pony 🥰 congrats girls!! Your mom has great taste 🙌

02/04/2025

Aside from our Tuesday and Thursday lessons that take place at Mystic Meadows, my parents have decided to utilize the beautiful space that they have and turn it into an indoor play area for the pups! So if you have dogs that need to use a maintained around zero and above arena, there are still time blocks available for the remainder of the cold snap!

02/04/2025

02/04/2025

02/01/2025

Handsome Roo is up for lease in time for show season! 1/2 or full lease options, trot trail to xrails to .60m, this pony is the ultimate little rockstar! He would love having a kiddo to be his best friend. Pm for info

01/31/2025

In a Perfect World

We’ve gotten to a place where there’s no mercy for less than perfect. Here in social media land mistakes are being brutalized to the point of silencing the truth. Want to know what actually happens in real life? Mistakes a made! Lessons are learned…heck sometimes they are learned 3-4 times before they sink in and we quit making that mistake. I mean, we all know this don’t we? Don’t we realize that life isn’t perfect? Sometimes horses set back, sometimes equipment breaks, sometimes we don’t tighten the cinch enough and a saddle winds up under a belly. IT HAPPENS!

Why is it that we have no empathy when people post raw material on social media? We act as if they are the worst human around because they attempted a first ride and got farted off. And every time I see a buck-off video the first thing I do is laugh. The second thing I do is think, “oh boy here come the horsemanship police.” They say, “more groundwork,” “he wasn’t ready,” “more desensitizing,” and the list goes on. It blows me away how we’ve lost all acceptance for making mistakes or having less than ideal situations.

Here’s another example, last week I had personal horses with icicles in their tails. Yeah, it was a cold son-of-a-gun here last week! And if I posted that a whole bunch of people would have lost their marbles. Want to know what my horses were worried about? They just wanted their grain and they were living their best life. Most of us know that horses with very nice shelters rarely use them unless they are locked in. I do feel that in a perfect world every horse should have the option of a nice shelter with a roof and a wind block. But it’s not a perfect world and a lot of folks can’t afford it at the moment. Some people might say, “well they shouldn’t own horses then!” Really? Is that what we want, less people in the horse world because some of them have it less than ideal? I’ve spent a bit of time in a country other than the USA and I’m here to tell you that animals can handle far more than you think. And I’m sure I need to interrupt myself and let everyone know that I am completely against animal abuse. Every animal abuse case should be investigated on a case by case basis and animal abusers should have to answer to the law. But lately it feels like making minor mistakes with horses is causing people to cry, “abuse!” Most of y’all forgot where you came from! With your poor timing and bad hands, you didn’t ride with your seat and probably slapped your horse for doing the very things you taught it to do.

Want to know the biggest downfall of this new trend? A lot of information isn’t being shared. Too many people take it out of context and badmouth the people that are actually trying to help others. Most of the videos posted are edited and reviewed in an attempt to curb all criticism. Which means we miss the raw material. We probably miss the bigger early on correction that actually helped the horse fix it’s behavior. We miss the part where the horse struggles and has to think. We make horse training look like a magical fairytale where we never use more than a pound of pressure and all a person has to do is wait and the horse will come around.

Do you like Ray Hunt quotes? Do you like how they feel warm and fuzzy and it’s all about softness and patience? Well…buy his trailer loading DVD. It was life changing for me. It put meaning to the words I had read several times in his books. The second horse he loads is barely halter broke and you actually get to see him work through some real life stuff! That video shaped the way I teach obstacles and do trailer loading. To this day it is the best training DVD I’ve ever seen. But he gets the job done! And to put a DVD out like that today would probably hurt a lot of feelings.

Look, the world is a harsh and difficult place. I thought it was tough being a child but that was nothing compared to the stress of adulting. And that’s coming from a person with a pretty awesome life! But we all go through stress, we all have ups and downs, it’s life. Stop trying to make life easier on your kids and your horses and start preparing them for those storms that we know are coming. Set them up for success by using training and discipline so when a tough time comes they can handle it. You’re doing them no good by constantly making life easier and then one day they are completely knocked down by the reality that is this world. Life is hard, but it’s even harder when someone spends all of their time trying to make it easier for you.

Some final points

The real stuff ain’t as pretty as those edited videos you watch.

When Ray Hunt went slow he was still riding out of the round pen on day 3.

When you want to be critical of others just go ahead and think about all the mistakes you’ve made…might slow you down from judging so harshly.

Everyone is doing the best they can with the education and experience they currently have.

We try to prepare the horse for the world and not the other way around.

The bad days don’t last but neither do the good ones.

Blessed are those who count their blessings. Cursed are those who count their curses.

Thanks for reading! And until next time, remember this, if you get in a jam, just bend it!

01/31/2025

Available for 1/2 lease or rehome.

The ultimate little Barbie pony!
Trinket, Shetland, 10.2hh

Broke walk trot canter, basic lateral, jumping, cowboy challenge- in hand and under saddle. Cross country independently with her 6 yo rider last year, kept up with the big ponies and enjoyed the water/baby jumps. She’s a wickedly cool little lady and loves being loved on for hours. Want someone to cherish and appreciate her.

Shes more whoa than go but will go for a confident rider that wants it.
Does the up downer lessons from ages 4+ to leadline, trot rails and cross rails for up to age 7-8.

Lunge lessons under saddle, so good to walk up to with a student on her back etc.

Lease onsite only in Beaumont.
Contact Celine 780 819 0975

01/26/2025

Very delayed.. but shout out to and a special group of students/parents, who all came together since November and covered a lovely pair of as a very special (very well kept secret) Christmas gift to me, hidden on a piece of paper at the bottom of a very full surprise snack box - funniest cover up I’ve seen. My body is not the same after surgery and has been a struggle to fit everything, so this was the most appreciated gift from an amazing barn family 💕 today they were delivered and I am so excited!! Thank you 🙏

01/25/2025

ISO! Coming from Alberta for this Tuesday only- flying in Monday night to Abbotsford, out of Vancouver late Tuesday. Would like to see 5 or 6 along the way so we can have a decision by the time we leave.

Looking for a step up pony for a lovely little lady, to a very knowledgeable home.
18-20 budget tops.
Ideal would be 12.3-14hh, simple minded, hunter type. Must have some show experience. Proven would be ideal.

Registered welsh preferred but a cute/great pony is always on the table for us 🥰

Hony type that mum could ride will be considered! Middle of the road type ideal, MUST be safe outside, can sit for a week and go back to work type pony. Typical pony quirks are okay so long as not a bucker/bolter/etc.

Please pm with your options! Must be within our route area as we will have limited drive time. Serious buyer, would like to have something in place before show season.

If you have a horse within the same barn, in the $13-15k mark for a capable teen boy, nothing hot or quirky- will grab a look along the way for that as well. Must be able to do up to .90s, but doesn’t necessarily need to be proven.

01/25/2025

Congratulations to Keana, for breathing those little girl dreams into real life and bringing home your very first horse!! Welcome home beautiful Ella ❤️🥰

01/23/2025

One of the great, awkward but wonderful joys in life is looking back over the years at your riding and handling. I've learned to love the squirm - the discomfort at looking at past versions of yourself and saying - "what was I thinking?" or "why didn't anyone tell me I looked like that?"

And yet, at the time, it was the best version of you. I recall feeling proud then of what makes me gag a little bit now. And I'm certain I'll feel that way again in a year's time, or maybe less.

And the beauty of that is choosing daily to show up - imperfect as it is, with the same curiosity and eagerness to be there as ever, knowing you will fall short, and deciding to be proud anyway. Knowing some day it will not be soothing to your eye, and still deciding to appreciate the effort you have to give.

That's really what this learning stuff is all about - climbing a mountain that never ends, only winds up and around and down and back up - and pausing for brief moments to enjoy the sunshine of success - only to return to the same road. To put one foot after another daily, knowing the path gets you nowhere except deeper within your self, and to love and enjoy that at time arduous, at times awe inspiring, trek.

01/11/2025

Love this 🙌 we often use the water analogy and I really spend a lot of time even with the schoolhorses finding adequately balanced tack. Too many of the new dressage saddles encourage the anterior pelvic tilt and are so unpleasant to ride in.

01/10/2025

2025 update regarding boarding, training and lessons;

The following spaces are open for board for horses in a program at Shadowlands Ranch;

1 - gelding pen, netted bale, has space for 1 horse. TB/warmblood group
1- mares pen, netted bale, 1 horse.
1- hand fed mid size pony pen (13hh plus), 1 pony, perfect for something that needs weight management or is Cushings/IR/previously foundered.
1- hand fed small size pony pen
1- semi private option, for a middle pecking order gelding with another gelding.
1-possible private pen

Beginner lessons- booked 6-8 weeks, 16 for a discount. Starting Jan 18. Ages 5-14 yo.
•Mondays 5-6:15- 6 weeks Jan Feb, 8 weeks March April.
•Fridays 5-6:15- 6 weeks Jan Feb, 8 weeks March April.
•saturdays 11-12:15 or 12:15-1:30.
6 weeks Jan Feb, 7 weeks March April.
•Sundays 11:30-12:45
6 weeks Jan Feb, 7 weeks March April.

Recreational/Competitive lessons:
Hunter/Jumper lessons currently run Monday/Saturdays, will open up Wednesday nights come spring 2025.

Nervous Novice Intro to competitive programs include 1 dressage lesson, 1 jump lesson per week.

Lessons are offered 1-2 day per week in monthly packages, with a 2 week break in December this year.

Training:
Continued young horse development or c**t starting under guidance to appropriate parties is offered- this was a great success last year!

Mileage horses for training or sales. Limited c**t starting. Currently booking for February. Ponies under 12hh will remain with Hailey going forward while anything above will remain with me.

Come join the crew and see what we’re about! We offer something for everyone, recreational to competitive.