Millennium S Equestrian

07/20/2024

Oh Amadeus, you’re just the best 💚

07/16/2024

Never give up!

07/15/2024

Best summer camp ever ✨

06/27/2024

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.

📝 Kimberley Reynolds

📸 Max & Maxwell: Equestrian Photography

06/26/2024

Leadership vs Followership

Leading depends on someone following, and the dynamic of followership perhaps deserves some attention. Horses are prepared to follow any one of the group who set off with conviction. Horses do not respond well to uncertainty.

Three horses are at pasture. One is thirsty and decides to go to the stream for a drink. One of the others notices her leaving and decides to follow. The third spots the other two and follows them. What factor is at work here? Dominance, leadership, or followership? There is no conscious decision to influence the actions of the other two horses. She is motivated by thirst and moves off with conviction. The others are motivated by social behaviour. (followership)

The herd works in this way: if one spots danger, the others will follow the line of attention. It is thus important that we learn to control our reactions, through breathing and relaxation, so that we do not actually make a horse worry about a situation that he was not worried about to begin with.

Horses are prepared to follow any one, horse or human, who acts with conviction. Wavering will put a horse on guard.
A rider communicating uncertainty about going over a jump will find that the horse makes a decision about the best course of action, which may be stopping, rushing over the fence or heading for the gate.

Unfortunately, leadership is often equated with control and dominance – with most methods of horsemanship insisting that control and dominance are absolutely necessary for leadership and a partnership.

I prefer the definition Carolyn Resnick gives – ‘. A leader is someone who makes a request – ask, don’t tell. Leadership is flexible. ‘

06/07/2024

I read a theory about why so many riders lack a deep command of basics, and it was explained like this---

Correct basics are hard to master because there is an enormous amount of repetition involved, and if someone has tried something hundreds, possibly thousands of times, and still can’t do it, it is easy for the person to conclude that he/she is taking on an impossible challenge.

In his book “Mastery,” George Leonard wrote that on the quest to become good, there will be long stretches of “seeming non-improvement.”

Like watching grass grow, change is happening, but so slowly that it can’t be measured daily, weekly, or even monthly. But at some point, for those who stick with it, “suddenly” they can do things that before they couldn’t do.

The issue is giving up in frustration before putting in those many many many many months of practice.

That is ONE theory. I am sure there are many others, but this one does ring true.

05/27/2024

🇺🇸This Memorial Day, we pause to remember and honor the courageous individuals who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Their legacy inspires us every day.

05/16/2024

Join us in July for a unique camp experience with Porter’s Corner! In addition to all things horses, campers will go ham playing with pigs, learn the joys of taking it slow with the tortoises, make udderly delightful memories with the cows, and so much more! We hope to see you there 🐴

05/07/2024

Yesterday marked 2 years since my heart horse gained his wings. Losing him felt like losing a part of myself, but I’m so incredibly thankful for the years we had. Max touched many hearts, and I feel so lucky that I can continue to share the joy he sparked in me ♥️

Pictured is one of the best rides we ever had, with nothing but a neck rope 💕

05/05/2024

My jaw dropped! How incredible is this 🏇

📸 What a finish

The official photo finish of the Kentucky Derby. #3 Mystik Dan was first, #2 Sierra Leone was second, and #11 Forever Young (JPN) was third.

05/01/2024

I feel like the luckiest gal when I look at my students 💕

04/20/2024

Seniors will always hold a special place in my heart ♥️

04/12/2024

The Next Horse

I don't often say a horse has a job yet the next horse that comes into our lives after the loss of another has a huge job that it is not even aware of

The task the next horse takes on is to heal a small piece of our heart that gets broken every time we say goodbye to a friend, yet often healing takes place without us or the horse even knowing it's just happening with no contract written between you and the horse

The tears will always fall for the last horse, the regrets, the what ifs, the if only we could have done differently, yet the smiles begin to reappear as the next horse makes its way into our hearts

The eyes of the horse is the window to their soul and the eyes of the next horse has a kindness and almost an old soul, we recognise something that brings us comfort

Owning a complex horse can emotionally drain you, everything is questioned, everything is analysed, everything is planned meticulously that when the next horse comes along, we often forget we may have never had the chance just to be in the moment, to be spontaneous, to say yes to things which we thought we would never do and even just have the moment to enjoy the gift they have given

We can often feel guilt that we may begin to enjoy this new journey for fear of letting down the last horses memory , yet we are experiencing new things that were never possible with the last horse so there should never be guilt as each horse brings a different journey we must take before we meet our next horse

We can still remember with fondness the memories of our last horse yet still enjoy the new experiences the next horse

As we come to the end of the journey with the last horse and new one begins with the next horse we must always never question the journey but accept these are the journeys we were destined to be on

For my client x

03/30/2024

For many years March 30th was my favorite day of the year. Now, it’s bittersweet. On March 30th, 1997 the sweetest soul made his earth-side debut, and today he would have turned 27. I’d give anything to get just a few more minutes, one more hug, one more kiss. It’s been almost two years since he gained the wings I always knew he had, and not a single day goes by that my heart doesn’t ache to hear his nicker. Happy birthday, Max ♥️

03/02/2024

I had the best time yesterday volunteering with Porter’s Corner! 💕

02/28/2024

Another show is in the books! I had a great time with the best people ❤️

02/01/2024

Here’s to my first show season 🥂

12/25/2023

Merry Christmas and Happy Stallidays!

12/14/2023

OTTBs will always be number 1 in my heart! This is incredible 😍

12/01/2023

The world lost another beautiful soul this week. Emmy, registered Explosive Mist, left the earth at 36 years old. She left behind her daughter Morgan and granddaughter Misty

I took lessons on Emmy over 10 years ago. I remember after my first time jumping her, my instructor Judi told me that was Emmy’s first time jumping - I was floored, and asked why she didn’t tell me. “You would have been too nervous if I told you,” she said. She was right, of course 🤣 but Emmy took care of me like always

Emmy was the best little mare. She gave Arabians a good name, with her sweet eyes and loving heart. She lived a long, wonderful life, and I’m so glad I was able to be a part of it. Thank you for being one of my teachers, Em ♥️

11/25/2023

Another day, another awesome morning on the trails ☺️

11/22/2023

I am so, so proud of this guy! We’ve been working together for about a year and a half now, and he never ceases to amaze me. Jack can sometimes be on the spookier side, but being a teenage OTTB who can blame him 💁🏻‍♀️
Today we went on our first off-property trail ride. It wasn’t long, only about 15 minutes, but it was perfect for both of us. I’m so excited to hit the trails more and see how he flourishes with our next venture ♥️