Galloping With Guidance

10/08/2024

Winter Camp time!

Winter Camp is full of fun! This year we have chosen to have smaller groups, so there is more personalized & quality time. Most importantly... more time with the horses! We will be riding, making horse cookies, making horse ornaments, and so much more fun all in the barn! It will be a busy 3 hours of jam packed fun.

Ages 5-13 years old
No horse experience required, as this is a beginner camp!
Camp is hosted at VHV Ranch in Dewey, AZ

This would make a great Holiday Gift!

Dates are January 4th and 5th at 10am and 2PM

Camp is $50 . We are an ESA approved Vendor! We ask that you only sign up for one camp time slot at this time to allow more kids to join. Multiple kids are okay!

Sign up with this link https://gallopingwithguidance.as.me/wintercamp

*Camp must be paid in full to retain spot. There are no refunds but you can gift/sell your spot if you can't make it.*

Can't make this camp but still want to get involved? Ask about our riding lessons or our Horsemanship class starting in January!

10/01/2024

13 years giving lessons here.. Tonight was my last night teaching in Waddell ❤️ So many great people I have met here and they have all taught me something.. In this arena I have grown from an every weekend barrel racing high school teen to a married mom of two focusing on being the best horseman I can be.

I’m thankful for you Waddell.

To all my clients that I have taught through the years, just know I am always rooting for you! I see you graduating, competing, starting careers or families ❤️ Stay in touch, I love to see your wins!

I will now be in Dewey full time for lessons and training. This way I can work from home and focus on my family & horses.

09/29/2024

Horses are a lot like 4th graders.

I know this because my wife, Bridget, is a school teacher, and over the years, I’ve gained a pretty good understanding of what it takes to make a great student-teacher relationship... and I’ve come to realize, in many ways, it’s not that much different from the horse-trainer relationship.

Horses, like students, may not always remember exactly what you taught them on a given day, but they remember how you made them feel.

They remember whether or not you encouraged them and made them feel confident about the things they have learned.

They remember if you took time to listen to them and to build a relationship with them.

They recognize our attitudes and behaviors, and they are easily influenced by the energy we put off—both positively and negatively.

Horses, like students, need space to make mistakes.

They don’t need to be micromanaged.

They don’t need to be harshly criticized when they get the wrong answer.

Instead, they need you to guide them in the right direction and be rewarded when they find the right answer.

Horses, like students, need us to take the time to help them develop their skills.

They need us to show patience and kindness.

They need us to have understanding and excellent communication.

They need us to be committed to their growth, no matter how slow or fast it may be.

Horses, like students, need us to understand that progress is not an overnight process, but rather a lifelong journey. And, while it may be a long journey, it sure is a rewarding one.

09/24/2024

I hope you have a daughter like you.

I hope she puts that nasty neon pink braided goat string back into her mouth and the corners of her mouth are caked with dirt.

I hope she wears her first buckle right after she wins it and tucks in her t-shirt so people will ask her about it.

I hope she tries with everything she has to hustle that old barrel horse through the eye. Even though he can’t feel it because her legs don’t go below the saddle pad.

I hope she waits for you to tell her to “just breathe” when she’s on deck and can see her calf standing in line.

I hope she cries in your arms in the tack room after knocking a barrel down to go to nationals.

I hope she looks for you at the end of the arena after winning her first state title with a humble smile you can barely see under the brim of her hat. The kind you can’t just wipe off.

I hope she calls you in college when she tears a ligament in practice freaking out about losing her scholarship.

I hope she calls you in the warm up pen even though you’re right inside the coliseum at the college finals. I hope she calls you, choking back tears, just to tell you how grateful she is for you and how much she loves you as she makes her way to the alley to make the last goat run of her career.

I hope one day you have a daughter like you so you can have another chance at loving you.

Exactly how you deserved to be loved.

Over and over and over again.

(I didn’t write this I don’t know who did just sharing. Enjoy!)

09/22/2024

"Stop whipping your barrel horses..

Barrel racers who whip your horses between the barrels or on the way out, STOP doing it. What you don't understand is that when you whip it, you are actually slowing it down - it will try to tuck its butt to keep from being whipped the same as you would do ( Yes, it's been proven ).
Furthermore, all of your whipping and moving around affects your horse's motion and momentum which slows it down even more. So, learn to ride your horse in a balanced manner and "stay out of its way" so that it can run its best. Think of racehorses: they run the entire track and may only get whipped a few strides the entire race because the jockey stays out of the way and lets the horse run.
So, as for your horse, stop whipping it to make it run faster. If he loves his job, he's probably running as fast as he can already ❤️"

09/07/2024

𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭 ❌

The quickest way to take effort out of your horse is not knowing when to quit.

Think about this scenario:

A football coach tells his players to run up-and-backs down the field as fast as they can. The players respond, put out their best effort, and run the sprints to the best of their ability. Then, the coach says "Great job! As your reward, let's do that again."

Now, apply the same scenario to your horse:

You ask your horse for a specific response. The horse responds correctly and gives you the 'feel' you were looking for. You say, "Great job! As your reward, let's do that again."

In both scenarios, the players and the horses put forth maximum effort thinking that their reward would be to rest once they completed the task at hand. But instead, their reward was more work. That has to be frustrating, right?

I know that when you finally get the 'feel' you are looking for, it is tempting to keep repeating that feel over and over again to make sure that your horse has that skill mastered―but, you have to remember to 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 their effort first, then 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 the skill later. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.

08/20/2024

When someone leaves a comments or a like here, I often click on their name to see their riding images on their page. I do this to keep track of what today's typical riding looks like. I see all kinds of riding. Some images and videos show very good balanced riding. What seems to be a common riding flaw that I see recently is with head position. So many riders post pictures of their riding with their eyes looking down. This might seem a minor issue, but it is not.

When your eyes are down, your horse can feel that your balance is forward, more over the forehand. This will put your horse onto their forehand. When your eyes go down, your head that weighs 15 pounds (7 kg) goes down and forward, and usually your shoulders fall forward as well. The fact that your head is up high at the end of an effective lever that is your upper body, multiplies the forward weight that you place over your horse's shoulders.

The negative effects this has on your horse show up in several ways. It makes both upward and downward transitions more difficult for your horse. This is because Horses need to push off or reach under with their hind, and you have shifted their balance off their hind. Lead changes become more difficult for the same reason.

Worst of all for riders, looking down makes it more difficult to develop "feel". I briefly had an argumentative student who insisted on looking down. She would argue with me when I said "eyes up", saying "I like to see what my horse is doing". I'd explain that with eyes up you can feel what your horse is doing and that makes all the difference.

If you look down when riding, just stop doing that. If you have to look down, move your eyeballs, not your head. If you do this, many improvements will follow. You will sit the canter better because your head and neck position will no longer interfere with your hips swinging to the 1-2-3 beat of the canter. "Eyes up". It's simple and fixes a lot of things.

08/05/2024

08/05/2024

“It Came With the Horse”
-
We bought a horse.

Yes, we bought a horse for something fun to do
BUT…
He came with chores.
Chores every morning and night.

He came with stubbornness and attitude that challenges little minds to grow and think on the fly.

He came with hair to be brushed, a tail to be braided and hooves to be picked out.

He came with responsibility to practice.
Practice daily. Practice weekly. JUST Practice.

HE CAME AS A TEACHER.
Teaching daily responsibly.
Teaching persistence.
Teaching courage.
Teaching trust is earned.
Teaching strength and respect of personal space.
Teaching love.
Teaching friendship.
Teaching happiness.

*Growing Up* came with the horse.

08/04/2024

Rest easy Reno ❤️ Years of camps and so many kids have learned how to ride from him. Reno will be missed by many!

08/03/2024

Dear horse industry,

there is a lot we can be learning from Simone Biles.

As most of the world knows, at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Simone Biles decided to pull herself from the competition and received backlash of all sorts from all kinds of kinds for being a "quitter," "letting her country down," and so much hate from people who really didn't give a rats a** about women's gymnastics before she stepped down.

Simone Biles has come back 4 years later and has absolutely dominated. Simone (and her team) secured an Olympic gold medal this week in Paris, France.

What can we as equestrians learn from a small woman who flips in the air with such tremendous power?

1. Put yourself first

Simone pulled herself from competition because of a condition called "the twisties" which causes a gymnast to lose track of where they are in the air while performing maneuvers. It was a huge safety risk to compete with this. She had to prioritize her health before any other goals for herself or her team.

As horsemen, we need to acknowledge when we are not at our best and know when to step away from the barn, the ride, or even a competition.

2. People talk

Simone is one of the most decorated gymnasts of all time. She has a laundry list of world championships, skills named after her, national titles, and now two Olympic all-around titles.

You can be the kindest, most talented, most beautiful, most helpful individual and you will still have folks talking about all of your shortcomings. People will create reasons to not like you, and as an athlete you need to acknowledge that and not dwell on it.

There are so many strangers on the internet that will spit on Simone's name at any given opportunity and their only achievements in life are an average office job and professional couch jockeying.

The horse community is known for this kind of behavior and it can wear a person down fast.

3. Perfect hair doesn't equal a perfect score

So many trainers/coaches/parents get so wrapped up in having the perfect hair/bun/shirt etc. Simone had several flyaways while competing this week and still came out with stellar scores. The judges are not judging your hairstyle folks, just make sure it's not in the way of your back number and we really will not be looking twice.

4. Slowing down doesn't mean quitting

I am certain there was a lot of work put in to get Simone past "the twisties" and back to performing her stunning skills. When I have a horse struggling with a maneuver we go back to the basics to fix the issue before we ask the horse to perform at their full potential again.

This can be frustrating when your trainer tells you "I had to back off of your horse some" or "Hey, we're going to work on boring beginner exercise #3 today." All of this is part of the process and it doesn't mean you or your horse will be stuck their forever. Set backs are a normal part of an athlete's journey.

5. Build others up

Simone has encouraged many women gymnasts such as Jordan Chiles who competed alongside her at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Jordan was invited by Simone to join her at her gym.

The equine industry is terrible about putting others down and being downright rude. Every single youth, amateur, and trainer is human. No one knows everything, everyone can teach you something.

The more we collectively work to create a community of competition AND encouragement, the better the horse industry will be for everyone.

08/01/2024

Galloping With Guidance has some fun new things planned for 2025 🎉 Working to finish the details before we post. Keep an eye out for updates in the near future!

06/25/2024

They are never just RIDING SCHOOL PONIES❤️🐴

One day you may move onto bigger, fancier horses, but never forget the school horse who made you, as without them, you wouldn’t be able to ride anything at all.

The patient soul that tolerated your bouncing while you figured out how to sit the trot.

The kind mare that didn’t walk off when you stumbled up the mounting block, trying to get your foot in the stirrup.

The sweet gelding that picked up the trot even though your body was telling him to do the exact opposite.

The saintly angel that never spooked, which was a dam good thing because your balance was precarious at best.

Too often we forget where we came from. We move on to the next chapter in our lives and say, “Oh my gosh, I’m learning so much! I’m going so far! I could never do this kind of thing on that old school horse!”

But infact you could, you were just not ready to do all these things back then.

But that school horse gave you the confidence to move forward. That school horse took care of you in all respects and allowed you to take the time you needed to find your way. You couldn’t have become the rider you are today without that riding school horse, always remember to love them unconditionally for our riding school horses are what help start your dream, make dreams come true and get you ready for those bigger dreams 🐴

06/16/2024

Happy Fathers Day to all of the great barrel racing dads and husbands out there!

10/03/2023

“I was scared today.

I was scared to get on, scared to walk out the yard because I had a bad ride the day before. One bad ride, and it made me scared.

I didn’t know why. I’ve had 1000 bad rides. I’ve had 1000 falls. I’ve broken bones and bruised my pride on countless occasions, but today I was scared.

Why? Because confidence is fragile. It takes months and years to build and seconds to lose and yet we are so careless with it.

When we get on a horse, we wear a hat to protect our head. We wear body protectors, gloves, boots...

We pay so much attention to protecting ourselves physically, we forget that our minds are not invincible, and our confidence certainly is not.

Your bank of confidence needs regular deposits, not just from others... but from you. Self confidence is the most valuable currency in life.

When you go to get on, and you hesitate, you falter and you start to ask yourself “can I do this?”, chances are, your account is almost empty.

Every time you laugh and say “oh no, I’m no good” or “so and so is 10x better than me”, you make a withdrawal from that account, and before you know it, your account is empty and you’re scared to get on.

But every time you say “I’m really pleased with how that went” or “I think I rode that really well”, your balance increases.

We need to learn to give ourselves a break, pat ourselves on the back and allow ourselves to feel proud of where we are - after all, most of the time we’ve worked bloody hard to get there!

Recognising your strengths is just as important as recognising your weaknesses. Never allow yourself or anyone else to empty that account.

Confidence is valuable, don’t bankrupt yourself.”

Author- cromwellandlucy

05/25/2022

June 30 and July 6th summer camp are FULL!

Message soon to get info the July 12 or 14th.

Riding, games, and water slide!

05/23/2022

Summer is around the corner! ☀️

June 30th camp is officially full! I can put you on a cancellation list if you are still interested.

We have only 3 spots left for the July 6th camp! Plenty of room in the July 12th camp. We are 1/2 full for July 14th camp!

Make sure to reserve your camp spot soon before it’s too late!

05/18/2022

Working hard swimming this summer! Keep your horses in shape even when it’s too hot to ride ☀️ contact us to set up an appointment!