After playing ice hockey my whole life, and now being able to teach and share my horses with so many hosting the El Paso Rhinos NA3HL team was a blast! It was the best of both worlds for me. I was in their shoes once where people were giving me fun, memorable experiences, so to do that for a new hockey generation in another sport that I love was awesome. I will say most of the boys should definitely stick to the ice, but Iād say we had a few that could cut it as cowboys.
Be patient with your kids. Let them learn at their own pace. Let them get yelled at and grow a little tough skin. Let them learn hard work and responsibility. Let them know that just because they love something doesnāt mean itāll come easy.
Liz has made leaps and bounds riding wise since starting with me at the beginning of 2022. She is a fearless rider and is always ready to try something new, but she had to get rid of some bad habits she developed. She went from crying when tacking up because she wanted someone to do it for her to now helping any other kid thatās around get everything theyāre supposed to done. She used to get so upset when Iād yell at her during lessons to realizing thatās just how it goes and I only yell when necessary (some days is more than othersš
). Her and Thunder did so amazing on Lizās first weekend of ever competing. She competed when I felt she was ready and most importantly when she felt she was ready.
They ran a 28 together. Not bad for a newbie racer and old man horse. š“
When riding horses itās inevitable that youāre going to fall off. You will fall off the worst horses AND the best horses. It happens to all of us. The best thing you can do is get back on and ride again! Maddy and Prince did just that. Maddy had a big fall, and a week later she was winning some checks. Remember itās ok to be scared to fall, but donāt let it hold you back from accomplishing your goals!š“
The heat canāt stop us from enjoying the horses. All the kiddos in the program have definitely earned their cowgirl/cowboy stamp of approval after this summers boiling temperatures. āļøš“
So proud of this little blondie. Suttonās progress is amazing to watch and she really shows those horses whose boss. She might be little, but she makes them listen to her. I foresee some rodeos in her future š“
The kids are learning timing and spacing in the round pen while Acorn is also learning what the round pen is all aboutš“
Hey I teach her!
Maddy and Prince were ON IT!!! This duo gets quicker and quicker every race. Maddy works really hard during her lessons to fix what she needs to to keep progresssing with her horse. We have a lot of laughs too when we practice, but this is one determined girl. Next race, Iām predicting sheāll beat me!š“
1st time on Tahoe and only about the 4th time trotting. This girl is getting good and she absolutely loves it! Still so much to work on, but so much progress has been made in a short time. Canāt wait to see the leaps and bounds Julia will make in the future!š¦
Ella (5) and Thunder were rocking it out there in their lesson today! Itās always fun when the horse and rider are both overly enjoying their lessons. Thunder thought he was back in his prime years.š“
These girls wanted to do some lessons together, so I put out one of my favorite drills to do. Works all of our skill components and really makes us think about the lines weāre taking our horse on. š¦š¦š“
Donāt mind Blondie, she can jump she just prefers not to if she can š
My students have the cold figured out! š„¶āļø
Cold weather is quickly approaching, so dress warm. No need for little hands or ears to freeze off. Gloves, hats, and lots of jackets are a must for this winter weather.
Horses get much fresher in the winter which means they are more likely to āact upā. Round penning lessons and on ground learning lessons are a must throughout the cold days. No one knows my horses as much as I do, and I will not put any students or any horses at risk if I feel like it might be one of those extra spunky days. Even the best of horse can and will have a burst of energy in cool temps, and that burst of energy can be extreme. I also wonāt make any kids hands freeze off by riding if it happens to be extra cold, we will do some other type of lesson whether itās games, learning, or ground work with horses. I want this winter season to be enjoyable and safe for everyone!
Kaylee got to do her lesson with baby Acorn. She was having a bad day and requested a fun lesson.
She helped give him a bath and did some basic commands with him to finish it up. She walked him, stopped, backed up, and made him respect her space. He didnāt get to try to eat or walk past her and pay attention to the other horses. Kaylee handled everything like a little pro!š“
Real time training.
This was Camilaās FIRST time trotting.
We shouldnāt be out of control or bouncing all over our horse even for the first time. Iām not looking for perfection the first few times, but I am looking for the kids to use what theyāve been learning the previous weeks and implement it at a quicker speed.
The horse will test them, or mine will anyway. They will have to work hard. They will have to keep trying, but if they can do all of that and stay focused then the first time shouldnāt be so hard.
Camila here did an excellent job. She never gave up when Timber was seeing how lazy she would let him be, her seat was really good for never having done it before, and most important, she said it was super fun! š“
We learn other things than just riding!
Round penning helps exercise the horses, creates a bond, and teaches us how to correctly communicate with them so our horse can read our body language accordingly.
This is Arianna and the old man Thunder. This was Ariannaās first time being in the round pen and sheās a natural, and of course Thunder is being the perfect teaching horse. š“
Thunder working right before a thunder stormā¦haha get it?š
Itās nice to see your students love riding so much that they want to see if they can push through a storm instead of cancelling. We did end up having to get off right after this video was taken, but we got a great 30 minutes in prior.āš“
Thunder helping teach Annalie how to trot. Now that Thunder is back to a healthy weight, heās able to show all the kiddos the ropes of horseback riding. For this only being her 3rd or 4th time, Annalie is doing fantastic!!!š“
Iād like to welcome āGolden Candleā aka Blondie to my collection of horses for JBs Riding Circle. Sheās already been such a great addition, and all the kids love her! Cheers to another amazing horse that I get to call mine!!!š¦
As always, donāt mind my yelling into the phoneš
Tonka and Levkaš¦
My oh my, Levka has come so far since starting lessons when she was 4. Sheās 6 now and getting ready to go on a new journey in Alabama, but wow, look at her go! Sheās also a great little ranch hand. She loves to help out around the ranch and clean stalls and feed.
Blue and Natalie have come such a long way together! They still have a lot to work on, but theyāve already made so much improvement as individuals and together. I have no doubt these two will continue to grow to be an amazing team!!!š¦