Keystone Training

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Micanopy, FL
Keystone Training

We start horses for all disciplines and train them using a clear and effective method, with respect for the laws of nature and biomechanics.

08/02/2024

“If our training is done in a logical, consistent progression, with a kindness in our heart, the bond between horse and human can become quite unshakable. First, we teach the horse where to be. Once they are trained, we remind them where not to be. Through this process, some horses get to the point where they know precisely where to be for the right balance and economy of motion…” Read more about the phenomenon known as Emergence: ⬇️

If our training is done in a logical, consistent progression, with a kindness in our heart, the bond between horse and man can become quite unshakable. First, we teach the horse where to be. Once they are trained, we remind them where not to be. Through this process, some horses finally get to the p...

07/19/2024

Dressage trainer Eliza Sydnor Romm and professional artist Susan DiFelice were first introduced decades ago, when Sydnor’s family hired DiFelice to paint a portrait of her horse. Some 20 years later collaborated on a dressage training video for DiFelice’s website Allpony. In this new “Drawn T...

05/03/2024

Here’s a new blog post for your perusal; have a great weekend!

The gap between where we are in our equestrian journey and where we want to be can appear tremendous. Most riders have busy lives, and finding enough time to get to the barn every day can be difficult. It's sad to see riders express a negative thought pattern; the narrative in their head goes, “Th...

03/10/2024

Lexi Tomasovich and her horse Samson had a successful debut in Level 1 western dressage this afternoon! We’re thankful to have Lexi as part of our team here at Keystone and proud to see her growth! 🌱

02/28/2024

“When we go beyond what the mind wants to what the spirit needs to grow, we have the ability to achieve more than we ever thought possible.” - RO

Have you ever said to yourself “I won’t be satisfied until __________ ” (Fill in the blank.) “I won’t be satisfied until I win a Lawson bronze trophy in reining’’, or ‘’I won’t be satisfied until I earn my gold medal in dressage.” We've all played this mind game to push ourselv...

02/16/2024

Congratulations to Keystone Training grad, Chacoon R (Charlie), bred and owned by Little Brook Farms and shown by Kelsey Duffy, on winning the Young Hunter 2’9” (5 & under) class at the Wellington International this week!

02/10/2024

Horses live in the present moment, and for anyone working with them, it requires putting our stream of thoughts on pause if we want get something accomplished. In order to have an influence on the horse, we have to calibrate our thinking to think like a horse. Horses are keenly aware because they co...

12/14/2023

First ride out of the round pen on two young warmbloods. When they are prepared correctly, taking it out into a larger area is simple. Maybe not easy, but simple. 😎

11/29/2023

Please check out our new website and share with your friends!

Specializing in Dressage, Western Dressage, Ranch Riding and Reining training. Young horses, showing, lessons and coaching by lifelong horsewoman, Rachel Ory. Keystone Training near Ocala, FL

11/20/2023

“Who was your teacher’s teacher? Who was that teacher’s teacher? Who can still trace credentials and lineage back to the timeless time when individual identity disappears in the myth of first beginnings? These are perhaps quaint questions in an age that has let the cord of lineage come almost completely unraveled, but good questions nonetheless.” - Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long Term Fulfillment, by George Leonard

If you learn from me, you are learning pieces of what I have learned from Frank, and from those that Frank has learned from before that. Consider this an invitation to see where some of your instruction has come from. 😎

10/06/2023

“My biggest takeaway from the adventures that Veronica and I have been on, from reining to western dressage to classical dressage, is that good horsemanship isn’t discipline-specific. Good riding is good riding. We can learn something from everyone, especially if they are at the top of their game, but it’s up to us to figure out how it fits into our own program…”

In the latest exclusive, a rider who was introduced to dressage through western dressage shares about her journey which has culminated in her earning her USDF Silver Medal. Read it here: https://yourdressage.org/2023/10/06/dancing-is-universal/

09/29/2023

Here’s a recent article published by Eventing Nation on Jagalicious aka. Veronica and our journey; it seems fitting as we write the next chapter 😎 Thanks to World Equestrian Brands for sponsoring!

Florida: the land of watercolor sunsets, beach-side show jumping, and, of course, the infamous Florida Man phenomenon. It’s also the state that transformed reiner Rachel Ory’s riding career forever. Rachel has been starting colts alongside

09/01/2023

Congratulations to Roo Jr, ridden by Rachel Ory for owner Deena Dunkle, CoChampion NH Open L1.

08/28/2023

“Look carefully around you and recognize the luminosity of souls. Sit beside those who draw you to that.” - Rumi The luminosity of souls. That is an interesting thought. If we are paying attention, we see glimpses of it in the people who we are drawn to; they have a certain sparkle in their eyes...

07/29/2023

Happy Saturday 😎

Horses are present moment thinkers, and for all of us working with them, it means putting our internal stream of thoughts on pause to get something accomplished with them. The goal of any good horseman or woman is to tap into the horse’s nature and influence it. To teach it to become a more brilli...

07/23/2023

“When things quit working, we have a choice. If we look at the situation from a place of honesty, it seems that we owe our horses the common courtesy of taking responsibility and continuing education. We should seek out other responsible horsemen and women who also make understanding the horse a priority. In the words of Gandhi, we have the opportunity to ‘be the change that we wish to see in the world’.” You can read Rachel’s full blog post below:

There are two very different skill sets between being a competent rider of trained horses and a competent trainer of green horses. My mentor Frank Barnett tells a story about a concert pianist that could play the piano beautifully. One day his teacher handed him a pile of wood and asked him to build...

07/22/2023

Groundwork clinic at Hidden Hill Acres LLC today - working to connect the dots between starting out to the dressage ring, and to better understand how important balance is to our horse’s physical and mental wellbeing. Thank you Betsy Howell Scheuerman and co. for having us! 😎 Rachel Ory & Tom Pierson

Address

9033 NW 200th Street Road
Micanopy, FL
32667

Telephone

+12317582856

Website

http://www.keystonetraining.org/

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Videos

Pro Tips: Schooling a Reiner part 2 Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

Pro Tips: In set 3 of the ride on Veronica, we’ll get into the movements that need work for the day. We’ll school canter pirouettes and lateral work at the canter. Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

In this week’s pro tips, we’re talking about the canter: tracking, balance, transitions, flying changes, and more! Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

Pro Tips: Transitions within the gaits are a great way to develop your horse’s adjustability. Here, Rachel and Veronica demonstrate lengthening and shortening within the trot and changes in balance between a working frame and an uphill frame (poll being the highest point) working towards collection. Frequent changes (transitions between gaits and within the gaits themselves) are key to developing an adjustable, balanced horse. Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

Pro Tips #1 of 2: Here’s how to introduce the flag to your horse by calming them down instead of stirring them up. It’s a useful tool. 👍✌️😎 Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

Pro Tips #2 of 2: Here’s a look at a very effective way to work on re-directing 2 horses while they are together. They can learn to let go of their herd instinct and focus on the handler. Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

Pro Tips: today I’m doing some canter work on my Dutch warmblood mare, Kitty Hawk. I’ll discuss positioning, balance, and how we introduce flying lead changes. Enjoy! Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

Pro Tips: Improvements in balance can come from slow, controlled movement. Learn how adding isolations to your ride can have a positive effect on your horse’s balance: Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

Pro Tips: ‼️This is part 2; if you’re seeing this first, go to our page and find part 1‼️ In hand work is a great way to work on uphill balance, flexion at the poll, and going forward into the contact. We have two videos to share today; the first is with a horse just learning, and the second is with a more advanced horse so you can see the progression. Enjoy! Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

Pro Tips: This is part 1 of 2 videos we are releasing today. In hand work is a great way to work on uphill balance, flexion at the poll, and going forward into the contact. We have two videos to share today; the first is with a horse just learning, and the second is with a more advanced horse so you can see the progression. Enjoy! Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

Pro Tips: An introduction to the flat reining spin. It’s the least natural of the reining maneuvers from our horses perspective. Here’s how we can help it make sense to them: Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

Today’s Pro Tip; working gates horseback! Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

In today’s Pro Tips video, you’ll see the details of a training session on a young warmblood with 90 days under saddle. Rachel explains tracking, timing of the aids, isolations, and how to begin riding from the hind end to the bit. This is a longer episode, but stick with it! Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

Part 2: Ideally, the more strides it takes to get around the post pen, the more the horse is working off the hindquarters and the less likely they are to lean. This horse is cantering 9 strides around and 11 would be ideal for him in this 24’ x 24’ post pen. Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

Part 1: Working in the post pen is an innovative way to teach horses to balance their stride at the canter, load up behind and step (not lean) around a corner. Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

Here’s the next Pro Tip. We planned to make 5 minute clips, but the young mare was doing so well that we just kept rolling. This one is a little long, but if you can stay with it from start to finish, you’ll see the mare change from reluctant to go forward to finding a beautiful working trot. We will share the details of how we got there. Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

Patience alone doesn’t train your horse but neither does impatience. Here’s an example of a horse that is unsure of what we’re asking. We show how to settle his mind and keep him from getting ahead of us. Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

After 3 days of filming we have 20 new Pro Tips episodes! We will share one new tip each week - from reining to dressage, and round pen to post pen, we use a variety of horses at different stages of training. Without further ado, the first episode introduces the hottest new event, working equitation, and how the use of dressage training is applied to riding the obstacles. USA Working Equitation - Region 7 USA Working Equitation Filmed by Imageworks LTD at Mardanza Farms

We are excited to release the new Pro Tips series opener! Like and follow Keystone Training to get a new Pro Tip that will be released each week! We can’t thank Mark and Lori Plante from Imageworks LTD enough for doing such a quality job of filming and editing every time we work with them! Mardanza Farms has been our home for the past 8 years; we are grateful to be part of the team at such a beautiful facility!

Part 4 of 5: leading

Part 4 of 5: Ever wonder how much to handle your young horse before sending it out for training? Tom explains what we expect with yearling colt, Hoodie.

Shortcuts

Welcome to Keystone Reiners!

Keystone Reiners provides quality training from the young reining prospect to aged show horses. We can start from scratch, re-train, or finish any stage of reining horse. We are dedicated to the thorough examination and training of each horse; that’s why we limit the number of horses we accept for training. This allows us to spend as much time as is necessary with every horse, every day.

For horses being started from scratch, a thorough line of questioning ensures that your horse is comfortable with the basics and understands what is expected on a daily basis. Beyond teaching your horse to carry a saddle and rider safely, we install essential skills that are often overlooked or assumed, such as learning to lead, stand tied, load in the trailer, ride around other horses and ride outside. In addition to teaching the reining maneuvers, we have an extensive gymnastic program to strengthen the weak areas of the horse and keep it balanced and straight. For young horses, the first few horse shows are designed to build confidence while gradually exposing them to new places and encouraging focus in high traffic situations. Schooling classes are used to ensure that the first experiences in the show arena are positive and confidence building. We have the experience and integrity to make sure that your young horse gets a good first impression of the horse show, setting the stage for a long career.

When it’s time to show, we’ll put your horse in the appropriate situation to maximize its ability. It is of utmost importance that your horse feels comfortable in the show arena and is not overexposed. Our goal is to promote success, consistency, and longevity. We work very hard to prepare each horse by seeking out quiet time in the arena early in the mornings. We make a game plan tailored for your horse to maximize their ability. We are dedicated to doing all that it takes to set up a successful horse show experience, every time.

It can be very difficult to find a training service that offers both excellent trainers and showmen. Many owners end up with a horse that is overexposed after a few shows or one that becomes unsuitable for them to show later. We are well versed at managing the horse’s preparation and maintaining its confidence all while maximizing the horse’s ability when it counts. We will take your goals into consideration and tailor the program to meet your needs. Keystone Reiners is the solution for preserving the well being of your next prospect.