Northern Palms LLC

01/06/2025

The boots on the left have seen a lot of horses, some horses that are now gone and I'll never ride again. I'll remember all those rides and lessons as I break in these new boots. Always on an upwards but never forgetting those whose who made it all possible.

01/01/2025

Happy New year! 2024 was a great year for the horses and the students. Continuing to be a better rider, trainer and horsewoman is the continued goal.

Stay tuned for updates on my extensive training while in Wellington Florida. I have some really cool opportunities I can't wait to share with you all.

Special thanks to everyone holding down the barn in Iowa while I get the chance to travel and continue my education. Thanks to my very special significant other for being so supportive as I travel very far from home. None of this is easy.

Cheers to 2025!

12/29/2024

November and December flew by! Getting everyone ready to go to FL and finishing up training horses kept me crazy busy.

I was thrilled to add two barrel horses to my program. Bachelor has been with me before and was happy to be back for a tune up. He's a very long bodied, anxious horse. Teaching him to relax and open up his body to use it correctly is struggle. It takes time but his mom has done a great job of keeping up his conditioning over the summer.

Dot came into training very slowly and she blossomed into a really nice moving horse. She wasn't quite sure that she wanted to be apart of rehabbing her sore body but a few weeks of walking, lateral strengthening, and stretching she really got the hang of it. The goal for her was to be stronger and healthier for a long active career.

Being able to help horses of all disciplines is a real treat for me.

Now I'm off to Florida to continue my education, training, showing and networking.

12/24/2024

Happy Holidays to all!

And yes the real reason we don't get ponies is because they don't get on the sleigh... right Apache? If you know you know....

11/28/2024

Happy Thanksgiving to all, 4 legged and two. 💙

11/04/2024

This!

Do a movement for a purpose, not a score.

The lateral movements were defined to help categorize, and give words to, the different positions that are helpful to supple and balance the horse. Too often people think the movements ARE the goal- they are not. The movements are the MEANS to achieving an elastic balanced horse.

If your horse needs more or less angle or bend one direction than the other for the movement to work it’s magic, than that’s what you do.
Ride it more slowly, or ride it on a circle, or whatever concoction gets the desired result.

If you don’t know what your desired result is, you don’t understand the movement- and that’s okay!! You learn by doing. Be playful and see what shapes accomplish what. Build your intuition. Use the definition of each movement as a guide for ideas, but not as a rigid set of black and white rules which you must adhere to.

10/04/2024

Happy Friday! Currently dealing with my own "problem child" 🥳

10/03/2024

Chloe never stops! She's always bettering herself to provide the best care and knowledge for our equine partners. I can't recommend and thank her enough for all she does. Congratulations Chloe and cheers to learning!

To my valued clients & friends,

📢 I am thrilled to *finally* share my exciting news regarding the next chapter of my business! 📢

But first, I want to thank YOU all for your support! Your continued support has allowed me the opportunity to invest in my upcoming further education.

As part of my commitment to providing the highest quality bodywork services, I will be embarking on a comprehensive four-year intensive training in equine osteopathy.

Beginning in 2025, I will be deep diving into this specialized field to elevate my skills & education in supporting the health & well-being of our equine companions. This rigorous training will equip me with advanced techniques to address musculoskeletal issues, improve performance & promote overall wellness for our equine partners.

I can’t wait for this next chapter of my career!

FAQs:

▫️What is osteopathy?

Osteopathy is a holistic approach that emphasizes the interrelationship between the body’s structure & function. Practitioners utilize manual techniques to address musculoskeletal issues.

▫️What material will you study?

Functional anatomy, physiology, neurology, biomechanics, pathology, osteopathic evaluation & deduction.

▫️Will this affect your schedule?

The impact on my work schedule should be minimal. I will be required to travel out of state multiple times per year (over the course of four years) for both theory & hands-on training, but I will do my best to accommodate clients around that.

📷 a little throwback picture by Emily Pelikan

10/01/2024

🍁Training horse opening🍁

*spot filled* contact me to get on my training wait list

I have an opening beginning December 1st for ONE training horse at Northern Lights Stable. Including full stall board, turnout, personalized training program, heated facility, excellent vet, farrier, and bodywork available.

Message me for more information.

09/24/2024

A very big 💯 Congratulations to you Jean. It's been a pleasure to know you and Murphy for many years and to now teach you through your century ride and a win at training level Championships. 💙 Bravo!!!

Congratulations Jean Walker on completing her Century ride on Murphy!

She even won our Training Level AA Champion Class with this lovely clean test. Jean is a testament to keep on riding even when you loose that stirrup.

Well done Jean!

09/21/2024

Congratulations to Carolyn and Pool Boy for their high point win yesterday at the Tamarack Show. Coming out with 5, 8s throughout the test. A great practice for regionals!

09/19/2024

Be kind, ride on

09/12/2024

🤣🤣🤣

09/10/2024

Starting out this chilly morning auditing at Springrise Farm before taking my own lessons with Anne Cizadlo.

09/08/2024

Dressage diva gone western 🤠

Meet Lola! Lola is a 4 y.o quarter horse beginning her barrel career. She's here to learn how to use her body better so that she can be strong, and fit for a lifetime.

One of my favorite things about working with horses is that they don't all have to be bred to dance at Grand Prix. Every horse has the capacity to dance. I love that communication, no matter the breed, the saddle or the age, it's all the same language.

Look how cute she is!

09/07/2024

I should have a few of these made for lessons. For when a real life tiger (cat) jumps out of the weeds trying to catch a fine equine for dinner.

08/28/2024

It's hot out there! Horses have some time off which gives me some time to play catch up on photos, and the dreaded paperwork.

Here to distract me is this beautiful photo from The Framed Equestrian.

Bohemio and I are excited to head to St. Louis in October for regionals along with Carolyn and Wybie. Lots of homework between now and then.

08/22/2024

Another clinic this Friday-Sunday! I'll be attending with several of my students to help them all be better riders with happy horses. Julie has helped me in so many ways, I encourage everyone to ride with her at least once. Stop by Northern Lights Stable to audit on Saturday.