Circle L Ranch

12/20/2025

12/19/2025

“If your horse looks at everything, give him more to think about.”

Most spooky horses aren’t naughty.
They’re just not busy enough mentally.

Spookiness often comes from too much free mental space.
If the brain is empty, it starts looking for things to worry about.

That’s why I say this all the time in lessons:
“Keep them busy mentally — don’t leave space for distraction.”

A focused horse is rarely a spooky horse.

This isn’t about riding harder or tiring them out.
It’s about asking small, clear questions, all the time:

– small circle
– bigger circle
– walk–trot–walk
– transitions within the pace
– slight change of bend
– a few steps of leg-yield

You’re not drilling.
You’re organising the brain.

When a horse is busy answering simple questions,
he stops inventing problems of his own.

Busy brain.
Calm body.

And if your horse is still looking around?
That’s usually a sign to ask more questions, not fewer.

Quick question...
ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME?

12/16/2025

“If your horse trips over poles, he’s showing you the real problem.”

Poles never lie.
They expose things we often miss when we focus only on fences.

That’s why I say this so often in lessons:
“If he’s not listening or not balanced, he’ll trip over the poles. It tells you exactly what’s missing.”

When a horse knocks poles again and again, it’s almost never clumsiness.
And it’s very rarely about bravery.

Most of the time, it comes down to one of three things:

– the horse isn’t focused
– the horse isn’t straight
– the horse isn’t using his body correctly

Poles slow everything down just enough to make the truth obvious.
They show you when the rhythm isn’t consistent.
They reveal when the horse is drifting or falling in.
They highlight when the balance is too much on the forehand.

That’s why polework is so valuable — not as an exercise in itself, but as a diagnostic tool.

Instead of riding past the mistakes, use the poles to ask better questions:
Can the horse stay straight?
Can he keep the same rhythm?
Can he lift his body and organise his feet?

When those answers improve over poles, the improvement shows up everywhere else —
in the canter, in the transitions, and over fences.

Poles don’t create problems.
They simply show you what needs attention.

Fix that, and the jumping becomes dramatically easier.

Join my next pole clinic: https://danbizzarromethod.com/coaching/clinics

12/13/2025

BigE

12/12/2025

12/12/2025

Sunny

12/11/2025

Stormy

12/07/2025

5 Things Any Rider Can Do to Be Successful:

Be a Good Learner
Good Learners want to know anything and everything they can about training, showing and horse care. They watch videos and read books and listen to podcasts about horses and training. They ask good questions of me, the vet, the farrier, the grooms. They never stop learning.

Be a Good Listener
Good Listeners can tune out distractions. They pick up the things said around the barn, in other lessons, between the trainer and the grooms, between the vets and carriers. Good Listeners learn to pay attention to what is being said and not being said. This applies to the horses, who don’t talk in words, but have so much to tell us. Good Listeners pay attention to how their horse is feeling. They know when he is calm and happy, or nervous and upset.

Be Responsible
Responsible students know that ultimately, they have to take control of their own learning. It’s not up to their trainer, their parents, nor their horse—especially not the horse. The horse didn’t sign up for this sport. We ask them to let us ride, train, and jump them. Most of the time they comply. If the horse doesn’t, the responsible rider asks why and tries to be a good listener and good learner.

Be a Worker
Workers show up. They are ready to learn from the moment they get to the barn. We all get distracted, but a worker is the one who puts in the extra time. They pick up, and help around the farm with whatever is needed. When they ride, they ride with a plan. They do transitions, and figures and have a goal. They ride without stirrups, without reins. They put in days of long, boring fitness rides because it is the right thing for the horses. They do the hard things, because it makes them stronger and better.

Be Brave
Bravery is trickier to define. Not everyone is inherently brave. Some people are brave until something goes wrong. Others ride like they are infallible. But to me, bravery is the willingness to keep trying—to keep stretching. To do the hard things even when you think you can’t. To trust the people around you to just do it. You might fail. You might fall. But that is how we grow and learn. It’s ok to be scared, but that fear doesn’t go away by not doing it.

Riding is a sport that rewards talent, but the most naturally talented rider in the world can’t succeed without these five traits. They’re the lifeblood that keeps riders going through the inevitable hardships of our sport, but anyone can be this kind of rider. All it takes is a diligence and dedication to keeping the right frame of mind.

📎 Save & share this article by Emily Elek at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2020/05/29/5-things-any-rider-can-do-to-be-successful/

12/05/2025

Winter has a way of sneaking up on a rider’s confidence. The daylight shrinks, the indoor suddenly feels so much smaller and horses get fresh. Goals that felt easy in July suddenly feel out of reach. It’s a season that can make even the most dedicated riders question where their progress has gone.

Mental skills coach Tonya Johnston believes winter isn’t a setback at all. In fact, she says winter can be one of the most productive periods of a rider’s year if they understand how to work with the season rather than fighting against it.

The first step, Tonya explains, is accepting that winter riding is fundamentally different from riding in the summer. “You have to acknowledge the season you’re in,” she says. “The expectations you had in July don’t apply in November.”

Cold temperatures tighten muscles. Indoor rings restrict pace and lines. Weather disrupts schedules. Horses may get less turnout and more enthusiasm. None of these factors reflect your ability or your horse’s willingness. They’re simply the conditions winter brings.

Tonya stresses that riders often lose confidence not because they’re performing poorly, but because they’re comparing winter rides to their best days outdoors. That comparison isn’t just unhelpful, it’s distorting.

“You’re usually doing better than you think you are,” she says. Winter magnifies riders’ negativity bias, making small imperfections feel like big problems.

Once riders accept winter for what it is, they can begin to shift their goals in a way that keeps confidence steady. “That same number of jumps, the same amount of space, the same intensity—it’s not going to happen right now,” Tonya says. “So don’t hold yourself to expectations that belong to another season.”

She encourages riders to set winter-appropriate goals like strengthening flatwork, improving transitions, refining rideability, or practicing straightness in smaller spaces. These goals still matter. They’re still meaningful. They just don’t rely on summer conditions.

Tonya also reminds riders that winter goals should feel achievable inside their current circumstances, not outside them. “It’s about meeting yourself where you are and where your horse is,” she says.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/12/04/how-to-build-confidence-through-winter-a-riders-guide-to-staying-steady-in-the-off-season/

12/03/2025

"People leave trainers, but it’s how they leave that makes all the difference. There is a right way and there is a wrong way.

So, you’ve decided to leave for a change in discipline, pace, or a different program. Maybe you have outgrown your trainer? Maybe you want to be closer to home? Maybe there is a ‘deal’ you cannot pass up? These things happen! It’s okay to make a change, but it is not okay to be crappy to the people that have taken care of you/your four-legged friend. Most professionals spend more time, effort, and energy on you/your critter than you will ever know. It costs nothing to be kind as you make your departure.

Instead of being snippy, have a conversation with your trainer/barn owner, or send a note. However you want to do it, let them know that you’ll be leaving for a change. Most owners/trainers will be bummed, but we know this stuff happens. Be honest with us.

Some things that aren’t helpful when leaving:

Don’t lie. Don’t tell your trainer that your kid is taking a break from riding to pursue a school sport when you are actually switching barns. This is especially important if you will be running into one another at the shows. Be honest. We’d rather find out from you.

Do not announce your departure on Facebook so your barn/trainer finds out through social media or through a third party. Having the conversation can be super uncomfortable, but there are absolutely no excuses for your trainer to find out from someone else or online.

Do not post comments, pictures, and videos ‘digging’ at your old barn. “Look at what I’m doing now that I left!” Most of us are professionals and aren’t going to comment that what you are doing looks dangerous or that you weren’t showing up for lessons or riding regularly so that’s why we didn’t have you doing XYZ. Maybe we weren’t comfortable with something you wanted to try. Or one hard truth, maybe your ‘new’ trainer is better for you than we were. Is it nice to post that kind of stuff on social media? The only reason that I can think of that people do this is to hurt feelings and create drama. Be better.

Do not recruit current clients. You are leaving. There is no reason to take others down with you. What if some asks you where you’re going? Sure! Tell them. Do whatever. That’s not what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about the client that leaves and actively reaches out to others left behind to encourage them to leave as well. That’s just crappy.

The worst situation is one where you were asked to leave. I realize that must have been really hard for you. But guess what—it’s also really hard for your barn/trainer."

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2021/11/04/how-professionals-wish-clients-acted-when-they-leave-a-trainer/
📸 © The Plaid Horse

11/28/2025

They are having some fun!!!

11/28/2025

Big E and Mission enjoying the haybale.