The Equestrian School PNW

02/09/2024

What sets me apart…
My journey, the awareness of what it means to be human, mirrors my inquiry of what it means to be an equestrian. What sets me apart is the expansion and depth I have experienced on this path. I am committed to sharing openly my experiences and knowledge gained over the past 25 years so that my students can see that I too worked hard and fell down, I too questioned my abilities and my love of horses when things got tough or didn’t go my way. My students will have someone they can relate to and count on and that is my honor and promise. Horsemanship is considered one of the sacred art forms, it offers an opportunity to experience Mastery. The raw process of learning to be an equestrian allows us to see how we relate to the world around us. Our relationship with the horses often mimics our everyday relationships with the people in our lives. This teaches us to look deep within ourselves to find the answers.
The many World titles awarded to my students over the years were a direct result of their individual mastery of self and their horse. It requires dedication, accountability and work in and out of the saddle. It teaches us to lead and overcome. Long hours and countless tears also show up which makes the process alive and real, offering us the ability to experience what we are capable of. I have often said you will soon learn you can move mountains once you realize who you are, the horses guide us to our most magnificent self.
I offer a safe environment to learn in a transparent space, a space where success and failure are able to coexist allowing the student to experience wholly, their own capabilities and power. You will learn “what is horse” how do they interact and respond to us? How can we find a common language that best serves us in our interaction and coexistence? What are my responsibilities as an equestrian and what is needed from me to find peace and success in this relationship? How do we interact on the ground and in the saddle so that we both feel heard and safe?
My horses are cared for with an elevated level of expertise and awareness, paying close attention all physical and mental needs. They are the teachers and foundation of the work. All of my horses are handled and trained daily to offer my students a safe experience. My students will learn how to handle and work with the horses in a way that set them up for long term success.
My love of horses has taught me to fall in love with human beings who have in turn taught me to fall more deeply in love with horses. The cycle of life and reality of relationships are played out in every interaction. My love and compassion for human beings and my passion and intrigue for the horse who are both magical and challenging drive me, guide me and support me. It is such a privilege that this is my life’s work. I invite you to join me on this journey.

-Jessica

16/07/2024

27/06/2024

We have summer camps!
Reach out

25/06/2023

For some horses, overingesting certain grasses can lead to laminitis, a painful, life-altering hoof disease that can be fatal in severe cases.

28/02/2023

21/01/2023

21/01/2023

04/01/2023

We have a few spots open
in all of our courses

Systematic curriculum (step by step program)
The complex study of Horses and Self broken into steps) Moving through the levels is completely personal and at your own pace. Each class is made up of students in the same course. Learn about all the many components that make up the relationship between horse and human.

Beginner
Intermediate
Advance

Start with an evaluation lesson
so that you can get placed properly into to the right course
We provide all of the equipment/ tack
We also have a team of amazing school horses for not only the lesson program but also the lease program
We offer monthly packages that include a Saturday 2 hr horsemanship class and 1x- 2x- 3x weekly lessons.

We offer camps ALL-YEAR around at every break! 3 ½ hours daily of Horses, horses, horses, and make new friends

We offer consulting in a variety of areas: training, purchasing, showing, collegiate placement, business organization (brain storming) vision building, New horse ownership, equine issues and behavior discernment, networking

We do equine sales and marketing: Videos/photos/current vet information on file/ equine evaluation and training for proper assessment and representation

yoga (body alignment and awareness) classes- this includes pranayama (breathe control)

Show prep and competition at schooling shows-local-regional-National/World level

We have a fabulous Mastery team that is by invitation only for those of us who want to be in a deeper study of horsemanship and equines.

We coach/mentor/teach:
Children ages 4 and UP
Adults
Professional horse trainers/coaches

Call or PM for more information on our program-vision-mission and impact that we want to have!
YOUR INVITED FOR A RANCH TOUR find out if our values are in alignment before you make a choice!

20/11/2022

Did you know that poor posture can create nerve impingement?

Peripheral nerve impingement can occur when soft tissue structures are inflamed, which can be caused by poor posture, or poor posture itself.
For instance in my research, I found 58% of horses presenting with abnormal compensatory posture (camped under posture), had sciatic nerve disfunction, hypothesised to be as a result of sacro-illiac inflammation from the changes in posture coming from this region. These horses also had negative plantar angles, which when corrected changed the posture! We then see a fluid relationship existing between hoof balance and nervous dysfunction, over and above the existing anecdotal and research established links between hoof balance and pathology along the dorsal myofascial line.

Of course, static posture affects the dynamic and changes in movement patterns affect muscular development which can then add to the negative cycles.

Join Equine Performance Development Training - Wild Magic LLC Celeste Lazaris and I as we bring our research and clinical experience into a discussion on the link between hoof balance, posture and nerve impingement...

https://equineeducationhub.thinkific.com/courses/nerve-impingement-hoof-balance

Facebook event page at this link for date and time…

https://m.facebook.com/events/495304939243117

11/07/2022

15/06/2022

Opportunities like this don't come around often - offering for your consideration.
JZA Jewelontherange - 2010 APHA overo mare
8x Western National Champion
4x Reserve Western National Champion
Multiple top five and top ten placings at the APHA World Show.
Jewel is super sweet and suitable for any level rider. She is an excellent pattern horse, honest on the rail and super fun to show in trail. A true unicorn.
Videos in the comments - price in the mid five figures
Located in Olympia, WA

08/06/2022

20/03/2022

"I'M TRIGGERED"
How often do we hear this phrase – facetiously or not?

But truthfully, there are a few things about the equestrian/horse world that trigger me. 😡

1️⃣ What's accepted as good "desensitization" training or "normal" colt-starting/horse breaking. I seriously just want to THROW my phone sometimes at the videos I see.

2️⃣ Excusing downright abusive "training techniques" in the name of establishing leadership and dominance to fix behaviors that are often the result of pain and/or fear. Kindness is free and EXTREMELY effective. Dominance theory is dead. Punishment only suppresses and does not fix. Often these techniques result in the horse only internalizing the extreme fear.

3️⃣ What's considered "normal" and acceptable living conditions for horses. Including the horses "treated like kings and queens". Let's revisit the five freedoms and look at what is appropriate for the species.

4️⃣ Poor fitting tack. It doesn't have to be custom, and it doesn't have to be expensive, to fit right.

Alright… now that I've gotten that off my chest. One thing I want to say is… as much as this stuff really gets to me sometimes. I also realize I DID ALL OF THAT. And in five years, I'll probably look back on some stuff I do now and wonder why I didn't know better. 🤦

It's the natural progression of learning and life. The important thing is that we are trying, we are learning, and we have grace for that learning process. 📚

AND… that when we see other people doing something we don't agree with, we have grace for them too! We don't punish them for trying, we encourage discussions, and we reinforce progress! This is IMPORTANT.

Honestly, the equestrian community is toxic enough. Let's try and change that.

Be the change you want to see. 👏

What do you say? You in it with me? 💪

18/11/2021

🤷‍♀️ Why are my hamstrings so tight?⁣
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👉 I get asked this a lot. Some riders have very, very tight hamstrings and so cannot lengthen their stirrups and stay balanced in the saddle. ⁣
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💥 Hamstrings can be tight because they are weak - I’ve covered this in a previous post about muscle tightness vs muscle weakness. ⁣
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💥 More often hamstrings are tight due to weak, tight feeling hip flexors and weak gluteals. ⁣
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🌟 Every muscle in our body has a role to play in movement 🌟 ⁣
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🧐 For every movement we have a prime mover muscle, we call this the agonist. Each agonist has an equal and opposing muscle, we call that the antagonist. There is also a synergist which assists the agonist, an assistant muscle. ⁣
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Now comes the sciency bit: ⁣
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🤓 A tight feeling muscle causes a decreased neural drive (dampens down the messages from the brain) in its functional antagonist and also limits the range of movement the antagonist can move through 😫🤯 ⁣
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🧐 SO - a tight feeling hip flexor will mechanically cause a reduction in hip extension AND cause a decreased neural drive to the gluteals. Therefore the assistant synergist muscle, the hamstrings, must take over. ⁣
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😏 So NO amount of stretching, foam rollering, massaging, etc will help lengthen those hamstrings as they’re too busy doing glutes job and their own job and your brain simply won’t let them relax. ⁣
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🙋‍♀️ So what do we do? By eccentrically strengthening psoas and glutes (strengthening into a lengthened position), we can allow them to do their own job, allowing the hamstrings to relax a bit and go back to their day job. This allows you to lengthen your stirrups and stay balanced in the saddle. ⁣
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✅ The Activate Your Seat exercise programme done against the resistance of the bungi eccentrically targets psoas, glutes and the other muscles of your seat improving strength, suppleness and balance in the saddle. ⁣
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💙 Breathe better, move better⁣, ride better ⁣
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Maeve ⁣
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04/11/2021

17/09/2021

This is a great pop-up video about traveling safe while on the road. It is done by a past student of mine, she has done a great job!
Stephanie Wagner this one is for you!

SheJumps and Josie Rimmer from DirtFish Rally School have teamed up to provide you with helpful tips to prepare for a road trip.