Nicole Carswell Tolle

25/04/2024

When you send your child for riding lessons, be sure to have them not only in boots that are correct for the discipline they will ride, but in the right size! I have had several children show up to their first lesson in boots that are 3-4 sizes too big! They can not find the correct stirrup placement nor have the correct feel for the stirrup iron in boots that are too big.
Correctly fitted boots are essential.
When I am teaching first time riders, I always start English so that they can learn how to balance with their body rather than having the Saddle do the work. Therefore, English stirrup irons are in use, and I prefer the pictured style of boot .Women riders as well can wear these or Ariat Terrains.
For men, I encourage the Ariat terrain style as the heel is flat and the ankle has more flexibility. Regular western boots are ok for men as long as we are in a western saddle.

12/04/2024

Come join Nicole Carswell Tolle and Denise Bader for Midwest Horse Fair!
April 19-21, 6 clinics and a fully stocked Walk N Style booth located in the Exhibition Center Booth # 2710, 2709
We will have a full line of saddles available and matching tack as well as training equipment and equestrian clothing!

16/03/2024

He just keeps it coming...

If you want to make a leap forward in your riding, understanding the difference between forms and positions can affect that change.

Forms are fixed or static. They are poses like those made by fashion models. Positions are fluid like a boat riding ocean waves. Forms have no place in riding. Any fixed form separates a rider from the dynamic movement of their horse when unity of movement and balance is the ultimate goal of riding. Henry Wynmalen said it best, "Let the horse move you." If you can do that, you are on your way to significant improvements in your riding.


Wynmalen did not say, "Make the horse move you.", which is what happens when we assume a static form. And when the horse is left with no other choice but to resist their rider's static form, the rider becomes conflicted with their horse. Yet riding instructors persist in teaching static forms. For example, the common instruction of "Heels down!" teaches a forced action that braces the rider's lower body as they force their heels downward. The horse reacts against the rider's forced legs by bracing against a rider's stiffness. The lack of fluid rider movement is the source of the separation conflict that is disunity.

Lessons today, especially at show barns, are based on students achieving a set of forms called Hunt Seat Equitation that show judges will reward. These forms can work to a degree on flat groomed surfaces, but when riders try to apply them to terrain riding, the rigidity of those fixed forms will often unseat a rider.

If you are a student and you constantly receive instructions related to forms with no movement, ask your instructor questions about the unity of motion and balance between horse and rider. If your instructor justifies fixed forms as correct riding, you might consider finding a new instructor. There are no forms in riding, only dynamic positions. The basic principle of unity of constantly changing movement and balance is being lost, but there are still riding instructors who teach unity. Find one.

16/03/2024

Read this

15/02/2024

It is always exciting to support new, up and coming programs!

11/02/2024

This Sunday starting at 9am!
Auditors 10$

25/01/2024

A blast from the past! I loved this big horse! aka Jake
Sarah Huffman Caudill

18/01/2024

Get in now!

18/01/2024

Midwest Horse Fair is taking clinic entries until January 19! If you would like to ride in the Gaited clinics, sign up! Www.midwesthorsefair.com

13/12/2023

I am excited to announce that my riding program - Clear Springs Equestrians will be relocating to 5 Star Equestrian Center and expanding with Lessons beginning January 5 & 6!
5 Star Equestrian Center is located at 18550 Midway Ranch Rd, Fountain, CO.
Lesson schedule and Private, Semi-Private and group options will be introduced that weekend.
Pre-School, Youth and Adult lessons available.
Gaited lessons available (Tennessee Walking Horse, other Gaited breeds)

Bring your own horse lessons available: (American Saddlebreds and other English trotting breeds),
Stock Breeds (All western breeds, Western Pleasure, Horsemanship, Ranch Horse pattern riding)

PM for cell number and more information!

07/12/2023

Midwest is now opening clinic spots! Come ride with me!

Clinic Participant Application

26/11/2023

True

03/11/2023

Just so you know one when you get the opportunity to ride under one.

Great instructors repeatedly show characteristics that make positive effects on their students. They are the ones that make a difference in their riders in one single ride. What are these traits?

11/10/2023

Obstacles are the things we see when we take our eyes off our goals.

07/10/2023

This is so true!

05/10/2023

Horse showing is fun. Horse showing is exciting. And horse showing is…expensive. Perhaps one of the most frequently mentioned deterrents from attending big shows is the financial burden of doing so. With major shows like The Congress and AQHA World Show fast-approaching, we spoke to amateur Meg Py...

01/10/2023

I am excited to announce my opportunity to present instructional clinics at the nations largest horse fair, the Midwest Horse Fair April 19-21, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin! 3 days of presentations, the Walk N Style shop will be there with saddles, equipment and clothing for the Tennessee Walking Horse and other Gaited Breeds!
Please make plans now to join me and my team with your horse, in the stands, and in the booth in April!

01/10/2023

28/09/2023

If only horses could talk – that would make the whole training and riding process so much easier. They could tell us if they’re sore, bored, frustrated, or if they don’t like their job. Unfortunately, unlike a C.S. Lewis novel, horses can’t carry on a conversation with us. Instead, we have t...

28/09/2023

How To Pin A Number on A Show Pad with Leslie Lange

We are so excited to bring you a one-on-one session with the legendary Leslie Lange of Leslie Lange Performance Horses, Inc.! In this short video on our EC TV channel, Leslie demonstrates a simple way to enhance your look in the show arena by neatly applying your number to your show pad. She also includes other great tips, so check it out:

http://www.equinechronicle.com/how-to-pin-a-number-on-a-show-pad-with-leslie-lange/