Location: Central North Dakota
Over the years, I have met wonderful horse owners with great horses who rarely rode, because of one common issue. They were too intimidated by their large equine partner to effectively ride due to previous accidents and/or lacked the knowledge/confidence. I started working with a few people, informally, just for fun, and realized that I was able to make a difference
and get their confidence for riding back, help them understand the way a horse communicates and how they can send clear messages to their horse. I kept getting encouraged to start these teachings on a larger scale. I currently give private lessons several nights a week in addition to training my own young horses. I teach my horse clinics like I do in my other profession (Master of Education/Elementary Education, Professional Development Specialist serving 37 of our state's schools)...and that is I want to make sure you succeed, feel comfortable around me, ask me plenty of questions, and get all the support you need to take your skills to the next level. I explain things in a variety of ways for people who learn visually, or through analogies or metaphors, and I also provide handouts for our key teaching points for you to review later. We cover a lot of information in a day so the handouts are a very helpful reminder of critical things to remember or practice. I don't have a specialty discipline, I can't teach you how to turn your horse into a reining champion or do flying lead changes....
My focus is getting the mind of the rider filled with tools and knowledge about THE WHOLE horse, understanding horse language, how to prepare on the ground with activities and desensitizing so you can enjoy yourself in the saddle and feel safe, teaching the horse to accept and understand that you are in charge in simple, non-aggressive ways that earn their respect.
