Memoirs of a Riding Instructor

Happy New Year! I really hate the idea of  New Year's Resolutions because they are meant to be broken. So I have decided to make a declaration of what I want to project going into the new year. This year its all about "Making a Difference." I think that is something we can all succeed at. We all can make a difference in the world by making a difference in how we look at things. How we  approach people, problems, stress, etc.. So I am determined to make a difference this year by starting with myself. I am going to start putting a bigger emphasis on what makes me happy. I am going to ride my own horses more, go to more horse shows and competitions, and do things that make me happy, like hanging with my friends and going to the movies. I am going to make a difference in my horses lives by spending more quality time with them. Groom them more thoroughly, trail ride more, just sit and be with them. I am going to make a difference with my students by putting mo...

One of my parents came to me shortly after the fourth of July and confessed she had “tried” to have a quiet Fourth of July holiday. They are the proud owners of a large hound dog. And when I say large, I mean large, with a howling bark that could wake the dead. Whenever I go over there to teach, the dogs starts bellowing until I go over and say hello. Then he’ll let me teach my lesson in reasonable silence. Blue is a great dog with a an even better set of lungs.             Kathy, the mom, being ex military runs her home like a well run machine. She marches her petite 5’2”  frame through life, keeping her two daughters and husband in line and on schedule.             With the 4 th of July coming up, she wisely went to her local vet to get some acepromazine, a mild animal sedative for Blue. She figured it would keep the dog from getting stressed out during the fir...

Susan, a mother of three talented riders, who all, including herself take riding lessons from me was getting on her horse one day. She smiled a huge devious grin and asked if she had ever told me about Jake, her son, and his best friend Sally Bug. Of coarse this piqued my interest. “No, I can’t say I've heard that one,” I said sitting on the mounting block waiting to hear this story. “Well,” she said, “Jake must have been about three or four, and had a typical fascination with bugs. He would go around the garden and find all kinds of bugs. One day he came in with this giant soldier beetle.” “This is Sally Bug,” Jake declared but of coarse it sounded more like ‘Sawwy Bug,’ because he couldn't say his L’s well. “She’s my best friend!” He stated. Being the good mom that she is, she controlled her revulsion and said hello to Sally Bug. With that Jake went on to play the rest of the day with Sally bug in his hand. Several times he proclaimed that this was his ‘best friend’. Sus...

I don't know about a spoonful of sugar, but I do know that Peppermints are great for getting the medicine to go down. Have you ever tried to get a horse to eat any medications in their feed, or medicine into an apple, carrot, molasses, applesauce, peanut butter, and any other palatable food stuff your horse would normally love to eat, but find your horse now spitting out this expensive medicine and deciding he doesn't like your treat today. Well I may have a solution for you. Most horses like the taste of peppermint. Probably more than like the taste of apples..hard to believe I know. I give my horses peppermint candies sometimes as a treat. I have given them everything from the red and white Starlight mints, to old fashioned peppermint sticks, to dinner mints, and even candy canes. Yes, I am aware they have a lot of sugar in them, but I think the benefit outweighs the risk. Here is why: Most medicines have a bitter taste to them so putting them in sweet foods like c...

I always try to remember that we cannot expect our horses to have "self carriage" if we do not have "self carriage". Many times we, as riders tend to use our horse for support, from the big things of leaning on the neck, or slouching in the saddle to the little things like resting our hands on the withers while we ride. I always tell my students, if the horse can carry you, the least you can do is hold your hands up and carry yourself. In asking for collection in Dressage, we ask our horses for "self carriage" and it is only in holding our frame upwards in our own "self carriage" that the horse can truly rise to our expectations. In jumping, we ask the horse to carry our body over fences and we can help our horse by holding our own "self carriage" on the approach, take off and flight, and landing of the fence. By keeping ourselves in balance with the horse, and not throwing our weight forward, falling on the neck, or pulling on ...

I have to laugh.... Every vacation I go on with my Mother, we end up going on a trail ride. I haven't quite figured out why she is so insistent that we go on these trail rides because she doesn't really ride when we are home, but every trip she insists that we rent horses and go on a trail ride. Now don't get me wrong, those trail rides are great and you get to see a lot of great scenery that you might not get to see any other way, but I ride almost everyday. So to me a vacation usually does not include riding. My mom and I were on a vacation in Arizona, having a great time and she wanted to go on a trail ride. So off we go to the trail ride stables. At this point I'm thinking about how I am usually riding with the reins over the horn, with both hands on the camera, turning backwards to get lots of pictures of my mom on her trail ride. Those trail horses know there job very well and steering is really not always necessary. I am also trying to remind myself how m...

I have been asked what my New Year's Resolution would be for 2015 and I have decided that I want something bigger than a New Year's Resolution. Something that is not going to be lost, broken or forgotten easily and dismissed as another broken resolution. I want a statement of  transformation that inspires me and those around me. So I have decided that I would like to create the possibility of being "Brilliant!" I would like to be "brilliant" by shining inside and out with joy, happiness, courage, confidence, love and inspire others to "be brilliant". This takes commitment. Everyday I must ask myself what would brilliant look like? What would a person who is being brilliant do in this situation. How can I inspire the people I am going to interact with today? How can I make them feel enlightened and inspired? I not only want to inspire my students to be brilliant, but inspire them to inspire their horses. I want them to ride with the vision o...

I   heard somewhere that during your lifetime you may effect as many as 800,000 people. That means that you, intentionally or unintentionally, impact the 800,000 people you come in contact with throughout your life. Those people will then go on and effect 800,000 people, and they will effect 800,000 people, and so on, and so on. Kind of scary thinking, huh? So that got me thinking... "How have I been making my impact?"   and more importantly  "How would  I like to effect those 800,000 people?' I have no idea how many people I have already touched, for better or for worse. I have images of childhood friendships, family, business relationships, students, and I'm sure there are quite of few that I didn't even know, or that I was effecting them at all.  Perhaps simply a spectator at a horse show that was touched by something I did or didn't do.  I think back to my earlier post regarding Dara Torres. I have never met her. I never even knew she exist...

Gave a lesson to a ten year old who was feeling overwhelmed with school and wanted to have an easy day, and just play and ride. I was letting her show her grandma how she can jump around the field over some simple fences and she got left behind and popped off. Me:  "Hey, you had a great ride today, minus your stunt riding. Sorry you fell off. Today was supposed to be a fun day with no pressure." Kid : (Grinning from ear to ear) "Who said falling off isn't fun?"

I must give a shout out to Adeptus Nutrition and Dr. Colleen Wilson. I am proud to have them as a sponsor for Tribal King but Adeptus is such a fabulous product line, you all should be using it! Dr. Colleen has a PhD in Equine Nutrition. She has been an advocate for true horse nutrition for many years and started her own company, Adeptus Nutrition , after feeling that most companies use sub standard products and do not truly understand the true needs of horses. Her products are made from human grade ingredients in a top quality facility. She refuses to cut corners when it comes to quality. I met Dr. Colleen when we had Iron Horse Saddlery. I was so impressed with her knowledge and ability to educate us in the value of her products and the myths and misunderstandings of many supplements that are on the market. We carried her products in our store and I was our first customer. Since then I have been blown away by the results that I have seen. Having a store, we would get sample...

A Conversation with David O'Connor I was very fortunate to share a shuttle ride with David on the way back from the Show Jumping Course Design clinic and had about an hour to talk about a variety of interesting topics. After the trip I asked him if it would be alright if I shared some of our conversation with the Adult Riders of Area VI. He thought it was a great idea. So here we go: Cross Country Schooling. He feels that you only need three acres to have a cross country schooling area that is great for the horses and easy for the trainer to teach. As many of you know, when we get out in the big fields, it is very hard to hear your trainer as they are yelling directions out. And you are lucky if you can get a few fences in a row. His facility in Virginia has a 3 acre area that they have as their cross country schooling area. He has about a 40' mound that gives him terrain questions to work on. (Highly recommends a mound). He also has a few combinations on b...

Today I gave one of those lessons that make me remember why I'm a Trainer/Teacher. The horse is young and amazingly talented. The rider has so much experience but is open to learn. We were working on teaching this very green horse to relax and stretch and relax into the bridle and for the rider to understand opening and closing doors to guide the horse into a soft flexible lateral movement. Then it happened.....that amazing "Ah Ha" moment! I work out of a small barn. No frills. Many times I feel small time and don't give myself enough credit. But the reality is, I choose to be here, in a small barn, with students that love their horses. That  "Ah Ha" moment is the reason I do it. It means so much more to me than blue ribbons and even making money. I choose to work with anyone, beginner or advanced, that truly has that passion for horses. I enjoy teaching the modest horse owner and their mustang that they adopted, who may never show a day in their life, b...

I was watching the 2008 Summer Olympiccs and was cheering on swimmer Dara Torres. She had been getting a lot of notice because at the time she was 41 years old, had just had a child, and was in her 5th Olympics. I was a big fan of her guts, determination and just great attitude. I was rooting for her! Before the race the commentators were talking about the chances of each swimmer. The swimmers start coming out of the locker room and Dara goes over to each swimmer and has a quick chat with them. She then heads over and has a chat with the official. Then she goes back to the other swimmers and heads off into the locker room again. The announcers get all excited..."What's going on?" "Why is she talking to everyone?" "Where did she go?" She comes back out and finishes getting her stuff together, or whatever swimmers do to prepare to race. A short time later another swimmer comes out of the dressing room. They all procede to the starting blocks and of...

It's a new day and a new adventure I have been asked to start a blog for quite some time, and if anyone knows me, they know that I tend to be reluctant to step into the future of technology easily. I am more likely to be dragged, kicking and screaming. But the idea of a blog is intriguing, so I will give it a try. I hope to make this more than just ramblings of a crazy horse person. I hope to post my thoughts and ideas, short stories that are for my book "Memoirs of a Riding Instructor", a few "Handy Hints", some "Training Advice" and just observations from my world.  I hope that if you take the time to read this blog, you will come away feeling it was time well spent. Please feel free to send me feedback. I would love to hear what you have to say...good or bad. And I apologize in advance for horrible spelling and bad grammar....I write as I think. So here we go on a new adventure.....