“I sent Rory to sleep away camp with Kelley Williams at A Bit Better Farm while I was on vacation and had my first ride back this evening. I could really feel [the] results of the time she put into getting Rory to move his body more correctly, especially in his neck. It’s like he had a tune up. The problem with being an amature in horse sports (as opposed to sports where your equipment is not a living creature) is that your horse can really only go as well as you can ride. While you are limited by your horse, to the greater degree, your lack of education and experience really limits the horse. You end up developing a partnership full of miscommunication and misconceptions. It’s just the way it is, but it’s frustrating, nonetheless. Lessons help a tremendous amount but I can now say that training rides might be essential, at least for me. As I’m often reminded, the path of understanding is so damn narrow. I’ll take all the help I can get. Grateful for a generous horse and a team of folks who help me.”
I was recently tagged in this post after Rory’s mom hopped on following Rory’s time with us at A Bit Better Farm. I want to take the time to say thank you to Shane not only for your kind words but truly more importantly, your keen observation of what I wish for my students to gain from any time they allow me to put training into their horses. So much of the time my role as an instructor and horse trainer is to be an interpreter of sorts. Helping riders learn to decipher clues that their horses give them about what they do and don’t understand, about what is hard or easy for them and about what they need most to excel. I try to challenge my students to become better riders by becoming better horse trainers themselves, learning to listen and communicate clearly with their equine partners.
Seeing Shane and Rory taking big steps in this direction really reminds me why I love what I do so much!!!
