About Me

There are many equine disciplines out there and as many ways to train toward them…but I think we can all say, regardless of discipline, what makes a horse a pleasure to ride is one that is obedient, soft, supple and understands giving to pressure. This seems simple enough but I have seen many horses that don’t understand a rider’s aids and fight against those aids from lack of real understanding. It is our job as riders and horse owners to help the horse understand and to teach ourselves how to better communicate with the horse so it does understand.

When I work with a horse or horse and rider pair, I work at helping the horse and rider understand how to communicate. Understanding and clear communication is obtained through a methodical approach to training or riding that consists of small, simple steps that build in complexity over time, and where the horse is rewarded for his efforts with positive reinforcement, praise, and release of pressure.

My horse experience includes a wide range of disciplines and lots of riding under the tutelage of very talented horsemen and women. I strive for harmony, lightness and balance along with lots of fun in my horse interactions. I’ve spent countless hours with clinicians from all over the world, put in thousands of hours in detailed instruction, and have over 10 thousand hours of dedicated saddle time where I work to improve suppleness, flexibility, obedience, and understanding in mine and others’ horses as well as making the experience fun for both me and the horse.

I’ve spent many hours and many miles on trails ranging from groomed to extremely rugged. I’ve ridden 20 mile days over the span of several days and climbed 1000’s of feet into the mountains. I have always enjoyed making safe, nice trail mounts for myself and others. Later on, I became interested in Dressage, not only for the art of riding, but also the history of it’s development from the circus rings, haute ecole in Austria, to its use in the military. I dedicate myself to learning as much as I can and ride with top instructors and clinicians. Eventually I was introduced to classical French Dressage stemming from the likes of Baucher, Faverot, Beudant, L’Hotte, Nuno Oliveira, Philippe Karl and more. I was hooked on the beautiful art of balancing a horse in lightness with flexions, lateral work and lift of the shoulders while activating the hind end for impulsion and drive from behind. I show at the USDF level in dressage on a regular basis riding up through 3rd level and training for 4th and Prix St. George.

I am also a certified BLM TIP trainer and have started a few wild mustangs and a few that were handled lightly. One of my mustangs I obtained through a mustang challenge auction. He had been a difficult horse and came to me with only a few skills such as leading, loading and being tied. After a little more than a year under saddle and 19 months out of the wild, he was borrowed by an Australian rider to compete in the Cross National WE competition in Eugene, OR. At Novice A level he placed 6th out of 36 entries and was an emergency substitute for another Australian rider whose horse threw a shoe right before her first WE phase. For her, he ended up placing Reserve Champion in the Intro division out of 39 entries.

Work at Liberty has always been intriguing to me so over the course of many years, and working with a sensitive and very large warmblood mare, I taught her a large repertoire of ‘at liberty’ tricks. I found that liberty work helps horses to connect with their people and provides a respite from the boredom of routine work. It also helps in cases with difficult and unfocused horses. I read many books on the subject, watched countless videos, spent long hours searching material online, and clinic with a third-generation circus trainer, Heidi Herriott, and a five-star Parelli traner, David Lichman,  to learn the fundamentals of liberty training. I would like nothing more than to pass on my knowledge to others struggling with difficult horses or who are looking for some fun activities to do with their horses that doesn’t require riding.

A few years back I discovered Working Equitation (WE) which combines Dressage with precision obstacle work. I completed a certification in the the Pedro Torres Academy and have cliniced many times with various WE instructors from the US and Portugal. I participate in regular clinics, schooling shows, and recognized WE shows and recently competed in the first Cross-National WE Cup in Eugene where my two horses placed 9th, 6th, and 2nd in different divisions out of class sizes close to 40.

My horse experience includes a wide range of disciplines and lots of riding under the tutelage of very talented horsemen and women. I strive for harmony, lightness and balance along with lots of fun in my horse interactions. I’ve spent countless hours with clinicians from all over the world, put in thousands of hours in detailed instruction, and have over 10 thousand hours of dedicated saddle time where I work to improve suppleness, flexibility, obedience, and understanding in mine and others’ horses as well as making the experience fun for both me and the horse.

I’ve spent many hours and many miles on trails ranging from groomed to extremely rugged. I’ve ridden 20 mile days over the span of several days and climbed 1000’s of feet into the mountains. I have always enjoyed making safe, nice trail mounts for myself and others. Later on, I became interested in Dressage, not only for the art of riding, but also the history of it’s development from the circus rings, haute ecole in Austria, to its use in the military. I dedicate myself to learning as much as I can and ride with top instructors and clinicians. Eventually I was introduced to classical French Dressage stemming from the likes of Baucher, Faverot, Beudant, L’Hotte, Nuno Oliveira, Philip Karl and more. I was hooked on the beautiful art of balancing a horse in lightness with flexions, lateral work and lift of the shoulders while activation the hind end for impulsion and drive from behind. I show at the USDF level in dressage on a regular basis riding up through 3rd level and training for 4th and Prix St. George.

I am also a certified BLM TIP trainer and have started a few wild mustangs and a few that were handled lightly. One of my mustangs I obtained through a mustang challenge auction. He had been a difficult horse and came to me with only a few skills such as leading, loading and being tied. After a little more than a year under saddle and 19 months out of the wild, he was borrowed by an Australian rider to compete in the Cross National WE competition in Eugene, OR. At Novice A level he placed 6th out of 36 entries and was an emergency substitute for another Australian rider whose horse threw a shoe right before her first WE phase. For her, he ended up placing Reserve Champion in the Intro division out of 39 entries.

Work at Liberty has always been intriguing to me so over the course of many years, and working with a difficult and very large warmblood mare, I taught her a large repertoire of ‘at liberty’ tricks. I found that liberty work helps horses to connect with their people and provides a respite from the boredom of routine work. It also helps in cases with difficult and unfocused horses. I read many books on the subject, watched countless videos, spent long hours searching material online, and clinic with a third-generation circus trainer, Heidi Herriott, and a five-star Parelli traner, David Lichman,  to learn the fundamentals of liberty training. I would like nothing more than to pass on my knowledge to others struggling with difficult horses or who are looking for some fun activities to do with their horses that doesn’t require riding.

A few years back I discovered Working Equitation (WE) which combines Dressage with precision obstacle work. I completed a certification in the the Pedro Torres Academy and have cliniced many times with various WE instructors from the US and Portugal. I participate in regular clinics, schooling shows, and recognized WE shows and recently competed in the first Cross-National WE Cup in Eugene where my two horses placed 9th, 6th, and 2nd in different divisions out of class sizes close to 40.