What is “Balanced Horsemanship?”
Good horsemanship doesn’t mean just sitting tall in the saddle and completing a pattern. Horsemanship means caring for your horses first; building a relationship; focusing on their well-being; prioritizing their health and soundness. Balance means exactly that: balance. We strive to balance our horses, we strive to balance ourselves on top of our horse, we strive to find a balance between our obligations and our “leisure” horse riding time, but we also strive to find a balance in our relationship with our horse--doing enough to earn his respect, but not so much as to create resentment or fear.
My goal is to create better riders in any and all disciplines. I want to work with people who want to be better riders, who want to be involved with the training of their horse, who want to have a better relationship with their horse. Most of all, I want to create better horsemen and -women, not only in the saddle but in all aspects of life with horses.
What is Western Dressage?
Dressage is a French word that literally means training—”The object of dressage is the development of the horse into a happy athlete through harmonious education. As a result it makes the horse calm, supple, loose and flexible, but also confident, attentive and keen; thus achieving perfect understanding with the rider.”
The WWDA, Western Dressage Association of America, says “Our mission is to build an equine community that combines the western traditions of horse and rider with classical dressage. We honor the horse. We value the partnership between horse and rider. We celebrate the legacy of the American West. It’s about the Journey.”
My training practices and lessons use classical techniques to give horse and rider a solid and bio-mechanically correct foundation with no short-cuts, which can improve performance in any discipline the rider chooses. I personally enjoy showing my horses in the Western Dressage, but this foundation will work for anything from pleasure to reining to jumping to cow horse to traditional dressage, and it will improve your balance and relationship with your horse even if you “just trail ride!”
WDAA World Championships Level 2 Test 3, World Champion