Equi’Sport Ease

06/11/2026

What a way for .emjay & Robbie to end their competition season at !

So proud of Josie and all her hard work! She’s been wanting to give dressage a go for a long time… but wasn’t too sure how it would go with her pony, whose education was fairly limited when she bought him after years as a school pony.

Well, this year has certainly shown that she was more than right to give it a go. With heaps of placings, first places, improving scores and a lovely progression from Prep to Prelim!

And Pan Pacs has only confirmed how far they’ve come, with some brilliant results!

🏅 In her age group:

- 1st place in Prelim 1.1
- 2nd place in Prelim 1.2
- 1st place in both Prep tests!

And to top it all off, Reserve Champion at Prep level across all age groups!

I literally couldn’t be prouder of these two, all the work they’ve put in this year and everything they have achieved together. So looking forward to continuing to develop this duo towards Novice level next year…

A big thank you to for running this event, to and .shaw for coming along to support us, and to Craig for the lovely photo!

22/10/2026

One of the very first things I do with a new horse under saddle is check that they have a good understanding of the basic aids: legs for GO, rein pressure for SLOW/STOP (yes, this comes before the more sublte response to the seat...), opening of the direct rein for TURN…

I don’t do anything much fancier than basic halt-walk-trot transitions until I feel that not only does my horse respond to light aids, but they can also maintain the response without me having to constantly remind them — which brings us to the very much talked-about self-carriage.

To make it simple, self-carriage means the horse can maintain their balance and way of going without constant support from the rider. If I ask for trot, for example, I want the horse to maintain the speed, rhythm and direction I’ve asked for until I give another cue.

Good self-carriage requires the horse to have sufficient postural control and balance for the exercise being asked, while also understanding the aids well enough to maintain the response independently. As this develops, we can work towards a horse that is more balanced, confident and relaxed in their work.

One simple way I check this is by moving my inside hand forward and briefly giving away the rein (works with the two hands too!). I’m not looking for the horse to maintain a particular head position — I’m looking at whether the rhythm, speed, direction or balance changes when that support disappears. If the horse speeds up, slows down, falls in or out, or loses balance, that tells me they’re not yet maintaining that way of going independently.

A horse that needs to be constantly nagged with the leg to keep going, or constantly held with the reins to prevent them from speeding up, isn’t demonstrating good self-carriage. The rider is having to continually apply pressure to maintain the response.

From a learning theory perspective, pressure should have a clear meaning and be released when the horse gives the correct response. If we constantly have to apply leg or rein pressure, that release becomes less clear and the horse can habituate to the aids or become confused about which response actually makes the pressure disappear.

So before worrying about anything fancy, this is one of my priorities with every horse I have in training: light aids, clear responses, and a horse that can maintain those responses without being constantly held or nagged.

14/10/2026

First lesson for O on Tonka, shortly after his arrival almost 1.5 years ago…

I know we’ve been making progress, but sometimes I forget just how far we’ve actually come.

When he arrived, Tonka had very little understanding of how to use his body. He was unbalanced, uncoordinated and quite anxious, although he tended to keep a lot of that anxiety to himself. I didn’t immediately realise just how introverted this horse was, and the early days certainly came with their challenges 🫠

We’re never going to jump big classes with him or look particularly fancy in a dressage arena, but I can’t quite describe the satisfaction I get from seeing how far he’s come in his balance, strength and overall confidence.

With time, patience and consistency, he’s become the safe, fun and happy mount his owner was hoping for. And I couldn’t be prouder.

A special shoutout to Oliver, who’s been riding him consistently since his arrival, always meeting him where he’s at with patience and understanding - absolutely contributing to Tonka’s improvements.

And a massive thank you to Tonka’s owner and long-term client of mine, Richard, for his ongoing trust. 🙏

05/10/2026

My team of me, myself and I is growing…
welcome Gaïa! 🎀

If you book a massage or a lesson over the next few months, you might also be getting a puppy play sesh!

Now you see why I had to go pink… she’s an absolute princess.

Now try and guess the breed - may not be what you think! 👀

04/10/2026

Training a good halt & immobility (‘Park’) is about teaching the horse that the Stop response doesn’t necessarily end as soon as the pressure is released. A good ‘Park’ means the horse maintains immobility until a new cue is given.

From a learning theory perspective, a thorough training of the Go & Stop responses help make our cues more consistent and predictable. Consistency & predictability of our aids/cues means better communication from the handler/rider to horse. This greatly helps reduce confusion and stress during training, making interactions with us humans more enjoyable.

For Park, I build duration and distance progressively, increasing them as the horse gets more comfortable with and understands the exercise. The goal is never to force a worried horse to stand still, but to train a clear and reliable response in an area the horse is familiar with, to then be transfer and apply this training to different situations, potentially more stressful.

27/09/2026

Just my LabraHorse doing his thing

21/09/2026

Your reminder to make time with your horse - with no expectation other than sharing a quiet, peaceful moment 🫶🏻

17/09/2026

15/09/2026

Pat my leg he said