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Ascend Horsemanship

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Ascend Horsemanship

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07/14/2026

One of my favourite parts of coaching is watching my students grow—not just as riders, but as horsewomen.

A year and a half ago, Eilidh walked into our first lesson together quiet and a little unsure of herself. Together, she and Gambler spent countless hours learning about balance, feel, timing, and why correctness always matters. She listened, practiced, asked questions, and always came back ready to learn.

Even when Gambler was dealing with soundness issues for a couple of months and she couldn’t ride, Eilidh still showed up. She came to support her friend, soak up every lesson she could, and keep learning. That dedication says so much about who she is.

This spring, it was time for the next chapter with her new young mare, Tito. Stepping up to a new horse takes courage, patience, and trust, and Eilidh has embraced every challenge with an incredible work ethic.

This weekend, she took both Gambler and Tito into the ranch riding classes, and came home with her very first belt buckle. 🏆

The buckle is exciting, but what makes me the proudest isn’t the prize—it’s the horsewoman she’s becoming. Kind. Coachable. Brave. She loves her horses deeply and never stops trying to do right by them.

Eilidh, I hope you always remember how incredibly capable you are. This buckle is the result of months of showing up, working hard, and trusting the process.

05/04/2026

A year ago, I made a shift. I had already been training and coaching on and off for years, but I realized I was still leaning on what I had been taught instead of fully trusting what I know to be true about horses. This past year has been about trusting myself and my instincts, building my own program, and learning how to show up in a way that is honest—for the horse first, and then myself.

I’m so grateful to the clients who have trusted me with their 4-legged best friends, and especially to the horses. They’ll humble you, challenge you, and tell you the truth every single time if you’re willing to listen. I owe more to them than I could ever put into words.

I get to work with exceptional horses and their people every day, and I don’t take that lightly. I still can’t quite believe this is my life.

📸 & 🐴: vangentkuipers

12/16/2025

I’m always fascinated by what horses notice — and what they don’t.

What gets a reaction, what passes quietly, and what feels like too much.

River is extremely sensitive. She notices everything. So much of our work is about helping her keep her focus on me, and learning that not every sound, movement, or energy is coming for her — or requires a big response.

Sensitivity isn’t something to shut down. It’s something to guide. That same sensitivity is what will allow her to respond with lightness to my aids, read subtle changes in her environment, and one day notice every movement of a cow she’s asked to work — when she feels safe and clear in her job.

12/04/2025

Most of my students are youth, and it’s a part of my work that I value deeply. I grew up with coaches who invested their time, energy, and belief into me — not just as a rider, but as a person. Their influence shaped how I show up with horses today.

Now I get to do the same for the next generation of horsemen.
To help them develop feel, timing, patience, and the kind of awareness that makes horses soften and try. I want them to understand the “why” behind horsemanship, not just the “how.”

Working with youth isn’t something I take lightly. These early experiences matter. They carry forward into every horse they’ll ride or handle in the future.

I’m grateful for the chance to be part of their journey — and to watch them grow alongside the horses who teach them just as much as they have taught me.

12/02/2025

Trailer loading is one of the most common calls I get. By the time I’m involved, a lot of horses have already been pushed, scared, or pressured past their comfort zone. And while that might “work” in the moment, it doesn’t build a horse that loads quietly the next day… or the one after that.

To horses, trailers are tight, noisy, unfamiliar spaces. There’s nothing natural about stepping into a shaking metal box. Add force to that fear, and you only deepen the worry.

Horses learn through pressure and release, through clarity and calm. When we make the trailer a peaceful, quiet place — not a battleground — everything changes.

12/01/2025

Watching young people grow in their horsemanship is one of the greatest privileges of my work.
I am so proud of G for showing up with patience, softness, and determination — and excited to walk alongside her as she helps bring along not one, but two lovely 3-year-olds.
Moments like this are why I love what I do💕

11/20/2025

I’ll deliver snacks to this sleepy beauty any day💕 it makes me so happy to see her relaxed and snoozing on a chilly afternoon all cozy in her “room”

11/06/2025

Enzo is the coolest 3 year old.
My favourite thing about her is that she picks up where we left off *every ride* and she tries HARD.
I am SO excited for the next couple weeks with her, we’ve got a 2 day flag & cowhorse clinic, and a beginner sorting day where she will work cows for the first time.

I am so thankful to Michelle for trusting me with her beautiful home-bred beauty.

📸 Equine Essence Photography

11/04/2025

Yielding the shoulders is the second part of the sideways movement and requires the horse to move their inside front over their outside front. It’s one of the hardest movements to teach with softness because it requires the horse to shift their weight off the forehand and sit back onto their hindquarters. That balance shift is what makes the movement so valuable — and so challenging.

Shoulder control creates adjustability: the ability to stay balanced through a turn, step across without resistance, and stay organized through transitions.

As we get more advanced, that same understanding becomes the difference between a balanced rollback or a scramble, a clean lead change or a crooked one. It’s what gives a cowhorse the ability to turn and follow a cow, or a jumper the responsiveness for faster, cleaner rounds.

Yielding the shoulders completes the picture. It’s where softness turns into athleticism — and where all four directions come together in balance.

🦄: Charlie, loved by Sarah and Teresa
📸: equineessencephotography

11/03/2025

Yielding the hindquarters is the first half of the sideways part of the four directions.

Yielding the hindquarters is often one of the first things we teach, but it carries meaning far beyond the basics. It’s where a horse learns to stay soft through the halter and body while stepping their hips around with balance and rhythm so the inside hind crosses over the outside hind — not rushing, bracing, or falling through the movement.

That same understanding shows up everywhere, for example:

🔹 in the “emergency stop” or pulley rein new riders learn for safety,
🔹 in the quarter control that builds travers and renvers in dressage,
🔹 in the precision of lead changes, spins, and rollbacks in reining.

When a horse can yield their hindquarters softly, they’re not just moving away from pressure — they’re learning to shift weight, engage the inside hind, and find balance through their whole body.

🦄: Oliver, loved by Kerry, Natia, and Karly
📸: Equine Essence Photography

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