Regan’s Riding Instruction and Training

08/30/2026

08/30/2026

“One of the hardest parts of being a riding instructor is taking your riders’ progress personally.

There are days when I leave the arena feeling like I made a difference. Something clicked. A rider found a piece they’ve been struggling with, their confidence grew, or I watched them do something they couldn’t do a month ago.

And then there are the days I leave wondering if I’m making an impact at all.

When a rider plateaus, I immediately start questioning myself. Am I explaining it wrong? Am I pushing too hard? Not pushing enough? Is there another exercise I should be using? What am I missing?

But I think one of the most frustrating parts of teaching is when the thing holding a rider back isn’t their ability.

It’s their own mind.

As a trainer, you can see what they’re capable of. You can see the rider underneath the nerves, the overthinking, the frustration, and the fear of getting it wrong. You know that if they could just breathe, trust themselves, and allow it to happen, they could go so much further than they realize.

And sometimes that progression is painfully slow.

Not because they aren’t talented. Not because they aren’t trying. But because you can’t physically reach inside someone else’s head and remove the mental block for them.

You can explain it 15 different ways. Change the exercise. Change the horse. Break it into smaller pieces. Encourage them. Push them. Back off. Give them time.

But eventually, they have to believe they can do it.

And as an instructor, that can be incredibly frustrating—not because you’re frustrated with the rider, but because you can see what’s waiting for them on the other side of that wall.

You can see the rider they’re capable of becoming long before they can see it themselves.

But progress with horses is rarely linear.

Sometimes the lesson that feels completely unproductive is actually laying the groundwork for something that clicks three weeks later. Sometimes the rider who feels “stuck” is quietly building balance, timing, feel, confidence, and muscle memory that isn’t obvious yet.

And sometimes, as instructors, we need the same reminder we constantly give our students:

You don’t have to make huge progress every ride for the work to be working.

I think good instructors take plateaus personally because we care. We don’t just want to fill an hour and collect a lesson fee. We want to teach. We want our riders to understand why. We want to watch them become independent, capable horsemen—not riders who need us standing in the middle of the arena forever.

So yes, sometimes I go home frustrated.

Sometimes I replay lessons in my head and wonder what I could have done differently.

Sometimes I wish I could make a rider see themselves through my eyes for five minutes—because maybe then they’d understand just how capable they really are.

Sometimes I worry that I’m not making enough of an impact.

And then a rider finally takes that breath.

They stop thinking about every little thing that could go wrong.

They trust their horse. They trust their body. They trust everything we’ve spent months building.

And suddenly, something we’ve been fighting for weeks just… happens.

That’s when I remember:

Maybe progress isn’t always something we get to see happening.

Sometimes we just get to plant it, water it, and wait. ❤️”

~ Jill

*Disclaimer: I can’t find the original source to give them credit for the quote.*

08/26/2026

How exciting!!

I just received the best gift from a friend of mine!! She found a box of old photos that her mom had taken— and found baby pictures of Contessa!!

I can’t wait to take a look at these discs to see baby Tessa. Maybe I’ll wait to see if some of my students want to look at them with me.

Thank you, Debby!! These are so special. 💕

08/06/2026

I totally agree!!

It’s the same in English disciplines. The amount of undisciplined, disrespectful kids (and some adults) at hunter/ jumper shows and even three day eventing is mind boggling!

Unfortunately I think it’s an issue across the board. We, as equestrians, should be able to take our green horses to gain experience, too, without worrying about those things. Shows and rodeos are stressful enough!

We LOVE that barrel racing is a family sport. Kids running around, families hauling together, friendships being made at the trailer — that atmosphere is a huge part of what makes this sport special.

But family-friendly doesn’t mean free-for-all.

If your kids are at a barrel race, they still need to be supervised.

As someone who hauls a LOT of c**ts and young horses, I can’t count the number of times we’ve had kids come flying between trailers on Segways, scooters or bikes, running through the alley, dragging toys around horses, or popping out from somewhere with absolutely no awareness that a 1,000+ pound animal is coming through.

And before somebody says, “Well, your horse should be broke enough to handle it” — that’s not really the point.

A broke horse can spook.
A seasoned horse can react.
A c**t is literally there to gain experience.
And no rider should have to choose between keeping control of their horse and avoiding someone’s unsupervised child.

Your child having fun cannot become someone else’s safety issue.

We WANT kids at these shows. We want them growing up in this industry, making memories, learning to ride and eventually becoming the next generation of competitors.

But part of growing up around horses is learning that you don’t run behind them, fly past them on wheels, play in traffic areas, or assume every horse on the grounds is kid-proof.

Family atmosphere and basic horse-show safety can — and should — exist together.

Where do you draw the line? What rules do you have for your kids at barrel races, and what do you wish more parents taught theirs?

07/20/2026

My students love me 😆
I do my best to explain things so they can understand what I’m asking and therefore the horse can understand what the students are asking.

07/20/2026