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Building soft, confident horses through patience and trust.

10/23/2026

A little reminder about training a horse. Whether you are training it or you are sending it to me, or someone else.

Every horse is different. They all learn at different speeds, have different backgrounds, different levels of confidence, and different things they need help working through. You cannot expect every horse to achieve the same results in the same amount of time.

When you send your horse for 30 days of training, you are paying for 30 days of training — not 30 days of riding. There is a big difference.

Part of my job is getting to know your horse, building trust, establishing a solid foundation, working through issues, and making sure they are mentally and physically ready to be ridden. Not every horse comes in at the same starting point, and not every horse will be at the same point when those 30 days are up.

If your horse is not ready to be ridden after 30 days, I WILL NOT get on them until they are ready. I will never rush a horse just to meet a deadline or put myself or that horse in an unsafe situation to make it look like progress has been made.

Rushing those first rides just to say a horse has been ridden can create bigger problems down the road. Skipping important steps, pushing a horse before they are mentally prepared, or forcing them through something they don’t understand can create fear, confusion, resistance, and a lack of trust. Ultimately, rushing the process can set a horse up for failure before they’ve even had a fair chance to succeed.

My priority is producing a safe, confident, willing partner — not checking a box on a calendar. Some horses need more time, and that is okay. I’d rather take the extra time to do things right than rush the process and create problems down the road.

Good horsemanship means meeting the horse where they are, not forcing them to meet our timeline. Progress over pressure. Quality over quantity. The horse’s safety and well-being always come first. 🤎

Thank you to the owners who trust the process and understand that good training cannot always be measured by the number of rides a horse gets.

09/21/2026

Getting Bob’s stamina built up, one day at a time 💙

08/21/2026

Valor was a pretty hard one to start, but he’s finally getting the hang of it and I’m so proud!

08/05/2026

2 weeks into training and he’s already learned to put up with my shenanigans

07/20/2026

Said goodbye to Waffles last Monday and said hello to Valor today!

Waffles made her trip down to Southern California to meet her mama for the first time, and Valor got sent up to get started under saddle! I can’t wait to see this big boys progress. He is also a 4 year old south steens mustang 😊💙

Thank you, Kristin, for trusting me with your ponies!

06/14/2026

Dreams don't train horses - work does.

It's easy to dream about the horse you want. It's harder to put in the hours required to create it. Every reliable horse, every successtul ride, and every strong partnership is built through consistency, patience, and showing up day after day even when you don't want to. So, do it when you're tired, do it when it's rainy, do it when you're sick, and do it when you want to give up-because you won't get results unless you put in the work.

📸 Kate Snodgrass Photography

02/26/2026

Thought I would give a Waffles update and an introduction on my new personal guy, Kota!

Waffles:
She has been an amazing girl the past couple months. She had a little accident with a tarp and a gate (the gate won), which left her with 3.5 weeks off. She had her first 2 body work appointments and is feeling so much better now. Tonight we had our first real ride back (I hoped on ba****ck but nothing big) and she acted as though she never skipped a beat! We kept it at a simply walk/trot, and I taught her that if I start to slide off/come off balanced, she is to stop and stand until I get back into position and ask her to move forward again! This is such an amazing skill to keep her from dragging a rider if they fall & their foot gets caught in the stirrups!

Kota:
Kota is my new gelding! He’s about 10 years old and is a grade paint. He has a total of about 40 rides on him and he’s doing so amazing. He’s definitely a character and keeps me on my toes, but I love him so much!

Some recent photos and videos (in the comments)!

01/16/2026

Waffles Update!

I haven’t posted an update in awhile, so I figured I’d post one tonight!

Waffles is 119 days out of the wild and has exceeded all my expectations and more! She is going very nicely under saddle and has impeccable ground manners.

She is W/T/C under saddle and has been ridden in groups up to 6 horses in the arena at once. She doesn’t mind at all if people trot or canter up behind or at her. She is very confident and smart as well. She’s starting to get better at haunch turns, forehand turns and side passing. She has tracked cows and watched roping, as well as opening and closing gates while being ridden!

On the ground, she does everything your perfect citizen should. Including ground driving, lunging, ground tying, cross tying, standing for farrier, etc. She has amazing manners and is very respectful of your space. The only thing I’ve found that fazes her is the sound of velcro but she gets over it pretty quickly.

We moved to a full care barn and she is loved by all the stall cleaners and feeders because she is so lovable, yet respectful of their space (and she poops in one spot).

I’m so proud of this sweet girl, who is now 4 years old if we’re going off of the January 1st rule. Her mama is going to be so happy with her!!

11/21/2025

Sappy Appreciation Post for Waffles 🧇

September of 2022, I got my heart horse, Dozer. He made me so happy, made me an amazing rider, and saved me through so many hard times in life. On August 3rd in 2024, Dozer went to his new home to live on lots of acreage, playing with cows and running in the fields- something he needed but I could never give him. After Dozer left, I started leasing Shad again, an old grey arabian, but I still never felt 100% complete. I have a lot of horses in my life that I love, but none that truly made me happy the way that Dozer did. Even though he was just a lease, he was my whole heart and forever will be.

August of this year, 2025, I bought my first horse on my own. Totally spur of the moment, my parents didn’t know until 3 days after, and she was a super cheap mustang because all my friends bought a new horse, so why can’t I? Lulu made me so happy and I was so happy with my decision- until it came to riding her. She has some serious trauma behind being ridden and she took me from an all time confidence high, to way down deep into a basement. I was scared, and anyone who knows me knows that I don’t get scared of riding horses- I’ll get on anything.

Late August/Early September I got in contact with Kristin Connor through a referral, as she really wanted an Oregon mustang. After going through the plans, Yellow Mare Mustangs and I left the barn at 3am on September 18th to go pick up a mustang from the corrals. I totally overlooked the little palomino pinto mare in corral number 1. She was in the corner by herself, wanted nothing to do with the outside world. But, Kristin saw her in a video I sent of the options so we decided to give her a shot after going back and forth through our options.

Days 1 through 3 were so hard for me. She was terrified, she would kick out if I got near her and she wouldn’t look at me. I told everyone that this is going to be one hard mustang. Day 2, I’m at my boyfriends 2 hours away and I get a call from Emily at 6:30am that this mare escaped out of her stall, so I make the 2 hour drive to help corral her back into her stall. I’m so frustrated, I’m just praying to God that this was the right choice for my client. The 2 other mustangs picked up from our appointment were coming along so great, so why wasn’t mine? I questioned my abilities a lot, but knew that every single horse is different, so why am I trying to put a timeline on her?

Fast forward 60 something days and we are now onto day 65. I have finally met the horse that makes my heart whole again. I don’t fall in love with client horses, but this one is something truly special. This horse has brought my confidence back, she’s the reason I get up early to go to the barn in the morning and why I stay until late at night. She truly is my best friend.

I am so incredibly grateful to be her trainer over the next few months, and I am so excited for her owner when she goes to her new home. I hope and pray everyday that she can make Kristin as happy as she makes me, because she truly is a once in a lifetime horse. Her personality is beyond amazing, such an “oh okay, i don’t know what exactly you’re trying to do but go ahead” attitude.

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Springfield, OR

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