JDL Horsemanship

04/27/2026

A little late, but some pictures from the Working Equitation Obstacle Clinic. It was a great weekend at Birchtown with many lovely riders both days. Big thank you to Rebekah and Maddie for helping with the clinic!

04/11/2026

The obstacles are all set! Ready for a great first day of the clinic!

03/05/2026

The results I get working with horses on the ground is incredible. It is just as rewarding to help my students learn the nuances of ground work and seeing their excitement when things start to click.

“Horses regularly trained with ground work are more relaxed when ridden”

A recent study of dressage horses in Germany that looked at rein length and tension revealed a surprising finding: horses who were regularly trained in ground work/in-hand work had lower heart rates during ridden work than all of the other participating horses. This wasn’t what the researchers were investigating, but it was clear in the results. From this, the researchers concluded that, “Perhaps horses trained in ground work had more trust in their rider.”

So why would it be true that horses who regularly learn via ground work/in-hand work are more relaxed? There are a few possibilities.

1) Horses trained regularly with ground work are more relaxed because their trainers are more relaxed. It’s possible that humans who take the time to teach their horses from the ground are less goal oriented and more concerned with the process. They may be more relaxed in general and foster this same relaxation in their horses. As you are, so is your horse.

2) Horses trained regularly with ground work have trainers who are more educated about a horse’s balance.

Their horses learn to move in correct balance which allows them to be healthy and sound in their bodies and, therefore, more relaxed. Physical balance is emotional balance.

3) Horses trained regularly with ground work understand the trainer’s criteria better. They have mastered the response to an aid before the rider mounts and know the “right answer” already once under saddle. They don’t experience any conflict when the rider asks for a behavior because the neural pathway has already been installed. They are more relaxed about being ridden because it rarely has caused confusion for them.

For us highly visual humans I think that ground work is often a better way to begin exercises because we are much better at seeing our horse doing the right thing than feeling it from the saddle. Often, my feel in the saddle is enhanced by the fact that I have watched my horse perform an exercise over and over in our in-hand work. It feels how it looks. In-hand work is also a good way to teach our horses because our own bodies are often more in balance when we are walking beside our horses. With the ground under our feet we are able to be more relaxed if something goes wrong and less likely to be so busy wrapped up in our own balance that we give our horses conflicting or confusing aids. It’s a good place to figure things out. I am a huge fan of in-hand work.

I’m glad to learn research revealed ground work is good for horses. Horses with a low heart rate are relaxed and relaxed horses perform better and live longer. In this day and age of people starting horses under saddle in under an hour and increasing monetary rewards for the “young horse dressage program“, everything seems to be done in a hurry. The entire horse culture seems to privilege “getting up there and riding your horse”. But as one of my favorite writers and accomplished horsewoman, Teresa Tsimmu Martino writes, “In today’s horse culture there are clinics that brag about starting a c**t in a day, as if the quickness of it was the miracle. But old horse people know it takes years to create art. Horses as great masterpieces are not created in a day. An artist does not need to rush.” We need more scientific studies like this one to encourage us to slow down and take our time with our horses.

So why were the horses in the study more relaxed? Likely it was a combination of all three factors – a relaxed trainer, better overall balance and clear understanding of criteria.

These are things that matter to your horse, and yes, will allow him to trust you when you ride. Take some time to slow down and work from the ground, learn a bit more about equine balance and teach new things in-hand before asking for them under saddle. You can take your riding to a whole new level and help your horse become more healthy and relaxed in the process.” - by Jen of Spellbound Horses

11/04/2025

“Dressage’s Midlife Crisis and Why Your Riding-School Horse Might Just Save It”

Dressage, they tell us, is facing a crisis. Falling spectator numbers, shrinking memberships, shows closing down… it’s all sounding a bit grim. The sport that once pranced proudly in top hat and tails is now, apparently, staring moodily into the mirror, wondering if a freestyle remix of Beyoncé might make it feel young again.

But maybe the problem isn’t just the ticket prices or the lack of trade stands. Maybe dressage, and the riding world more broadly, has forgotten its greatest resource: the riding-school horse.

Yes, those noble, patient, saintly creatures who spend their days trying to interpret the signals of five different riders in five different hours, ranging from “accidental piaffe” to “emergency halt at E”.

The Unsung Heroes

Riding-school horses are, quite frankly, the backbone of equestrianism. They introduce people to the sport, keep riding accessible, and quietly perform half-passes for riders who swear they’re “just steering.”

Yet these horses are often labelled “lazy,” “stubborn,” or “not off the leg.” In reality, they’ve simply developed the good sense not to react to someone’s left leg, right hand, and enthusiastic seat all giving contradictory instructions at once. They are not lazy, they are philosophers.

The Delicate Art of Self-Awareness

Somewhere along the way, we riders started believing our own press releases. We went from “I’m learning to feel the rhythm” to “I’m basically doing Grand Prix” in the space of a riding holiday.

We’ve all met that person who insists their riding-school mount “just doesn’t go properly for me” as if Geoff, the 18-year-old schoolmaster who’s been teaching balance and patience for two decades, has suddenly decided today is the day he’ll stage a mutiny.

If we’re honest, many of us ride for joy, for fitness, for the smell of the mane and the freedom of movement and that’s wonderful. But somewhere in that joy, we lost the reverence for the craft of riding; the hours, the sweat, the sore muscles, the humility of learning.

Learning Is the New Luxury

Dressage’s salvation won’t come from more glitzy venues or bigger prize pots. It’ll come from riders rediscovering the art of wanting to be better for their horse’s sake, not their ego’s.

It means celebrating lessons as much as ribbons, taking pride in improving our seat before our score, and understanding that true partnership, not just posing for pictures, is what makes riding extraordinary.

Imagine if every riding-school rider treated their weekly lesson like a step towards artistry. Imagine if every rider at home thought of “working in” not as a chore but as a privilege, the chance to dance with a horse, however imperfectly.

The Comeback Tour Starts in the School Arena

Dressage may be struggling with identity, but it’s not dying; it’s just waiting for us to show up with the right attitude.
Forget the crisis headlines. The future of dressage doesn’t live in elite arenas or YouTube highlights. It lives in every quiet arena where someone’s trying to learn a better contact, sit straighter, breathe with the horse.

Let's celebrate that riding-school horses are our unsung professors. The humble riders who admit they’re learning, and to bringing back the idea that being a rider isn’t a social label or a status symbol. It’s a lifelong apprenticeship in empathy, discipline, and grace.

Now go thank your riding-school horse. (Preferably before you next ask for shoulder-in.)"

08/04/2025

What Are You Watering...?

I heard a quote the other day that was not only true at face value but also can be applied to other facets of life. It said "you will never have the horse you want by trying to fix the horse you dont want." I say a similar line often when working with people when they are frustrated with their horse. Treat them how you want them to be, not how they've been.

In other words, its very easy to dwell on the negatives in life, they are frustrating, annoying, even irritating. But slapping the figurative hand, over and over, won't show what is desired, much less motivate and encourage what we are looking for, just what we aren't.

I find it so much more effective in all aspects of life, from horses, to parenting to people managers; encourage what is desired, more. Like the saying says, what you water, grows.

Nobody likes the nag, to be nagged or a negative person in general. I haven't found anyone or anything that responds well to it. Many times, if we just spent more effort on rewarding the positive, no matter how small, it will begin to grow into a bigger positive.

Pc Rachel Ann Photography

04/20/2025

Yes! A great explanation on turning with your body without leaning!

12/23/2024

Here are pictures from the clinic last month (better late than never!). It was so fun working with all the lovely horses and riders. 🙂

I will be giving another clinic at Birchtown in the spring. Stay tuned for details!

11/16/2024

All the obstacles are good to go! Mom and child tested and approved!