Stay ConnectedWe are here to go deep with extraordinary horse people who live their lives making the world a better place for horses. Our weekly interviews will entertain and engage as well as educate horse owners who are always learning and want to know more about these incredible creatures.
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In this episode I speak with Andrea Datz from Integrative Horsemanship. There is so much gold in this episode. I am so happy for you and your horses that you have tunes into this one. From learning to listen to your horse, to understanding the principles of dancing the Tango and taking them into your time with your horse, and to the beautiful gift that I received during this podcast, calmness. Andrea was so calm and clear I her communication throughout this podcast that after a night of barely any sleep, waking at 4am to record the conversation at 5am, no breakfast and a usually highly excitable nature, I felt calm and grounded by Andrea’s presence from the other side of the world! I hope you feel this too while listening to Andrea and the beautiful message she has to share. To connect with Andrea you can go to her website, Facebook page or you can follow her on her blog. To see pictures of Andrea and her beautiful Gin you can also go to the blog on my website. This episode was brought to you by EQUITANA Australia. To get your tickets for this incredible event in Melbourne from the 15th to the 18th of November. go to their website www.equitana.com.au
In this episode I speak with Callie King from CRK Training. Just like so many other trainers I’ve interviewed on this podcast, Callie wanted to find a better way to do things after the experience she had with a difficult horse. So today I wanted to first of all, pay tribute to those horses, the ones who are on the frontline of absolutely stubbornly refusing to respond in any positive way to old training methods of domination and negative reinforcement, they are forcing us to make the changes we need within the horse industry to be kinder, more gentle and truly connected to our horses. I’m sending a big thanks and lots of love to those stubborn and apparently unable to be trained horses, and also to the trainer, like Callie who have listened and not given up. Callie has a wonderful story of how she took the time to learn as much about behaviour as she could, will all different species, to find a better and kinder way to train horses. She found mentors along the way and as a young person, is yet another leader for her generation of teaching humans how we can go deeper with our horses and have the kind of relationship that we have previously only dreamed of. To connect with Callie and her incredible online learning programs you can go to her website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Callie also has a YouTube Channel so you can join with the tens of thousands of viewers all watching her practical and easy to follow training videos. To see photos of Callie and her horses, as well as her little dog you can go to the blog on my website www.comealongfortheride.com.au/Callie-King-CRK-Training This episode was brought to you by EQUITANA Australia. EQUITANA is happening from the 15thto 18thNovember this year in Melbourne. EQUITANA in conjunction with the Independent Miniature Horse Registry and American Miniature Horse Association are proud to host 'Minitana’ – the ultimate showcase of Miniature horses. You can enjoy getting up close with these cuties and watching a number of halter conformation classes as well as classes such as jumping and trail. Don’t miss out the 'Miniature High Jump' contest which is always a popular spectacle. The events will be officiated by renowned judge Wayne Hipsley from USA. All classes will have full commentary on placings so will also be an education opportunity for all spectators and exhibitors It will happen on Saturday from 1.30 to 3.30 in the think fencing arena. You can see this event with your day pass. To get your tickets go to equitana.com.au I hope to see you there. Make sure you say hi if you see me.
In this episode I have gone back over the trainers that I have spoken to in each previous episode and found the Top 5 Horse Training Tips. What I love about these tips is that they all have a similar focus. These trainers are from varied disciplines and from all over the world, yet their foundations are similar, their naming of it may be a bit different, the way they do it may be slightly different, but the intention and end result are all very similar. They all work with calmness and taking your time to build a strong connection with their horse. Here are the links to the trainers that I speak of in the podcast. Mosie Trewhitt from Liberty Horsemanship Kirsty Hagger from Willowvale Spanish Mustangs Emma Bryant from Equality Equine Services Valence Williams from Soul Horse Revolution Mel Fleming from Connecting with Horses, Riding with Synchronicity Anna Blake from Relaxed and Forward Donna Anderson from One Horse Life Australia and New Zealand To let me know of your training questions you would like answered please connect with me on my website, or through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram This episode was brought to you by EQUITANA Australia. EQUITANA is happening from the 15th to 18th November this year in Melbourne. The Off the Track program aims to facilitate the placement of retired thoroughbred racehorses in second careers by promoting the network of Racing Victoria Acknowledged Retrainers across the state, driving demand for the breed as performance and pleasure horses and educating the community about the various life after racing options, versatility of use, and the appropriate care and retraining of the thoroughbred. It's so nice to see EQUITANA making a difference in the life of these beautiful horses. This event will be happening at the Rowville Outdoor Arena on Thursday morning. They will also be doing a jump off in the Think Fencing Arena on Sunday 12:45pm - 2:00pm You can see this event with your day pass. To get your tickets go to equitana.com.au I hope to see you there. Make sure you say hi if you see me.
In this episode I speak with Anna Blake who is a dressage trainer, author and blogger. Her blog, Relaxed and Forward has a weekly entry since 2011, so if you like what you hear today, as I know you will, and you want to immerse yourself in what Anna teaches, her blog is a great place to start. She has also written 4 books and coaches people all over the world in dressage, one of the amazing things Anna brought to the horse world is the awareness of calming signals. These are signals that we may take as disrespect or disobedience from our horses, when actually, it’s our horses way of asking us to calm down please, and let’s work this out together. I imagine that if everyone in the horse world understood these signals and listened to their horse in this way, then oh my, what a beautiful world it would be for horses! If you'd like to buy Anna's books then you can go to book depository here.To read Anna's blog, organise a session with her or see where her next workshop is you can go to her blog website.She also has an author website here.To read the book Anna mentions Turid Rugaas' Calming Signals you will find it at book depository hereTo read the book Language Signs and Calming Signals of Horses : Recognition and ApplicationBy (author) Rachaël Draaisma, you can go to book depository here. To see photos of Anna you can go to the blog on my website here. This weeks show is brought to you by EQUITANA Australia. Equitana is happening from the 15th to 18th November this year in Melbourne. The McDowells Australian Brumby Challenge was developed by the Victorian Brumby Association.The Challenge follows the journey of 20 trainers as they transform untamed brumbies passively captured from Victoria’s high country, from wild to willing in 150 days. The Final is held across four days of EQUITANA, with trainers showcasing the transformation of their Brumby in front of the crowd and an expert panel of judges. There are two categories of the Challenge – Ridden and Youth. In the Ridden Challenge, brumbies aged four and older are saddle trained. In the Youth Challenge, yearling aged brumbies are trained and presented in hand only, not to be started under saddle or sat on. The finale of the McDowells Australian Brumby Challenge will be held at EQUITANA Melbourne 2018. Over the four days of the event, you can come along, meet the brumbies and their trainers and watch as the Brumbies are taken through their paces in several classes which are designed to showcase their trainer’s ability and the trainability and versatility of our Australian Brumbies. You can see this event with your days pass. To get your tickets go to equitana.com.au I hope to see you there. Make sure you say hi if you see me.
In this episode I speak with Tanya Bevilaqua from Mindfully Mounted and Fit. I found this talk fascinating. Tanya uses the Alexander technique which I have heard about before but never took the time to understand. It fits completely with the values I love to promote on this podcast. It works to find the root cause of the problem and then gives the body an opportunity to do things differently. It requires empathy and sensitivity. It is gentle and profound. Tanya found this technique for herself after her own serious health issues that affected her balance. She now teaches it to humans and horses giving them balance and a deeper connection with their horse. This work is a collaboration between horse and rider where the horse can tell you where you need to adjust your body to give them better movement. I know right, fascinating! To get in touch with Tanya you can find her on Facebook. you can find out more about the Alexander Technique here You can also go to the blog on my website to see photos of Tanya and her horses and some of the work she has done with horses. This episode is brought to you by EQUITANA Australia. Equitana is happening from the 15th to 18th November this year in Melbourne. Chris Burton is undoubtedly one of our country’s best riders and athletes of modern times, representing Australia at the 2010 and 2014 World Equestrian Games, the London 2012 Olympic Games, and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games where he won a Bronze medal with the team on his striking young horse Santano II. Chris is doing a masterclass at EQUITANA and hopes he can make the sessions focussed on training the light aids and building harmony between horse and rider. This is a ticketed event. To get your tickets to this once in a lifetime opportunity go to equitana.com.au I hope to see you there. Make sure you say hi if you see me.
In this episode I speak with Tanya McDermott from HERO. In conjunction with Harness Racing Victoria she is working to make sure all Standardbred horses have a life after racing. Whether they are retired, never made the track at all or have just had enough and don’t want to race anymore. The best part about this program and what Harness Racing Australia are doing, is that they can start to gather real stats about where their horses are going that are being registered for racing. This is sorely missing from all areas of the equestrian world, knowing how many horses are leaving the industry and where they are going. The wastage is sports like Thoroughbred racing are evident, but the statistics are floored at best. This organisation is making inroads into making the world a better place for all Standardbreds. I love what they are doing and I'm happy to be sharing their story. If you'd like to get in touch with Tanya and HERO, maybe get yourself a Standardbred like me? You can go to their website or Facebook Page, they are also on Twitter. If you go to the blog on my website you can see photos of Tanya and her horses, you can also see the little girl she spoke of with her new Standardbred Horse. This weeks show is brought to you by EQUITANA Australia. Equitana is happening from the 15th to 18th November this year in Melbourne. Pedro Torres will be there this year, Pedro has multiple World, European and National Championship titles under his belt for working equitation, he is the most successful rider and a living legend in the history of the sport. After much success with WE, Pedro is now making waves in the Dressage world. Pedrois a rider first and foremost, and rides the discipline his horse tells him to ride, or that he feels the horse has the most potential for. Pedro is doing a masterclass at EQUITANA this year on the Friday from 9.30 to 12.30. This is a ticketed event. To get your tickets go to equitana.com.au I hope to see you there. Make sure you say hi if you see me.
In this episode I speak with Kim Walnes from The Way of the Horse. This one is along one folks, I thought about doing it in 2 parts but couldn’t make you wait that long for this incredible story. Through most of this interview I had a lump in my throat and at the end of it I just wanted to reach through the internet, all the way across the ocean to America and give Kim an enormous hug and say “My word you’ve been through a lot”. Kim Walnes knows what it’s like to live your dream at be at the pinnacle of the horse riding world winning Rolex on her horse the Grey Goose in 1982. She tained with internationally renowned Jack LeGough and rode at Badminton. She has also ridden as a double to Melissa Gilbert in the movie Sylvester. However in 1991 she also experienced the lowest of lows when she lost her daughter who was murdered. I now right. Kim then later had a car accident where she had to be revived, her explanation of this time is incredible, her daughter was there, she wanted to stay but it wasn’t her time. Kim is one of those people who was born part horse. Horse was her first word, she can hear when they speak and she has now decided a great life lived is one where she can teach people about these incredible sentient beings and how you too can have true connection with your horse. To connect with Kim you can go to her Way of the horse website or her Facebook page. This episode was brought to you by EQUITANA Australia. Please support these wonderful sponsors. EQUITANA is on from 15th to 18th of November this year. You can go to their website to get your tickets. I'll be there this year doing interviews for this podcast so make sure you grab your tickets and come and say hi.
In this episode I speak with Rod Lockwood the man who brought EQUITANA Australia to our shores 20 years ago. Having run my own businesses over the years I am one of those people who goes out for dinner and calculates the seats in the restaurant and staff and meal costs to see how profitable a business like this is. I go to QSEC and look at the same thing, the staff, the overheads with equipment, the planning and promotions and I do a few sums in the hope they are being profitable. I love to see small businesses thrive. So when I think of a mammoth event like EQUITANA and the sheer amount of overheads they would have to have before tickets are even sold it makes my brow sweat, that’s an incredible business all done by a small core team. Then I find out that Rod and his partners company worked from pure heart, a love of horses and a deep knowing that it would turn profitable eventually for many years before they actually made a profit. This is when I know that EQUITANA is something special. What I love about EQUITANA is the way it brings such a diverse horse world to one place. Where dressage meets reining and so many tens of thousands of people who attend from every discipline and horse breed known to Australia, all walk the same ground. Equitana is a place where all horse people can find common ground and where our pure love of horses brings us to this mammoth event, and over the 4 days, might just break down a few of those misconceptions we may have about each other. From all the profitable businesses around the world, this one has a beating heart, and that heart, is horses. To buy your tickets or find out more you can go to the EQUITANA Australia website, Facebook page, Instagram or Twitter account.
In todays episode I speak with Mosie Trewhitt from Liberty horsemanship. Mosie is someone who gives me great hope for the future of horses on the planet. She is young and had the courage to understand there was a different way of being with horses from a teenager, and as a natural part of the social media generation, has a large following on Instagram, and is showing the world of horsepeople young and old, what is possible through choice and positive reinforcement. She is still young and knows that even though she is working in a new way, that there is even further for her to go. She is at a stage of really listening to her horses and seeing what they have to say, on where they can go together. I will be keeping a close eye on Mosie’s work as she develops it over the coming years, she is a real leader for her generation and I love that she was willing to share her story with a fellow podcaster. Mosie could easily have seen me as competition, but she instead saw me as a fellow traveller working with the same dream, to make the world a better place for horses, and she was happy to be interviewed and share her story. You can connect with Mosie on her website or Instagram account. You can also find her podcast on her website or on most podcast aps, it's called In the Spirit of Horse.
To connect wth Valence go to her Soul Horse Revolution Facebook Page.
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