I started riding when I was a “horse-crazy” or “pony-mad” child living in England. I was a proper little English rider. Then, boys came along and horses were put on the back burner. 

About 8 years ago I took my daughter, Shelby Rae, for a riding lesson and I was hooked all over again. I quickly went from lessons to sponsorship to horse ownership. We had a fabulous Arab named Niki. 

One fine spring morning about 5 years ago, Shelby was cantering Niki in the arena when he started an incredible bucking spree.  She actually stayed on for quite a while!  Being a “normal” back then, when she hit the dirt I told her that she had to get right back on!  She didn’t want to, but I forced her. Then, I got on and cantered him and was just calling out that everything was fine when he let out another huge buck.  That was all it took for me. 

My left knee still hurts from where I landed.  When you fall off as an adult things are different.  You don’t seem to bounce right back and what’s worse, my confidence was shattered.  Whenever I rode and Niki would try to lower his head into a relaxed position, my hands would fly up into the air!  The fear that he would buck (which he never did again) was debilitating.

Luckily, I had watched a few episodes of Parelli on RFD and when I saw that they were doing a Tour Stop at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, I bought tickets.  I’ve been hooked on Parelli ever since.  Parelli’s emphasis on safety and confidence-building helped me get over my unreasonable but very real fear and rebuild my relationship with Niki.

Shelby and I attend a Tour Stop every year. I’ve worked with David Lichman on Level 1, ridden in a Level 2 clinic with Mark Berry, audited a Karen Rolf clinic and attended other David Lichman events.  I led a small Parelli support group in California. This year I was a Tour Stop Ambassador for Belton and also made a magical trip to Colorado for the Savvy Conference.  I am working my way through Levels 2 and 3 and Liberty and Horse Behavior with the home study packs.

In 2004 I bought, Cinco, my haflinger. He was 4 years old at the time. A novice rider owned him. He had bought him because he thought that “they would grow and learn together.” Well, we’ve all heard Pat’s saying, “green on green makes black and blue.” They were not a good match, but he has been perfect for me!

Cinco is a challenging horse who fluctuates between Left-Brain Introvert and Left-Brain Extrovert depending on the situation.  For Cinco it’s all about food and play!  The challenge for me is to be innovative and captivating to keep his interest.  He is the smartest horse I have ever seen.  He can also be quite explosive when pushed. When he acts like that we call him “Stinko” instead of Cinco.  But, he really is one of the greatest joys in my life and I’m loving our Parelli journey together.