The video we showed Linda Parelli, which made it possible for us to do a spotlight

Video of our spotlight at the tour stop:

Woke up at 4:30am. About 8 hours of sleep in 2 days combined. Took 9 horses and ponies to the Parelli tour stop. Filled the arena with PonyPros. Blew even our own socks off. The Parellis were amazingly generous with us. They gave all the kids halters and lead ropes, plus the levels 1-4 pack, and gave Les and I four-week scholarships to the center in CO. Feel like I need to sleep for days, but it was worth it Can’t believe how awesome the kids and ponies were. Check out the photos of Linda when we showed her our video, told her we had 5 more kids at home, and that we boarded 30 minutes away.

Some quick facts:

• Blue Man has only been with us for 4 weeks. This was his first experience traveling off property for an event. He was rescued a year ago by Mustangs and Mohr, then came to us at the very end of April. At that time, he had basic groundwork but had not been started. He has 1 ride on him now and is, as you can see, having a ton of fun with Parelli!
• Thistle has only been with us for 2 months. She was 10 years old and was ranch raised, so had had no training before coming to us. This was her second time ever in a trailer and only only her second time away from the home she was born and raised on. Look how awesome she is now!
• Thistle’s partner, Emma, is a 6th grader and has only been involved in horses for 3 months. She has learned all this from PonyPros in just 12 weeks!
• Peanut and Wallie are only 4 years old. This was only their second time hauling out to a different arena. They have been with us for about 9 months now and were unstarted when they came to us.
• Casey is an adopted rescue horse. Conner has only owned him for four months.
• Koa is an adopted rescue horse. This was her first time ever hauling out to a strange arena.
• Celebrity has only been with us for 2 months. Chloe, age 12, was his partner at the tour stop.
• Sam is a rescue pony who used to stand like a tri-pod because he was so fearful and in so much pain. He used to run to the other side of his pen and smash against the panels when someone walked by. He has been with us for almost 2 years now.
• Because the horse who Katelynn normally works with is a rescue who is not strong enough to travel, this was Katelynn’s first time ever working with Sam. Talk about a good pony and natural student to put it together so fast and so well!
• Our dream is to have an Atwood Ranch style program for ponies and to have the best kids program in the world.

Today was Morgan, Katelynn, and Lauren’s second lesson. As part of our program, kids come out for a minimum of 3 hours a week. We’ve found kids don’t improve with less time that that. We theorize that kids need more than one hour a week because working with horses is like learning a new language, you need to be immersed to become fluent. So for the cost of just one lesson, our kids get 3 hours of horse time per week – 1 hour-long lesson and a 2 hour self-directed session on the weekend. Morgan, Katelynn, and Lauren are going into their third week of the program and they have improved so much! Taylor was sick today, so had to miss out.

Morgan’s seat is 5x better than it was just a month ago. She’s looking awesome! She now has a long leg and length through her torso. What a huge difference!

Katelynn and QuickDraw sidepassed a pole while riding for the first time. It was amazing to see Katelynn put the aids together to make it happen – blocking a little in front so Q didn’t walk over the pole, then forequarters/hindquarters on the outside rein. We don’t use much leg in our lateral movements because we don’t need it – just a little reminder here and there if we want quicker movement sideways.

Lauren added some work without hands to her seatwork repertoire. Work without hands is really cool because it is a big perceived risk but is actually even easier than riding with holding on to the pommel because you can sit correctly. It’s always fun to see the kids faces when they realize they can let go!

Gina has been working with Blue Man on the basics. He is rocking at sideways and jumping the barrels. He looked like a pro today! I took him for awhile to feel him out and he jumped a single barrel on the wall from a walk first time I asked. Later Gina worked with Blue Man on Hippity Hop, which prepares the horse for riding. You lay on the horse like a surfboard and paddle (ie., rub the girth area) and slide backwards off the rump. We do Hippity Hop before sitting in the horse in straddle because it is easier to get off if they get scared and because it is even tougher for their nerves than sitting on then. So, you know if they can handle Hippity Hop, that they’re ready to ride. Hippity Hop is tough for the humans, too, though, because it does require a lot of upper body strength and coordination, especially when you’re working with a 12h pony! I jumped in at the end and laid on Blue a few times to help get him over the hump. I ended by sitting on him in straddle for the first time. Soon as we have some decent weather he’ll start his riding career!

Today we almost didn’t get to have a lesson! Here was the barn owner’s message to us at 10am:

Hi all,
The air right now is positively brown with sand. Don’t come out here unless you call me first. Maybe later it might be better. We just hit the highest winds ever since we’ve lived here. Everything is blowing around, the horses are hunkered down behind, in and around the sheds. You can barely walk around. I don’t really want any body in the arena or the barn. Although knock on wood everything is still standing. Kali, if any of the kids are planning to be out here today, Monday, please call them.

Call me later if you are thinking of coming out. It might calm down. I HOPE.

Take care,
K

When we called Karen at 3pm, she said it was down to 20mph winds, with gusts up to 40, so the lesson was back on! It was Lauren, Taylor, Morgan, and Katelynn’s first official arena lesson with us. The horse’s were AMAZING despite the very trying weather.

Today’s lesson was all about synchrony. Synchronization exercises create equality between horse and human, help you learn about each other’s motivations and goals, teach you to read each other’s body language, and create connection. When all those elements align, you are in synch with your horse and, with any luck, with the world at large!

Lauren (10), worked with Thistle. Thistle is brand new to the idea of yielding to pressure. Lauren showed awesome persistence and ability to change her technique in the moment to help the horse understand. She was very willing to just come up with her own ideas for what she thought would help and try it out. It was cool to see. Lauren did lots of Friendly Game and The Whippings to help Thistle quiet down when she first entered the rattling arena. Then she learned the rest of the Parelli games and did more Friendly Game with the ribbons and ball. The last part of the lesson, she did a seatwork lesson on the longe. It was her first time in an English saddle. She was very enthusiastic and would repeat a motion if she didn’t think she did it as well as she could, even though I told her to do them just one time. She’s very self-motivated.

Morgan and Katelynn are 13 year old twins who got their first introduction to horses with us while we were working at the rescue. It’s been about a year since we last saw them. The twins oddly enough, ended up with horses who are as similar and different as they are – Quick Draw and Sarah – both white Arab crosses, but very different horsenalities. After warming the horses up on the ground, Morgan did a lesson with Gina and Katelynn did a lesson with me.

Gina had Morgan doing seatwork on the longe. Morgan’s balance got way better in just this short lesson. All our seatwork is done without stirrups so that the rider’s posture can evolve naturally. We make a point of not coaching the rider’s position. We choose whichever seatwork exercise will help the balance problem we see and good posture develops naturally. When I was growing up, trainers made us ride with sticks threaded through our elbows and behind our back so that the lower back would arch and the shoulders would come back. Today like-minded trainers buy a special vest that has the same effect. Such silliness. Seatwork exercises do wonders for a rider’s seat and confidence.

Les worked with Lauren’s sister, Taylor (13) on seatwork on the longe at the same time as Morgan was riding. Taylor did the same seatwork exercises riding Blondie. Did I mention we started Thistle, Blondie, and Sarah ourselves? Blondie is a coming 4-year-old and has had all her training with us. She’s virtually bomproof and an absolutely amazing teacher. She gives everything to a complete newbie, responding to the most convoluted cues, tests the cocky advanced beginners, and really goes the extra mile for kids who truly want to learn. This palomino mare is worth her weight in gold. Sarah is the same way, and we only started her in January.

After her seatwork lesson, Les tagged Taylor to help her learn how to steer. They worked on lifting up the reins and sliding down one side, opening the rein up to show the horse’s eyes where to go.

At first I tried having Katelynn do a little cantering on Quick Draw on the longe, but he wasn’t feeling it today. So, we switched to learning about lateral movements. I let Katelynn feel shoulder-in as I cued Q from the ground, then showed her how to use her aids to ask for it. All our lateral movement comes off one rein only  – no confusing things with 10 million cues. Quick Draw has amazing lateral movement, so learning shoulder-in was a breeze. Net we did a little half-pass, which is much harder for a rider to feel. In shoulder-in, the horse’s nose is bent away from the direction of travel. In half-pass, the horse’s nose is bent in the direction of travel. Katelnn and Q both did an awesome job. Katelynn is light enough to allow Q to do the movement and patient, calm, and cheerful enough to work through confusion. She seems never to get frustrated, and that is a cool quality in a student!

Gina played with her mini both before and after the lesson. Looks like she’s naming the little one Penny Lane

All in all – a great lesson. Very fun and rewarding.

Max Schneider, from Parelli Central, said our videos were, “wow…amazing.”

We are doing an open house the Friday before the Parelli weekend in May! Join us Friday, May 21st, to see our kids and ponies in action! Tickets are free to Parelli, so be sure to come to Bend for this event! The Parelli’s stop in Central Oregon is only one of 6 US tour stops.

*The videos could only have Katie Drake or Mary Ann Kennedy songs, so that is why some of the songs are the same in the videos.

Zoey, age 8

Maddie, age 10

Emma, age 12

Conner, age 12

Chloe, age 12