Lisa Croft - Progressive Equitation

17/07/2026

If you're in the Macedon Ranges, Sunbury, or surrounding areas and are looking for coaching based on evidence-based equitation science principles, I'm currently available for lessons.

I offer coaching focused on:

• Developing clear, ethical horse-rider communication using evidence-based training principles.
• Improving rider position, timing, feel, and the effective use of aids.
• Building calm, confident, and responsive horses through systematic, welfare-focused training.
• Helping riders understand equine learning theory and how to apply it in everyday training.
• Private coaching as well as club coaching plus clinics throughout the Macedon Ranges and Sunbury.

Whether you're aiming to improve your partnership with your horse, build confidence, or refine your riding, ES based coaching focuses on clear communication, horse welfare, and practical, achievable results.

I work with all disciplines. PM for more details.

Aussies, winter is a great time of year to freshen up your training or brush up on your equitation science know-how!

If you’re looking for support, guidance, or a training tune-up close to home, check out our list of practitioners across Australia. These practitioners have completed their Diploma of Equitation Science, or earlier certification with us at ESI.

From NSW to WA, there are knowledgeable ESI practitioners ready to help you and your horse reach your goals.

✨ New South Wales ✨
Arylee Cornall, Moorland NSW
Melinda Byrne, Hunter Valley, NSW
Janet Hamblin, Nyngan NSW
Chelsea Dennis, Coffs Harbour, NSW
Sascha Yeomans, Albury Wodonga, NSW
Amy Carpenter, Mudgee, NSW
Nila Latimer, Central Coast, NSW
Susan Turner-Davis, Manton, NSW
Andrew Kelly, Yass, NSW

✨ Northern Territory ✨
Nicole Mutimer, Darwin, NT

✨ Queensland ✨
Rowan Sheridan, Gatton, QLD
Dayna Stratton, Alligator Park/Townsville Sth, QLD
Isabelle Walkden-Brown, Toowoomba, QLD
Tracey Tewksbury, Greater Brisbane Region, QLD
Anneli Nivala, Logan, QLD
Lilly Tindal, South East QLD
Stevie Dilley, Central QLD
Aaron Brown, Toowoomba, QLD
Bailey Dixon, Atherton Tablelands, QLD
Sussan Evans, Roma, QLD
Sandra Trott, Goomeri, QLD
Jen Davy, Brisbane, QLD

✨ South Australia ✨
Jo Kennedy, Trott Park SA
Tania Horder, Gawler-Belt SA
Sharyn Collins, Barossa Valley SA
Naomi Mashford, Mt Crawford SA
Sandy Doig, Adelaide Hills SA
Nicki Stuart, Kersbrook SA

✨ Tasmania ✨
Tracey Johnston, Cranbrook TAS
Allannah Turner-Hughes, Southern Region Hobart, TAS

✨ Victoria ✨
Lucie Hill, Limestone Coast and Western Victoria
Charlot Dekkers, Tuerong
Michelle Welton, Bass Coast Shire/South Gippsland, VIC
Lisa Croft, Macedon Ranges VIC
Kalinda Greaves, Kyneton, VIC
Chloe Jones, Bacchus Marsh, VIC
Jonathan McLean, Clonbinane, VIC
Alistair McLean & Rikke Andreasen, Moorooduc VIC
Alex Bader, Geelong, VIC

✨ Western Australia ✨
Nancy Howard, Byford, Armadale, Oakford area
Nancy Ellison-Murray, Coolup WA
Louise Shaw, Perth WA
Portland Jones, Perth WA

Explore the full practitioner list here: https://esi-education.com/espractitionersau/

20/06/2026

I've noticed an increasing number of posts about bridleless riding lately, so I thought I'd offer a few reflections on the topic.

This is a video I once took whilst riding my Quarter Horse around the farm bridleless. While it can be a lovely demonstration of training, trust, and communication, I don't think the presence or absence of equipment is, by itself, a reliable measure of good horsemanship or horse welfare.

As an evidence based practitioner, I'm more interested in what the horse is actually expressing through its posture, rhythm, and overall way of going. A horse can be without a bridle and still show tension in a tight, fixed topline, a braced neck, hurried or uneven strides, or a lack of softness through the back and ribcage. Equally, a horse can be in full tack and display quiet, elastic movement, a steady rhythm, and a posture that suggests genuine relaxation and balance.

I would add that, when watching bridleless, bitless, ba****ck, and liberty performances, I have sometimes observed horses showing subtle but clear signs of stress despite the lack of equipment. These can include hollowing of the back, a restricted or locked shoulder, flicking tail tension, or a loss of consistent rhythm. The same considerations apply in liberty work as well as bitless riding more broadly. This reinforces my belief that welfare must always come first, regardless of what equipment is or isn't used. Posture, in particular, is a key indicator of how the horse is coping moment to moment, as it reflects balance, muscular effort, and emotional state in a very immediate way.

For me, the goal isn't riding without equipment. The goal is communication that is clear, ethical, and biomechanically sound, whether that involves a bridle, a halter, a bitless bridle, or no headgear at all.

Your thoughts?

17/06/2026

This is exactly why I initially chose to undertake an evidence-based study of horses and become an ESI coach. The science of learning provides such a powerful foundation for improving welfare, communication, and outcomes for both horses and people.
Andrew McLean's work through the H-ELP Foundation has brought in credible, humane, and practical principles to the forefront, and it's inspiring to see how these same values continue to guide ESI. I'm grateful to be part of a community that puts evidence before opinion and welfare at the centre of everything we do.

Many of our new followers may not know that Andrew McLean was a founder of the H-ELP Foundation, and he continues to work with it.

H-ELP is built on the same science of learning that guides all animals, showing how evidence-based training can improve welfare and outcomes across species.

For anyone interested in learning more, the foundation’s work reflects the same credible, humane, and practical principles that sit at the heart of ESI.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/1191026996?h=08af024be9

Human-Elephant Learning Programs Foundation

14/06/2026

A little happy snap from this afternoon - fun in the sun 🌞 with Mr Raymond and his "poolside buffet"
💚💚💚

14/06/2026

A lovely, sunny day in Kyneton today! 🐴

It's been fantastic to see growing interest in lessons in the Kyneton area, with riders and horses working on everything from foundations and confidence to improving communication and performance.

I currently teach in Kyneton one day per week, but with increasing demand I'm looking at expanding to a second day in the near future.

If you're based in Kyneton or the surrounding areas and would like support with your horse, whether that's improving your riding, developing your horse's training, building confidence, or creating clearer communication, I'd love to hear from you.

📍 Kyneton & surrounding areas
🐴 Private lessons
📚 Equitation Science based coaching

12/06/2026

A bit of fun in between the rain today. Our Spanish Senorita Buffy 💃💃💃

15/04/2026

Today I had an opportunity to attend an online training session with Andrew McLean for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, focusing on the retraining of racehorses.

It is always valuable to see equitation science principles applied within large scale environments, especially racing, and when supporting horses as they transition into new careers.

It is encouraging to see a continued focus on evidence-based training, horse welfare, and rider education at this level. I have included a few screenshots from the session, with plenty of insights shared.

12/04/2026

There’s a beautifully simple thread running through equitation science that often gets overlooked in the search for “better riding”: Calmness is not a starting point, it is an outcome.

Work in learning theory reminds us that what we often label as relaxation is actually constructed through predictability.

When we strip it right back, the pathway becomes almost mathematical in its clarity:

Rhythm = consistency of speed and response
Consistency = predictability
Predictability = reduced anxiety
Reduced anxiety = calmness

In practice, rhythm is not just about tempo. It is about the horse being able to anticipate what comes next because the aids, responses, and outcomes are coherent and stable. That predictability removes the need for defensive arousal. The nervous system can settle because the environment makes sense.

So when we “establish rhythm,” we are not simply organising movement. We are quietly building emotional stability through behavioural clarity.

For practitioners, this shifts the goal. Not “create calmness,” but “create conditions where calmness becomes the logical consequence of predictability.”

It’s elegant science, and even more elegant horsemanship.

When we apply this to lunging, the picture becomes even more transparent. On the circle, the horse has fewer spatial choices, so the quality of predictability is almost entirely determined by the handler. If speed fluctuates, if transitions are unclear, or if the aid system is inconsistent, rhythm dissolves and uncertainty rises.

But when the handler maintains a clear, repeatable communication loop, voice, body position, and timing of reinforcement, the circle becomes a moving framework of safety. The horse learns: the same cue produces the same outcome, every time. Within that consistency, the gait steadies, the tempo stabilises, and anxiety drops away.

Good lunging is therefore not about “holding” the horse in a frame. It is about constructing a predictable behavioural loop on the circle, where rhythm is protected moment to moment. Calmness is not asked for. It emerges.

Below featuring Michelle & Jade during their lesson yesterday

05/04/2026

I was told recently that some lovely clients in VIC have left reviews, which I was unaware of because not all reviews showing to public due to "locked" profiles.

Thanks Skye, Donna, Janette and Mae for your lovely words - much appreciated 👏