Equus

24/05/2026

10/05/2026

Dad jokes…

27/04/2026

26/04/2026

Beautiful afternoon here; Havisham (Havi) & Yulong Place (Fergus) are certainly making the most of this gorgeous Autumn sunshine 🌞

14/04/2026

One of our superstar horses: Gally, features in this video with Ash

09/04/2026

There is nothing these unicorns can’t do 🦄🦄

09/04/2026

Is Your Student Actually Ready To Jump? Here Is How To Know...

Introducing jumping too early is one of the fastest ways to shake a student's confidence and create problems that will take time to fix. Here is what needs to be in place before any student points their horse at an obstacle:

1. A secure independent two point.
Not a two point that sort of works on a straight line. A two point that holds up through transitions, through turns, and over a line of ground poles without the rider needing their hands to stay balanced. Test it by asking your student to hold two point with arms extended at the walk and trot. If the hands come forward to grab mane or reins the moment things get wobbly, they are not ready. Take the reins away on a quiet school horse and make them find their balance without that safety net. A rider who cannot balance independently in two point on the flat has no business being in that position over a fence.

2. Solid no stirrup work.
Stirrups can get lost going over fences and things can happen fast. Before a student starts jumping they need to be genuinely comfortable riding transitions, posting trot, and short periods of two point without stirrups - not just surviving it but riding it with some semblance of control and balance. If losing a stirrup is a crisis on the flat, it will be a much bigger crisis on the other side of a jump. Build no stirrup work into every lesson from early in your program and keep building it consistently. By the time jumping becomes part of the conversation it should feel like a non event.

3. The ability to ride a straight line away from the rail.
Students who spend all their time on the rail are not getting the steering practice they need for jumping. Before a fence comes into the picture, your student should be able to trot a straight diagonal, ride a centerline without drifting, and navigate through a narrow set of cones or poles with intention and accuracy. Jumping is flatwork with an obstacle in the middle of it. If the flatwork is not straight and controlled the jump will not be either.

4. Extensive ground pole work.
There is a reason the best jumper riders in the world spend a significant portion of their training time on ground poles. Trotting and cantering over poles teaches rhythm, adjustability, balance, and the feel of managing the horse's stride to a spot - all without the impact and risk of a real fence. Run your students through pole grids, flowing pole courses, single poles on a circle, and poles on a straight line before anything goes up. A student who has ridden hundreds of ground poles confidently will barely notice when the poles go up a few inches for the first time. A student who has not will be surprised by something that should have felt familiar.

5. Genuine willingness and not just bravado.
Some students say they want to jump but their body language tells you something completely different. Tight shoulders, held breath, a death grip on the reins at the sight of a ground pole... these are signs that the rider needs more time and more confidence building before the poles go up. A fearful rider who jumps before they are mentally ready develops defensive habits that become deeply ingrained and very hard to correct later. Wait for genuine, relaxed confidence... it is worth the patience.

There is no shortcut to a safe, confident jumping foundation. The instructors who rush it create problems. The instructors who take the time to build it properly produce riders who jump with a relaxed seat, a quiet hand, and a smile on their face.
Build the foundation first - the fences will still be there when they are ready.

What do you require from your students before introducing jumping? Drop your standards in the comments... I want to hear what works in your program.

03/04/2026

The Maserati Problem🏎

In my latest podcast with Ian Leighton, we wandered into a topic that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough in the horse world.

Getting older.

Now before everyone panics, this isn’t a tragic story about hanging up your riding boots and taking up competitive knitting.

It’s actually about something far more radical.

Honesty.

Ian told a story about a very good horseman he knew. A man who had ridden plenty of good horses in his life. Proper horses. Athletic ones. The sort that make you feel like a hero when you’re in your twenties.

One day this horseman offered Ian a horse.

Not because the horse was bad.

Because it was too good.

Too athletic. Too quick. Too much horsepower for where he was at in his life.

He said, “There’s nothing wrong with the horse. It’s just more athletic than I want to sit on anymore.”

Now that deserves a slow clap.👏

Because what that horseman did was something rare.

He made the decision before the horse made it for him.

The horse world has a curious habit of buying Maseratis 🏎when what people actually want is a reliable Toyota Corolla🚗.

A Maserati is magnificent. Powerful. Responsive. Thrilling.

But if your goal is a peaceful drive with friends once a week, the Maserati isn’t relaxing transportation.

It’s a project.

And projects require skill, time, fitness, and a certain tolerance for chaos.

Choosing the horse that fits the life you actually live.

It’s also one of the ways we keep riding longer.

By quietly mitigating risk.

By being realistic about our fitness, our time, and what kind of horse actually suits the life we want with them.

The goal isn’t to stop riding.

The goal is to keep riding for decades.❤

And sometimes the smartest way to do that is choosing the horse that lets you enjoy the journey… rather than survive it.

If you’d like to hear the full conversation and many other insights from Ian, you can listen to the latest episode of the Canter Therapy Podcast.

It’s the kind of wisdom that only comes from a lifetime around horses.

Collectable Advice 173/365. Save it, Share it, please do not copy and paste it.
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02/04/2026

Remember your coach or instructor is your biggest fan but these points below are things I believe everyone should know:

1. This sport is tough.
There’s no shortcut around the hard parts, every skilled rider has gone through them. Progress comes in waves: you improve, plateau, and then improve again. Your instructor can guide you, but they can’t make it easy, it wouldn’t be fun if it was easy!

2. You won’t always have a great ride.
Every situation has something to teach you, if you’re open to it. The more willing you are to learn, the more each ride will benefit you. If you let it.

3. Being teachable is essential.
Success in riding (and anything, really) depends on the willingness to learn. That often means revisiting the basics over and over. If basics feel boring, try seeing them as opportunities to refine and grow.

4. This sport requires commitment.
Really, read that again. Riding isn’t occasional; it’s consistent effort. Your partner is a big animal that communicates differently than you do. Progress comes from making riding a priority and showing up to practice, through bad weather, early morni by an and late nights.

5. Every ride matters.
Even the easy ones. Even the frustrating ones. Every single ride is a chance to learn. Remember when you were just excited to sit on a horse? Hold onto that feeling. If you focus only on what you’re not doing, you lose the joy, for yourself, your horse, and your instructor.

6. It should still be enjoyable.
Riding is work, and work isn’t always fun but it shouldn’t feel like a constant chore. If you dread lessons or would rather be elsewhere, it might be time for a break. Horses can sense your mindset, and showing up disengaged sets everyone up for a tough ride.

7. Learning happens on the ground, too.
In fact, some of the most important lessons do. Grooming, handling, and understanding horses from the ground are essential skills. Skipping these means missing a huge part of your horse’s trust.

8. Ask questions and communicate.
If you don’t understand why you’re doing something, ask. A good instructor will explain and a good student will listen and apply what they hear.

9. Remember we’re human, too.
Instructors juggle many responsibilities, from managing horses to making important daily decisions. A little patience and respect go a long way. Most importantly too remember we have our own struggles too, life affects everyone.

Riding instructors and coaches dedicate so much of their time, energy, and money to improving their craft and investigating themselves in your progression.

They love what they do but they also know: becoming a good rider is a journey, and it’s not an easy one.