Ascend Horsemanship

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I’m always fascinated by what horses notice — and what they don’t.What gets a reaction, what passes quietly, and what fe...
12/16/2025

I’m always fascinated by what horses notice — and what they don’t.

What gets a reaction, what passes quietly, and what feels like too much.

River is extremely sensitive. She notices everything. So much of our work is about helping her keep her focus on me, and learning that not every sound, movement, or energy is coming for her — or requires a big response.

Sensitivity isn’t something to shut down. It’s something to guide. That same sensitivity is what will allow her to respond with lightness to my aids, read subtle changes in her environment, and one day notice every movement of a cow she’s asked to work — when she feels safe and clear in her job.

Most of my students are youth, and it’s a part of my work that I value deeply. I grew up with coaches who invested their...
12/04/2025

Most of my students are youth, and it’s a part of my work that I value deeply. I grew up with coaches who invested their time, energy, and belief into me — not just as a rider, but as a person. Their influence shaped how I show up with horses today.

Now I get to do the same for the next generation of horsemen.
To help them develop feel, timing, patience, and the kind of awareness that makes horses soften and try. I want them to understand the “why” behind horsemanship, not just the “how.”

Working with youth isn’t something I take lightly. These early experiences matter. They carry forward into every horse they’ll ride or handle in the future.

I’m grateful for the chance to be part of their journey — and to watch them grow alongside the horses who teach them just as much as they have taught me.

Trailer loading is one of the most common calls I get. By the time I’m involved, a lot of horses have already been pushe...
12/02/2025

Trailer loading is one of the most common calls I get. By the time I’m involved, a lot of horses have already been pushed, scared, or pressured past their comfort zone. And while that might “work” in the moment, it doesn’t build a horse that loads quietly the next day… or the one after that.

To horses, trailers are tight, noisy, unfamiliar spaces. There’s nothing natural about stepping into a shaking metal box. Add force to that fear, and you only deepen the worry.

Horses learn through pressure and release, through clarity and calm. When we make the trailer a peaceful, quiet place — not a battleground — everything changes.

Watching young people grow in their horsemanship is one of the greatest privileges of my work.I am so proud of G for sho...
12/01/2025

Watching young people grow in their horsemanship is one of the greatest privileges of my work.
I am so proud of G for showing up with patience, softness, and determination — and excited to walk alongside her as she helps bring along not one, but two lovely 3-year-olds.
Moments like this are why I love what I do💕

11/20/2025

I’ll deliver snacks to this sleepy beauty any day💕 it makes me so happy to see her relaxed and snoozing on a chilly afternoon all cozy in her “room”

Enzo is the coolest 3 year old. My favourite thing about her is that she picks up where we left off *every ride* and she...
11/06/2025

Enzo is the coolest 3 year old.
My favourite thing about her is that she picks up where we left off *every ride* and she tries HARD.
I am SO excited for the next couple weeks with her, we’ve got a 2 day flag & cowhorse clinic, and a beginner sorting day where she will work cows for the first time.

I am so thankful to Michelle for trusting me with her beautiful home-bred beauty.

📸 Equine Essence Photography

Yielding the shoulders is the second part of the sideways movement and requires the horse to move their inside front ove...
11/04/2025

Yielding the shoulders is the second part of the sideways movement and requires the horse to move their inside front over their outside front. It’s one of the hardest movements to teach with softness because it requires the horse to shift their weight off the forehand and sit back onto their hindquarters. That balance shift is what makes the movement so valuable — and so challenging.

Shoulder control creates adjustability: the ability to stay balanced through a turn, step across without resistance, and stay organized through transitions.

As we get more advanced, that same understanding becomes the difference between a balanced rollback or a scramble, a clean lead change or a crooked one. It’s what gives a cowhorse the ability to turn and follow a cow, or a jumper the responsiveness for faster, cleaner rounds.

Yielding the shoulders completes the picture. It’s where softness turns into athleticism — and where all four directions come together in balance.

🦄: Charlie, loved by Sarah and Teresa
📸: equineessencephotography

Yielding the hindquarters is the first half of the sideways part of the four directions.Yielding the hindquarters is oft...
11/03/2025

Yielding the hindquarters is the first half of the sideways part of the four directions.

Yielding the hindquarters is often one of the first things we teach, but it carries meaning far beyond the basics. It’s where a horse learns to stay soft through the halter and body while stepping their hips around with balance and rhythm so the inside hind crosses over the outside hind — not rushing, bracing, or falling through the movement.

That same understanding shows up everywhere, for example:

🔹 in the “emergency stop” or pulley rein new riders learn for safety,
🔹 in the quarter control that builds travers and renvers in dressage,
🔹 in the precision of lead changes, spins, and rollbacks in reining.

When a horse can yield their hindquarters softly, they’re not just moving away from pressure — they’re learning to shift weight, engage the inside hind, and find balance through their whole body.

🦄: Oliver, loved by Kerry, Natia, and Karly
📸: Equine Essence Photography

This is the backward part of the four directions.Backing, when done with feel and correctness, does more than move a hor...
11/01/2025

This is the backward part of the four directions.

Backing, when done with feel and correctness, does more than move a horse in reverse. It engages their core, strengthens the hind legs and topline, and improves posture — all pieces that lead toward balance, lightness, and future collection.

Just as important is the softness through the halter. A good backup is when the horse follows a light feel without bracing again our hand. That understanding also reinforces the stop and sharpens up the halt and the connection between their brain and our hand.

It can also be used to help maintain space with a horse who wants to be too close to their human, teaching respect and awareness without creating tension.

Backing on a circle takes it a step further. It builds suppleness, focus, and precise body control. For the antsy-minded horse, it channels excess energy into thoughtful movement. For the performance-minded horse, it’s the foundation for spins, rollbacks, and responsive transitions.

Featuring Charlie the Thoroughbred
📸Pc: Audrey Stone

Leading and sending on a circle are the forward part of the four directions — where we teach a horse to move willingly a...
10/31/2025

Leading and sending on a circle are the forward part of the four directions — where we teach a horse to move willingly and softly into motion.

Leading with softness is where it all begins. It’s how a horse learns to follow a feel through the halter without resistance — finding release instead of brace. That lesson carries through everything we do: following us into stalls and trailers, giving to pressure when tied, and staying connected rather than pulled.

From there, we build on that same feel through sending — what some might call lunging. But it’s not about chasing a circle. It’s about the horse learning to leave our space and move forward from a driving pressure instead of a pulling one.

This is how we build forward softness — where understanding, confidence, and willingness take root. The way a horse moves forward here sets the tone for every other direction we’ll ask of them.

Featuring Charlie, loved by Sarah & Teresa
📸pc: Audrey Stone

Groundwork isn’t just about control — it’s about connection.I look for softness in a horse that can move all four feet, ...
10/30/2025

Groundwork isn’t just about control — it’s about connection.

I look for softness in a horse that can move all four feet, in all four directions. A horse that can do that is balanced — in their body and their mind.

Through the basics:
1️⃣ Leading straight and sending forward on a circle (walk, trot, lope)
2️⃣ Backing on a straight line and on a circle
3️⃣ Yielding the hindquarters
4️⃣ Yielding the shoulders

I’m not just moving their feet — I’m capturing their brain.

These same movements translate directly to the work we do under saddle. The better they understand it here, the more confident and connected they’ll be when we ride.

Featuring Oliver, owned & loved by Kerry and adored by Natia and Karly

📸pc: Audrey Stone

Connection starts on the ground.This is where horses learn how to learn — how to find the right answer, how to understan...
10/22/2025

Connection starts on the ground.

This is where horses learn how to learn — how to find the right answer, how to understand pressure and release, and how to feel safe trying.

Every moment on the ground lays the foundation for what we’ll ask under saddle. The way we communicate, the balance we build, the trust we earn — it all begins here.

And for our older, more seasoned horses, groundwork becomes our daily check-in. It doesn’t have to take long, just a few moments to see where their mind and body are that day — how they’re feeling, what they’re carrying, and what they need from us.

The best rides begin long before the saddle🤍

Featuring: 3 y.o mare, Enzo, lovingly owned by Michelle Kuipers
📸: Audrey Stone

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Chilliwack, BC

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