Starlight Farm

29/04/2026

Balance and rhythm on the XC. So important to develop in horses of all levels.

29/04/2026

Read this before, worth reading again

I’ve told this story before, but it bears repeating---

Sid Shachnow, pictured with me a few years ago, had been the commanding general of all US Special Forces at Fort Bragg. He was also a rider and one time I was telling him about a mutual acquaintance who had a bad habit of jumping ahead of the motion.

“I can’t get him to stop doing it,” I said. “It’s so instinctual for him to do that.”

Sid said, “Denny---The most instinctual thing that a soldier can do if he is suddenly ambushed is to turn and run, which is the most likely to get him shot. We have to train our guys to run directly at their attackers and to fire their weapons at them, which gives them the best chance of survival.

Now Denny----If I can train my guys to run into live rifle fire, you can train your student not to jump up the neck.

TRAINING HAS TO OVERCOME INSTINCT.”

Which comes---finally---to the main point of this post, which is that old Boy Scout motto, “Be Prepared.”

Preparedness comes through training and practice, and if YOU are a rider who has ambitions to become a better rider, those two words, training and practice, which lead to being prepared, are your go to words.

Don’t want to train and practice? Then be prepared for sub-par results, It IS that simple.

23/04/2026

This can be a life saving technique for anyone breeding.

23/04/2026

So true….how many of you know the feeling of getting ahead of the movement

10/04/2026

As the jumps got higher and the exercises more technical, Laura Kraut reminded today's clinic riders that any glitches were opportunities. “I think that sometimes we try so hard that they get panicked or claustrophobic,” she said of the horses feeling their riders’ energy.

“I like it when it's hard, because then you can learn from it,” Kraut continued. “If you don't do it right, you don't do it right. That happens to me every day!”

Read the full article at the link in our comments.
Sponsored by Chewy
📸 Lisa Slade/COTH

10/04/2026

Work on yourself, when challenged be honest with yourself to create opportunities to learn and improve.

Even the best riders in the world have bad rounds. Missing a distance, rushing a line, or forgetting your course are mistakes that are part of riding. According to top hunter rider and trainer Geoff Teall, mistakes are inevitable in the show ring. What matters most is learning from them and using them to improve.

Every rider, no matter their level, will face setbacks in the ring. Learning to handle those moments with honesty, perspective, and responsibility is a crucial part of becoming a better horseman.

No amount of preparation can eliminate mistakes in riding. Even when riders plan carefully and practice diligently, things can still go wrong in the show ring. A rider chip at a fence or misjudge a distance. These situations are frustrating, but they are also completely normal. Every rider, from beginners to top competitors, experiences bad rounds from time to time. Accepting that reality is the first step toward dealing with mistakes constructively.

When a round goes poorly, riders often feel the urge to find someone or something to blame. It might be the course design, the footing, the judge, the weather, or even the horse. But Teall makes it clear that blaming outside factors prevents riders from learning from their mistakes. Instead of identifying what went wrong and improving for the future, the rider avoids responsibility.

Teall emphasizes that riders should take ownership of their performance. If something goes wrong, the first question should be: what could I have done differently?

Instructors often face a delicate balance when working with students who make mistakes. Some riders become overly critical of themselves after a bad ride. Others immediately begin making excuses. Teall argues that neither response is productive.

Being too hard on yourself can destroy confidence, but constantly blaming others is equally harmful. Riders who blame the horse, the instructor, or the conditions are avoiding the responsibility that comes with improving.

Good sportsmanship requires honesty. If a mistake happened because of something the rider did, the rider must acknowledge it. That honesty creates the opportunity to learn and improve.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2026/04/08/handling-bad-rounds-and-mistakes-like-a-true-horseman/
📸 © The Plaid Horse

07/04/2026

The young team doing awesome riding at Kihikihi last weekend