Sweetwater Ranch Antelope Valley

08/19/2025

📣🐴 Two Weeks Out! 🐴📣

Our first Hotshot Riders show of the season is almost here! Don’t forget to pre-enter to save time the morning of the show and help our office staff out.

✅ Sign-ups start at 8:00 a.m.
✅ Riding begins at 9:00 a.m.
📍 Yellow Rose Ranch, Tehachapi

Let’s kick off the season strong—get your entries in now and join us for a fun day of fast horses, good friends, and Hotshot spirit! 💥🔥

👉 Pre-enter today so you’re ready to ride!

Please remember to pre-register for the event. Link below!

https://form.jotform.com/252187924103051

06/27/2025

This is the simple truth

There’s this old, tired idea that riding is about control. That dressage is about making the horse submit. Taming the wild. Forcing precision.

But here’s the truth:

You don’t ride to break the horse. You ride so 𝑦𝑜𝑢 don’t break.

Because the horse isn’t the chaos. You are.

Your fear. Your tension. Your ego. Your overthinking.
Every crooked thought runs straight down the reins.
And the horse? He doesn’t care about your excuses. He shows you exactly who you are.

So you learn to breathe. To feel. To listen more than you speak.
You learn to hold your position in the storm.
You learn to ride into the fire, not to dominate it, but to survive it.

Dressage doesn’t make you perfect.
Done right, it makes you unbreakable.

Not because you control everything. But because you learn to hold your seat when everything falls apart.

It’s not about who you are when the ride begins, it’s who you are when you dismount.

05/27/2025

💯

05/20/2025

David will be in these areas in June. And I'll be with him! I'm so excited to meet more of his customers! If you're less than 45 min off his route, there's a chance he can see you. Especially if he has other customers near you. Please contact us to find out.

May 31-June 1 Idaho Falls and Swan Valley areas
June 12-13 Boise area
June 14-15 Moscow ID area
June 16-17 Spokane & Tri-cities areas
June 18-19 Seattle area
June 21-24 Oregon
June 25-29 Bay area
June 30 Santa Barbara area

**These dates are subject to change based on how much interest he has in each area.

Follow our business page David Gilpin Custom Saddle Work if you'd like updates on future work trips and for a one-time $25 discount on any work David does.

05/15/2025

05/14/2025

'Allowing the horse to stretch on a long rein' (sometimes called 'chewing the reins out of the hands') requires your horse to lower his head forward and down while maintaining an elastic contact with your hands. His nose should be slightly in front of the vertical (not curling up behind the vertical), and his mouth should be at least level with his shoulder.

The purpose of this movement is to test your horse's willingness to work through from behind and into the contact, and to demonstrate balance, relaxation, and suppleness.

Here's what the judge wants to see:

✅ As your horse stretches forward and down, your horse's mouth should reach inline with the point of his shoulder.
✅ Although your reins are lengthened, a consistent and elastic contact must be maintained throughout the stretch.
✅ Your horse must remain balanced, with his hind legs stepping under to support the stretch and remaining light in his shoulders.
✅ The rhythm and tempo of the pace must remain the same before, during, and after the movement.
✅ The rider should take the reins back smoothly, and there should be no loss of balance, resistance, or tension.

05/14/2025

This is a fantastic scientific explanation of what I was taught, just by feel from some older master Horsemen.

You can get true trueness without ever using a bit, but it’s a longer row to hoe. But of course proper use of a bit requires a proper seat and quiet hands. Most people either don’t wanna bother or don’t even know how to obtain those things so they probably are better off riding in a halter. 

05/02/2025

Good demonstration

05/02/2025