Belle Monte Stables

06/06/2026

Rocket and I got a head start on the weekend with a clinic with Kerstyn Cornelsen. Thank you Andrea for the sponsor to ride! 🚀 Got some great tips to head home with.

06/03/2026

500 new farm page followers!

Thanks for following and stay tuned for more adventures with Arrow the . 🏹

😝 Lucy Kay Wright

05/20/2026

Trail rides are a great way to build a stronger relationship with your horse. You can see in the first video Rocket was unsure over the first bridge. Gave him a little time and his head and he figured it out. The second bridge he was feeling much more confident. Then of course we ended up in the river!

04/25/2026

❤️🦄

04/17/2026

02/24/2026

12/11/2025

“I need my horse to take a joke.”
People say this all the time about their horses—usually while doing something that would make any self-respecting prey animal file a complaint with HR.

It’s an interesting mindset, mostly because the “joke” is always on the horse.
I can flop around up here like a laundry bag, jab you in the ribs, accidentally water-ski on the reins—haha! Classic me! Lighten up, buddy!

Meanwhile, the rider’s definition of “joking back” is limited.
If the responds with a jig, a little buck, maybe a dramatic head toss - suddenly it’s not a comedy anymore. Now it’s a “behavior issue.” Now someone’s calling a trainer, a chiropractor, and possibly a priest. They're taking their toys and going home.

It’s like that person who loves teasing everyone at the party, but if you tease them back even one ounce, they go silent, stare at you like you’ve shattered their world view, and spend the rest of the night telling other people they were “attacked.”

The whole thing asks a bigger question:
If you want a horse who can “take a joke,” maybe the first step is learning to take one yourself. Because a real partnership isn’t one where only one of you is allowed to be imperfect. Sometimes the horse’s “joke” is just them telling you the truth—with a little extra enthusiasm.

If we expect our horses to tolerate our whole routine, it behooves us to tolerate theirs, right? Otherwise, we just look like that sulky stand up comedian going on a tyiade to an audience. Maybe the audience got the joke, they just didn't find it funny.

Here's Merlin's puzzled expression at my joke. I waited for the punchline to sink in, but he said, "I got it man, you're just not funny."

Photo by Caitlin Hatch

12/05/2025

The humans are hustling in the snow…meanwhile the 2yr old in his stall 😂

First snow of the season 🥶

11/26/2025

11/08/2025

At an age when many riders would be content to ease back, eventing veteran and coach Del Ogilvy is still chasing new challenges.

Her latest horse, Wairua (fondly known as Walter), is a nine-year-old Off the Track Thoroughbred who only finished racing last November. Together, they’ve already started making their mark in the dressage arena.

🗞️ https://bit.ly/4olPySq