The Mindful Dressage Rider

07/11/2026

Did you know you don't have to be near Madison Wisconsin to work with me?

Virtual lessons have become one of my favorite ways to connect with horse and rider pairs who are looking for a fresh perspective — no matter where you are in the world.

Every virtual session looks a little different depending on what you and your horse need. Sometimes, we are live in the arena with you and your horse, coaching just like a regular lesson in my barn, but over the phone. Other times it is helpful to go over postural development and goal setting. For assessment virtual sessions, Ill have you send in postural photos ahead of time, and then we can sit down and really dissect what we are seeing, connecting the dots, and build a game plan to support your horse moving forward.

If you have a horse you want to check in with their development, a training problem you keep hitting a wall with, or you are just looking for another set of eyes from a different perspective — this might be what you and your horse are looking for.

Sessions are designed around what you and your horse actually need.
Contact me at [email protected] to see if this would be a fit for you and your horse. 🤍

07/02/2026

We are opening up some space in our program this summer and looking for the right horses and people to join our barn family.

I am an FEI dressage trainer based out of Verona, Wisconsin, developing horses and riders from the ground up through the levels. If you are looking for a program rooted in strong foundational work — both in hand and under saddle — and classical dressage principles, we may be exactly what you are looking for.

We believe that if you take the time it takes, it takes less time. We believe that what happens outside the sandbox is just as important as what happens in it. We take a whole horse approach here — with a team of professionals around each horse to make sure that the care, the environment, and the development are all working together.

Full training and partial training available at our home base, Indigo Trails Farm. Virtual lessons available for those of you who aren't local but would like support.

If you are in the Madison, WI area and looking for a program that is intentional about your horse's development from the ground up — I would love to connect and see if we are a good fit. Drop a comment or send me a DM. 🤍

05/10/2026

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03/04/2026

If you haven’t thanked your farrier recently, here’s your friendly reminder to do so.

Yesterday, I finally picked up a rasp that had been sitting there staring at me for quite some time. I’ve picked it up a few times before… Each time I’d hold it for a moment, think about what I was about to do, and then chicken out and put it back.

Over the past few years, I’ve invested more into learning more about the hoof — proper balance, how it affects the horse’s posture and proprioception, and how it either supports or hinders the horse’s ability to integrate into their body. That knowledge has allowed me to better advocate for horses, both within my program and outside of it, and recognize when something in the hoof might be contributing to larger physical challenges at a broad, basic level. Basically, I usually know when to call the professionals in!😆

In some cases, simply bringing awareness to that piece of the puzzle has made a meaningful difference for the horse. For that, I’m incredibly grateful for the people who have shared their knowledge and helped me deepen my understanding of the whole horse.

But with that knowledge also comes a deeper respect for the responsibility.

When you’ve seen firsthand how something as small as three simple passes with a rasp can change how a horse stands or moves, it’s hard not to feel the weight of that when the tool is in your hand.

I felt that responsibility yesterday.

Thankfully, I’m lucky to have an incredibly supportive farrier, Kendra Skorstad (Skorstad Farrier Service) , who encouraged me to explore this — and who is here often enough to fix anything if I really messed it up. Knowing that gave me the confidence to finally give it a try. 🙏

And let me tell you… I have a whole new level of respect for Kendra, and farriers in general.

The knowledge, the feel, the responsibility you carry every single day is no small thing. You truly are a blessing.

I’m grateful to be learning — and also being reminded that sometimes growth requires being willing to be new at something again. To respect the responsibility that comes with it, while still having the courage to try. Because understanding something intellectually is one thing… applying it is a whole different experience.

🖤 Picture is a moment in time in a cooperative care session with Ringo 🖤

03/03/2026

Love this post so much! It feels very validating to the work that I get to do with horses 🙏

“Horses regularly trained with ground work are more relaxed when ridden”

A recent study of dressage horses in Germany that looked at rein length and tension revealed a surprising finding: horses who were regularly trained in ground work/in-hand work had lower heart rates during ridden work than all of the other participating horses. This wasn’t what the researchers were investigating, but it was clear in the results. From this, the researchers concluded that, “Perhaps horses trained in ground work had more trust in their rider.”

So why would it be true that horses who regularly learn via ground work/in-hand work are more relaxed? There are a few possibilities.

1) Horses trained regularly with ground work are more relaxed because their trainers are more relaxed. It’s possible that humans who take the time to teach their horses from the ground are less goal oriented and more concerned with the process. They may be more relaxed in general and foster this same relaxation in their horses. As you are, so is your horse.

2) Horses trained regularly with ground work have trainers who are more educated about a horse’s balance.

Their horses learn to move in correct balance which allows them to be healthy and sound in their bodies and, therefore, more relaxed. Physical balance is emotional balance.

3) Horses trained regularly with ground work understand the trainer’s criteria better. They have mastered the response to an aid before the rider mounts and know the “right answer” already once under saddle. They don’t experience any conflict when the rider asks for a behavior because the neural pathway has already been installed. They are more relaxed about being ridden because it rarely has caused confusion for them.

For us highly visual humans I think that ground work is often a better way to begin exercises because we are much better at seeing our horse doing the right thing than feeling it from the saddle. Often, my feel in the saddle is enhanced by the fact that I have watched my horse perform an exercise over and over in our in-hand work. It feels how it looks. In-hand work is also a good way to teach our horses because our own bodies are often more in balance when we are walking beside our horses. With the ground under our feet we are able to be more relaxed if something goes wrong and less likely to be so busy wrapped up in our own balance that we give our horses conflicting or confusing aids. It’s a good place to figure things out. I am a huge fan of in-hand work.

I’m glad to learn research revealed ground work is good for horses. Horses with a low heart rate are relaxed and relaxed horses perform better and live longer. In this day and age of people starting horses under saddle in under an hour and increasing monetary rewards for the “young horse dressage program“, everything seems to be done in a hurry. The entire horse culture seems to privilege “getting up there and riding your horse”. But as one of my favorite writers and accomplished horsewoman, Teresa Tsimmu Martino writes, “In today’s horse culture there are clinics that brag about starting a c**t in a day, as if the quickness of it was the miracle. But old horse people know it takes years to create art. Horses as great masterpieces are not created in a day. An artist does not need to rush.” We need more scientific studies like this one to encourage us to slow down and take our time with our horses.

So why were the horses in the study more relaxed? Likely it was a combination of all three factors – a relaxed trainer, better overall balance and clear understanding of criteria.

These are things that matter to your horse, and yes, will allow him to trust you when you ride. Take some time to slow down and work from the ground, learn a bit more about equine balance and teach new things in-hand before asking for them under saddle. You can take your riding to a whole new level and help your horse become more healthy and relaxed in the process.” - by Jen of Spellbound Horses

03/02/2026

02/24/2026

These moments are the most precious. 🥹

I say this all the time: the majority of your relationship with your horse — and the foundation of their health — happens outside of the arena.

We pour so much time, energy, and resources into what happens in the arena… but the basics that make everything possible are built in the in-between.

In the care program.
In the living environment.
In the energy and community of the barn.
In the nervous system — for both horse and human.

It’s all the little factors that create a space where a being can feel safe, seen, and heard. Where needs don’t go unnoticed.

Sometimes we’re so focused on solving, analyzing, correcting, improving — that when something does soften, even slightly, we forget to stop and experience it.

My sweet Ringo baby — soaking up these soft moments together. He’s given so much over the years. It’s long overdue to create space for him to live in a gentler, more regulated place… and to hold that for him. 🤍