The Road To Becoming A Horseman

The connection between a person and a horse is not only physical, but mental and emotional. The path to harmony is NOT EASY, and it requires considerable personal investment, with moments of deep satisfaction (thank goodness) but also times of profound frustration. Rest assured that determination, perseverance, and willingness to listen and learn will always bring success towards becoming a better horseman. As we progress down the road on our journey the way we perceive horsemanship often changes. For me it no longer appears as a discipline, but rather a way of living and being with the horses by adapting myself to how they learn, act, and react.

For the past four years I have had the privilege of working with a group of women who are dedicated to becoming the kind of horsewoman their horse needs them to be. Six years ago I officially started Heart in Your Hand Horsemanship LLC. However four years ago the idea of the horsemanship camps at my cousin’s beautiful guest ranch was born. There were 12 women at that first camp to let me give it a try. I planned and re-planned over and over all the details, until I had completely over-planned. But even so the results were fantastic and it was a huge success.

Since then I have lost count as to how many people and camps I have had. Each one has been different because of the different needs presented by both horses and riders. One thing is for sure they are never boring, you will be tired, you will be fed well, you will have fun, you will have challenges, and most of all you will go away changed from the experience. You won't solve all your problems in four days but you will make significant advancement and you will be one turn closer down the road toward your destination of becoming the kind of horseman you desire.

People who have come to my camps range from people who live in the city and don’t even own a horse, to people who show successfully, to working ranchers, to others with extreme fears, to those somewhere in the middle. They have been from 8 years old to 72 years young, both genders, and with a wide variety of experiences both positive and negative. No matter how vast the differences in skills are or how unlike their goals are, everyone who has come to our camps have a common bond which is a love of horses and wanting to be the best horseman they can be by gaining more savvy.

With this original core group of horsewomen who come back annually in October I have tried to make each year a little different and keep new information coming as they grew and changed. It has been a lot of work but worth it, as I have seen the development of each horse and person throughout the 4 years.

This year we had the worst weather we have ever had. However, we are fortunate enough to have an indoor arena, so it wasn't so bad after all. Even with the rain we do not have to fight mud because the sand seems to suck the moisture right away, so we do not have to worry about bad footing. I enjoyed the rain as Leigh Cheryl and I rode many miles on that last afternoon together.
The private lessons on Mon. were the crowning glory. Each person really got something they needed with their horse and some made very significant milestone changes that final day, which brought tears of joy. In fact, for those of you who have been to my camps you know that tears of joy and tears of frustration are nearly always a part of the process of change.

On the final classroom session at the camps I usually do what I call nuggets of knowledge where we list the things we have learned over the past four days. However this year I did a recap of the road we have traveled these last four years towards becoming better horsemen. I think it is a pretty good road map for anyone to follow towards becoming a good horseman.

The first year was all about CONFIDENCE: for both the horse and the rider. The theme was Finding Wings So Your Dreams Could Fly. I chose Women’s Confident Camp because while doing a demo at the NE Horse Expo it seemed everyone who came to talk with me afterwards told me how they lacked confidence like they saw in me with my special horse Cisco during our routine to music. At that first camp we focused on the ground games, simulations, and lectures which helped build the rider’s confidence. Without CONFIDENCE, it is pretty hard to be an effective leader or communicator with any kind of horse. Lack of confidence usually causes one of two things either the horse becomes more scared and lacks trust in you to do the right thing, or he becomes even more pushy and lacks respect in your ability to get him to do the right thing.

The Second Year we focused on the EMOTIONAL ELEMENT for both the horse and human. We studied the horsenalities. We accessed each horse’s emotionalcharacteristics and behaviors. We learned how to read a horse, how they learn and react. Then we learned some strategies about how to handle those emotional reactions a horse can throw at us. While we studied the emotional elements it wasn’t a surprise that we were all very emotional, in fact there were a lot of tears of frustration that year. The Theme was "The Journey Continues".

The Third Year we focused on thinking and having a plan. The MENTAL FITNESS wasstressed for both the rider and the horse. We set up patterns and puzzles for thehorse to solve. We talked a lot more about feel and how to develop it. Each person was given a check list of tasks to perform in order to access where they were in their horsemanship journey. By checking off the tasks we could and couldn't do with our horses we had a better picture of where we were on this road to becoming a horseman. We caused the people to think about where they have come from, where they are, where they want to go, and how to getthere. The theme was "Are We There Yet?"

This year we focused on developing the PHYSICAL in both the horse and rider. We stressed life up/life down, postures, conformation, etc. We accessed individual horses their willingness, calmness, attentiveness, conformation, abilities, and physical movements. We tried to apply the feel we have developed in ways to change the horses body and movements, towards relaxation, energy, and balance to set them up for collection.The Theme was "This is Your Time!" We demonstrated our steps forward by a shortperformance to music in a celebration of what we have accomplished the past four years. This really stretched some of us way out of our comfort zone. Another important element on the road to becoming a horseman. If you always play in your comfort zone pretty soon your playing field will start to shrink instead of grow.

As a result of the study of CONFIDENCE, EMOTIONAL, MENTAL, AND PHYSICAL FITNESS, necessary for horsemanship these dedicated women have all become better horsewomen. Through this evolution they have developed different goals. Even though they have all progressed at very different speeds and levels depending on how much time and effort they have had to put into the journey they always support and encourage one another because of their common bond of a love for horses and to be the best they can be for their horse.

It has been a pleasure being a part of their journey, and I look forward to what might happen next year. It will take some creativity to develop a new program for next year, but I’m sure we’ll come up with something that will be meaningful and applicable to the next turn on our road to becoming horsewomen.Horsemanship is an art form that to me takes a lifetime to really come into, because it is a way of life that involves change, constant assessment and adjustments to fit each horse. I’m not sure I will ever arrive at my final destination as a horseman, but I do know this that despite the hardships of change and learning, I’m having a heck of a good time riding down the road to becoming a horseman, and I know these women are too!

CONGRATS TO EACH OF YOU WHO IS RIDING DOWN THIS ROAD TO BECOMING A BETTER HORSEMAN!
IT IS EXCITING AND VERY REWARDING WHEN WE FEEL THAT RIDE THAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF!
Happy Trails,
Sherry
"A little learning is a dangerous thing but a lot of ignorance is just as bad." -- Bob Edwards F