My Journey so far...

I’ve loved horses for as long as I can remember. As a young child I remember watching all the different horsey films, such as Black Beauty, National Velvet and in particular The Black Stallion. I remember dreaming about having a horse that truly wanted to be with me. One that would play with me and follow me anywhere. I dreamed of cantering around bareback and bridleless just like I’d seen in the movies and read in the books. Of course I knew this wasn’t really possible but dreamt of it all the same.....

I bought my first horse at the age of 20 and having little horse experience I chose a horse that was completely unsuitable for a beginner. I chose a young Arab gelding who was terrified of everything and who had only been very lightly started. I thought he was perfect! I loved his wildness and decided I was magically going to tame him and that he’d soon be following me around like the horses in the movies.

Well.... that dream lasted all of about 5 minutes as I started to realise I had my hands full. We spent about a year trying all the usual techniques and we did make some progress but he was still very spooky and panicky about lots of things and when I rode I could walk, trot (with the hand brake firmly on!) and flat out gallop. I longed to have a nice slow canter where I didn’t have my arms ripped out of their sockets.

About a year after I had Phoenix, I was lucky in that my Aunt and Uncle took me along to see a Parelli Conference. I sat mesmerised for the whole two days! This was exactly what I’d been looking for and dreaming of and I never knew it existed. I learnt that Parelli had a program you could follow to learn to become a great horseman. I loved watching Pat and Linda and learnt so much my head was bursting, but the thing that struck me the most were the instructors. They were normal people like myself who had learnt through the Parelli program how to have amazing relationships with their horses and I remember thinking "if they can do it, then so can I!!!" That was it, I was hooked.

I started following the program from that conference in Oct 2002 and things between me and my horse changed dramatically. He became so much more confident with everything and I learnt how to be a good leader for him and how to communicate and build a language with him. Half way through my level 3 I was actually able to live my dream and canter bareback and bridleless along the beach and still be in control!. This was something I had never believed possible with any horse let alone my crazy, impulsive Arab. I passed level 3 in April 2006 and from there went to progress my learning at the US Parelli Centres. I attended a six week course in Florida and 12 weeks in Colorado during 2006. I then spent another 3 weeks in Florida in early 2007 before joining the Parelli UK team at Stoneleigh Park as part of the UK Faculty for a year in Sept 2007. I received my 3 star Instructor rating in April 2008 and continue to train and teach regularly at the Parelli Centres.

I am now a freelance instructor teaching all over the UK and I’m loving every minute!