I was always 'horsemad'. As a little girl, my bedroom walls were adorned with horsey pics and I had every horse ornament I could find. My favourite books were the 'Black Stallion' series by Walter Farley. I would dream of having that special relationship with a black stallion, of riding bareback and bridle-less across the beach. When I was 12 I got my first pony, and I pretended she was the black stallion, jumping onto her back while she was sleeping, and holding on tight as she would leap up and gallop around. I started going to pony club, and they made me realise that what I did with her was very dangerous, that you should never ride unless theres a bit in the mouth, and a noseband holding their mouth shut. I went on to compete at showjumping and eventing, winning many competitions. I taught at Pony Club, and also private eventing coaching. I worked race-horses before school, and my own horse after school. Eventually I left school to work full time in the race horse industry. I got a name of being able to ride the really bad horses, as I could stick on them really well. I was involved in the breaking and training of the babies as well as riding trackwork and barriers. I first saw Pat Parelli in 1992, and it was the biggest eye-opener I have ever had. Here was a man not only telling me that my childhood dream could be a reality, but he also told me how to do it. Everything he told me made perfect sense. I embraced his program and began the difficult task of not only learning new ideas and techniques but also having to break all of my old beliefs and habits. It was very challenging in so many ways, but I hung in as best I could. In November 1996 I was accepted into the instructor program, and then I had to learn how to teach people naturally, as well as horses. This was also very different to how I had been teaching. It is fantastic to be able to combine my love of horses with my enjoyment of meeting people, and sharing a program that I am passionate about. The journey of Parelli Natural Horsemanship has been an incredible, life-changing experience for me, as it has been for many other people. I feel both privileged, and humble, that I can be instrumental in helping so many other students achieve their dreams and goals with their horses using this unique program.
