Guides
Things riders ask me often enough that they're worth writing down properly. No sales pitch, and nothing you need to book a lesson to use.
These are the long-form ones. Shorter pieces, written as I go, are on the blog.
On your own horse
Why lessons on your own horse are worth it
What changes when you learn on the horse you actually ride, at the place you actually keep him.
Confidence
Getting your confidence back in the saddle
For riders who've had a fall, a fright, or a long time away, and are quietly wondering whether they've left it too late.
Progress
How to improve your riding, one percent at a time
Why small, well-managed gains beat waiting for a breakthrough, and what one percent actually looks like in a lesson.
Horsemanship
Learning to read your horse
He's telling you something on every ride. Most of what looks like a training problem is a conversation you haven't learned to hear yet.
The whole picture
Keeping a horse well in North Queensland
Feed, water, feet, skin and work are one system, not five jobs, and this climate tests every part of it.
Before your lesson
What to have ready before I arrive
A short, practical checklist for your first mobile lesson, so the hour goes on riding rather than on sorting things out.
Groundwork
Lunging your horse safely
Lunging looks like the simplest thing in the world until you are standing in the middle of it. Most of what goes wrong is position, not the horse.
Schooling at home
Pole work you can do at home
Four poles and a flat patch of ground will give you more useful schooling than most people get out of a full arena, if you know what each exercise is asking for.
Something here you'd like to work on?
Tell me about you and your horse, and we will start where you actually are.