Some people don’t like gray horses. Some people don’t like chestnut horses. There are even a few that don’t like us shiny black horses. Some like the quiet temperament of a quarter horse over the fiery temperament of an Arabian. Some like the excitement of riding an exuberant Trakehner better than the slower paced energy of the Friesian.
Everyone has an opinion. EVERYONE. Even your dog and your horse. So, if your goal is to please everyone, you’re setting yourself up to be very disappointed. It’s simply not possible. Each of us has a different background, a different set of values, and a different way of looking at the world. We each have our own unique “lens” through which we view and interpret what goes on around us. We all gravitate toward the folks that are more like us than different from us, but even those people you feel the most compatible with will have different perceptions and interpretations of their experiences.
So, what should you do about this? What I do is… nothing. The only work I need to do is internal, on my own acceptance of the fact that everyone is going to see things a bit differently. I generally don’t try to change anyone’s opinion unless they ask. I do my best to just let my friends and family be who they are, and allow myself to be true to who I am. For the most part, I am willing to simply agree to disagree.
Linda Parelli, Pat Parelli, Anabel Balkenhol, and Klaus Balkenhol at Equitana in Germany. (Photo courtesy of Parelli Natural Horsemanship)
Ocala, FL (April 6, 2011) – Pat and Linda Parelli, founders of Parelli Natural Horsemanship, are in the midst of a European tour that is drawing the attention of dressage stars, sell-out crowds and die-hard Parelli enthusiasts from around the world. The Parellis recently wrapped up several days at Equitana in Germany and will now head to the Parelli Celebration at the LG Arena in Birmingham, U.K., April 9-10.
“During Equitana I had the chance to meet with Olympic Gold Medalist Klaus Balkenhol and his daughter Anabel,” Linda Parelli said. “It was exciting to share our natural horsemanship training methods that utilize equine psychology, or what we coin Horsenality, with Klaus, who along with being an Olympic Gold Medalist in dressage was also the very successful former coach of the German and U.S. dressage teams. Not surprisingly the common sense communication techniques that help the horses and riders achieve success are universal at all levels.” Linda is scheduling the last few days of the April tour in Germany with the Balkenhols to share some behavior balancing natural horsemanship techniques with Anabel Balkenhol.
Linda added that the Balkenhols are not the only world-class dressage riders who have taken an interest in the Parelli Natural Horsemanship program and incorporated the system into their training. “After the Parelli Celebration in the U.K., I will head to France and then to Spain where I will again have the opportunity to train and exchange ideas with dressage great Luis Lucio,” she said. “I really appreciate the talent and dedication of competitive dressage riders and have seen so many dressage riders overcome behavior issues that impeded their success by being open minded and incorporating natural horse training into their training program. This trip I am looking forward to riding with Luis on his dressage horses and working on my dressage skills, too.”
My Northeast Florida Dressage Association (NFDA) club’s Dressage on the First Coast Spring 2011 show is coming up this weekend (April 9-10th) and boy has there been a flurry of work to do to get everything ready for it. Everything else has had to be put on hold, even getting my newsletter out before the end of March. My attempt to get it out the week before that was thwarted by a frustrating technical issue of my ESP not ‘talking’ to my ISP which took me 4 days to finally get resolved. Hence my March newsletter has become my Spring newsletter or a March/April newsletter.
My wonderful husband offered to do an advertisement for the show program as the EVP of HorsesintheSouth.com. We were trying to decide what he would say in the program ad as I already have an ad for HorsesintheSouth.com in it, so we decided that we would just thank all of our current clients, banner advertisers and affiliates. My graphic designer, Beth Webb, who also did the show program for us on a last minute notice just told me to write up some text and she would make an ad out of it. Well, 3-4 hours later, I came up with this huge text-heavy ad that feels like I am thanking everyone for an academy award or something, it is so long! I didn’t know where to stop, I am so lucky to have such wonderful clients and advertisers. And, these are just the current ones! So I figured this would also be a good editorial so that all of the HorsesintheSouth.com readers and AHorseBlog.com readers will see these accolades instead of it just being confined to a horse show program.
It reads like this, but the layout that Beth did is gorgeous, as is the show program that she did for the Dressage on the First Coast.
ALGGraphics.com – Flexo and Screen printer of specialty labels.
DogwoodSportHorses.com – Breeders of excellent bloodline European cross warmblood sport horses for sale; featuring the branded Westfalen, and approved RPSI breeding stallion, Freedom Hall.
DressageontheFirstCoast.com – The website for the twice yearly recognized show; started for the 2005 Region 3 Championships held at the Jacksonville Equestrian Center.
Feedin’ Time – Animal feed & supply store. See the store link on HorsesintheSouth.com/feedintime
FloridaMaritimeLawyers.com – Florida-based law firm which concentrates in trial litigation in the field of admiralty, cruise line and maritime law.
James “Shea” Walsh – HorsesintheSouth.com/sheawalsh; 1988 Olympian represented Ireland. Instruction and clinics locally and abroad.
KDEquine.com – Kathy Daly — Classical Dressage trainer, clinician. USEF “r” Dressage judge; my first website started in 1997. I wanted to give back to Kathy for all of the wonderful training she had and has done for me and my horses. We still get many “phone” training lessons and I used to get “Kitchen Table” lessons when she would stay with me when I lived in Jacksonville and she would get to my place too late for a lesson. One day I am going to write a book for her on these lessons, she is that good at explaining what to do!
Sundance Farm – HorsesintheSouth.com/sundancefarm; Featuring Swedish Warmblood, AWS approved stallion, Synchronicity; Lupe Guarderas, owner, competitor, trainer and Dressage judge.
SuncoastBedding.com – Premium ultra-compressed pine shavings animal bedding.
TripleKBarC.com – Preserving the “Last Chance” naturally-gaited, old-time Albert Dement foundation line of Tennessee Walking Horses. Dement mares for sale to selected breeding homes.
Current Banner Advertisers and Others that we Support:
CanterburyShowPlace.com – Central Florida’s nicest equestrian showplace with an indoor covered and lighted arena, and 3 outdoor rings, 5 show barns, clubhouse and more!
ClassicCompany.com – Show management that we support; production of multiple shows throughout the South.
FlashpointMediaServices.com and FlashPointPhotography.com – Robbie and Greg Meisel who we love and support, specialize in performance and event portrait photography, and press releases for Classic Company, LLC show management.
JaneHeart.com – Gorgeous equestrian and dog lines of jewelry including Secretariat™ and Barbaro™ licensed jewelry.
KAMAnimalServices.com – KAM’s Equine Learning Circle offers FREE webinars every month and we list weekly tips each Monday and support them with a banner link.
MahanFarm.com – 113 acre boarding, show and clinic facility in Tallahassee, FL. Summer camp held in conjunction with Feather Oaks Farm. Brett Barteld, Owner
NagHorseRanch.com – Home of the Nose Shade, formerly called Nag Nose Shade to stop sunburned horses’ muzzles.
NFHJA.com/ North Florida Hunter Jumper Association – We support them, especially during the Jacksonville Winter Series.
RavenwoodFarm.net – Ravenwood Farm Foundation non-profit rescue corporation
SouthernFarrier.com – Brett Barteld; 2nd Generation Farrier; 1990 Oklahoma Horseshoeing School -Certificate Graduate Professional Horseshoeing; Brotherhood of Working Farriers Association Certified; American Farrier’s Association Member
SunHorseTack.com – Fancy and custom-made horse halters and stuff!
USET.org/United States Equestrian Team Foundation – We support them with a non-profit banner advertisement.
And, we have too many blog contributors to list here, so please see the Contributor category on AHorseBlog.com as these keep growing every day.
Jerry and Teri also wish to thank Sheila Van Dusen, honorary EVP, for all of the assistance she has provided since our beginnings in 2000, plus Jason Ellerbee, for his assistance as our Associate Editor and analyst, Chris Dunn and Linda Bourdow for their accounting assistance, Rob Bowman for his amazing photography, Charles Bryant for his amazing programming work on our website and blog, and Beth Webb for her amazing graphic design skills and assistance. Without their help, we would not have been able to keep this monster of a website and blog, plus our client sites and advertisers functioning.
I’ve been dreaming of Vermont. Lots of trees, cool nights and warm days. Big fields for Indy and me to explore, and new videos to make with Jane and Rhett. I love Vermont. We’ll be heading that way soon.
I’m going to miss my friends here in Florida, but I know I’ll be back and so will they. Next fall, we’ll have new stories to share, and new goals to achieve. In the mean time, we’ll concentrate on the work at hand and know that all is well.
Change is not easy for most people and most horses. We all like predictability and security. But with change comes the opportunity for growth. When change happens, it forces us to flex our mental muscles and learn to adapt. It is a GOOD thing, even when it’s a bit uncomfortable.
You get more of whatever you think about. It’s true! Anything you give your attention to increases. That includes the bad stuff. This rule doesn’t have an opinion about “good” or “bad.” It just is.
You humans live in a “fix it” culture. You are trained to search for what’s wrong. That’s fine, if you’re looking for a stone in my hoof or a burr embedded in my saddle pad. But when you focus on what’s amiss with everything and everyone around you, you can really mess up your life.
The best example of this rule causing trouble is in relationships. It doesn’t matter if it is the relationship with your mate, your boss, your best friend, or your horse. If you spend more time looking for what’s wrong with that person/horse or the relationship you have together than you do looking for and appreciating what’s right, you will become out of sync with that person/horse until you will feel compelled to fight with her, or leave her. It’s a rule. It will happen!
ARCADIA, CA — HRTV (R) has treated equestrian fans to some of the sport’s greatest trainers and clinicians over the past year, and it will introduce another talented trainer, Trey Young, in his first television series ever — “Trey Young, An American Horseman” — to its viewers, beginning on Tuesday, March 8. The first in a series of Young’s valuable lessons will debut at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT. Shows highlighting Young’s expertise will continue on successive Tuesdays throughout March. An accomplished, relatively new face on the training scene, Young will be welcomed to HRTV from the family’s 3-Y Ranch in Crawfordville, FL, exhibiting a “natural horsemanship” style that encourages and fosters success for both the rider and horse. In the premiere weekly installment, viewers are introduced to Young as he begins training a precocious 2-year-old for its first-ever trail ride. In a later show, Young urges, but patiently guides, a 2-year-old through water on its first trail ride. In the weeks ahead, Young takes horses through an obstacle course, consisting of sinkholes, tunnels, and cowboy curtains. In addition, future episodes will feature Trey prepping a young equine protégé on the art of “Cutting.” “Team Roping” will also comprise a show, as Young and longtime friend, J. D. Elliott, demonstrate legal catches and conclude by “scoring a few steers.”
About HRTV
HRTV is a 24-hour, television-based multimedia network dedicated to horseracing which features racing action from the world’s greatest racetracks. HRTV also features other forms of equestrian competition, as well as original programming and award-winning documentaries covering a variety of racing and general equestrian topics. The live stream of HRTV is available on a subscription basis to high-speed Internet users worldwide at www.hrtvlive.com. The HRTV television network is presently available via cable, telco video and satellite in approximately 19 million U.S. homes. This is a new series starting Tuesday, produced and directed by an Ocala company. Brenden Martin and Jason Fugazy’s 26-part series on HRTV starts Tuesday night and features a real, authentic cowboy whose unique style of training has caught the attention of a national following.
The American Quarter Horse Journal – At its annual convention in Grapevine, Texas, the American Quarter Horse Association handed out its coveted all-around high-point awards in the youth, amateur and open divisions. Molli Lyn Jacobs and Radical McCue won the Featherlite AQHA Youth All-Around High-Point title; Lindsey Stevenson and RL Cocoas Version won the Featherlite AQHA All-Around Amateur title; and Four Bonnie Bay, owned by Mike St. Clair of Kahoka, Missouri, won the Featherlite Open All-Around High-Point title.
All-Around Youth
In 2010, Molli Lyn Jacobs rode her way into AQHA history books as the Featherlite AQHA Youth All-Around High-Point Champion with Radical McCue. They also collected youth high-point titles in showmanship and performance halter geldings, and finished third in trail, fourth in horsemanship and fifth in hunt seat equitation. Radical McCue is a 2000 bay gelding by Radical Rodder and out of Jetterri McCue by Tuff Joe Jet.
“He’s very athletic and very strong,” says Molli, a high school senior at Garaway High School in Sugarcreek, Ohio. “You could put him through anything, and he’s going to come out stronger than before.”
Beezie Madden and Cara Raether join us this week to discuss the importance of horsemanship to the future of the sport. Dr. Tania Cubitt on Omega 6 Fatty Acids and Ashlee Bond is in the co-host seat from Wellington so take a listen right here…
Brianne Goutal’s trainer Max Amaya joins us this week to share his thoughts on the partnership between rider and trainer. Plus Dr. Jenny Johnson introduces us to the Abnormalities of limb Flight. All that and more on this week’s show so take a listen right here…
The world is getting smaller. Of course that’s just a metaphor, but it’s very fitting. Jane has friends all over the world. When it’s snowing here in the USA, she has friends who remind her that it’s hot summer in Australia. It may be freezing in Canada, but it will be warm in Florida. Comparing weather is one of the easiest ways to measure just how far apart we are in miles or kilometers. But none of that really matters when you consider that we are just a thought or a click of the mouse away in ideas.
Ideas are more powerful than weapons, more powerful than armies, more powerful than the most entrenched dictator. It’s ideas that change the world, and ideas that change your life. Ideas inspire action, and that’s when the mountain really begins to move.
Without challenges we don’t have a lot of inspiration to come up with new ideas. That’s the gift to a problem or challenge. If you have no choice but to come up with a new idea, you will do so! I’m sure you’ve proven this to yourself many times.
If you have a challenge right now, have you made a list of ideas on how it can be handled? You’ll come up with even more ideas if you let someone join you in your brain storming. Find someone you trust and ask them to help you come up with ideas. Write them down, even if they are outrageous or seemingly impossible. Don’t judge or dismiss anything. You’ll probably find yourself laughing at the silly ideas, but just keep writing them down. Then, take just one of those ideas and figure out some action you can take right then toward that solution. Just one step…
