Riding is not a linear process, but there is a way to learn in a systematic, step-by-step way. In the coming weeks, I will give you an insight in why I chose the order of topics I teach and how you can benefit from that.

Here is a story I heard from a mindset and motivation coach: one of his clients wanted to implement the habit of running every morning. The coach told him: “When you get up in the morning, put your running shoes on and take them off again without even leaving the house.”

The question “Why am I not riding?” has multiple levels to it. One of them can be hidden (or not so hidden) fear. It’s hard to enjoy what you are doing when you are afraid of it. There are also many aspects to fear.

I got asked this morning: “I keep finding excuses why I can’t ride. So I am not riding my horse much – though both of us are healthy and ready. Do you have any advice?”

Here is an end-of-year ritual that I do every year, and I thought you might find helpful too: Looking back at the not-so-good and the good moments of last year: Take a moment to sit down, close your eyes, and let the images of last year pop back into your mind.

Did you know that you are breathing 20-25,000 (!) times a day? Did you know that breathing is a movement skill? – Meaning good breathing improves posture, movement, coordination!

Finally, my Neuro-Rider mentor’s book has been translated into English! Yay! Here is an excerpt of the description of the book that captures how powerful these exercises are.

“Aristotle was wrong…” That’s how Scott McCredie begins the Prologue of his highly interesting book: Balance – In Search Of The Lost Sense

Have you heard your instructor say: “Breathe!”, or have you caught yourself holding your breath when riding? Quite counter-productive, isn’t it? You have probably stopped feeling yourself and your horse.

One of my clients is a pilot. When I introduced the concept of Soft Eyes for riding, she said: “As pilots, we do that all the time!” Soft eyes means using your peripheral vision as opposed to tunnel vision/staring.

What’s working and what’s not working for you in your relationship with your horse?

Look what I found at the grocery store: a wellness magazine called “Breathe” We all breathe. You wouldn’t be reading this, if you weren’t breathing, but when we make our breathing conscious, it has a huge impact not just on our wellbeing and mindfulness as this magazine suggests, but also on how we are moving – and riding!

I did an experiment this morning. I asked ChatGPT (an AI-powered language model): “Please write a paragraph on the importance of balance in horse riding.” Here is what it came up with:

A Simple Breathing Exercise To Use In The Saddle (Or On The Ground). Use this exercise when you need to calm yourself or your horse, and to let go of tension.

What’s working and what’s not working for you in your relationship with your horse?

“What’s working, what’s not working?” is a question I like to ask my clients before a lesson. And from time to time I ask myself this question, also concerning life in general. Now, while wandering this beautiful landscape, is such a time for me.

What’s working and what’s not working for you in your relationship with your horse?

In the Ask Me Anything About Horses Session today, we did a tongue (!) movement that can improve your balance and coordination. With age, balance deteriorates IF we don’t do anything about it. Are you wondering why you don’t feel as confident in the saddle anymore as you did when you were younger?

Here is a great way to get yourself “warmed up” for your ride. It will instantly improve your body awareness and therefore your riding.

Fear in horse riding is real, and it can take away from the joy and connection we want to experience with our horses. One of the concepts I find very useful in helping my clients to understand and overcome their fear, is the approach of two Australian neuroscientists: Dr. David Butler and Professor Lorimer Moseley*.

The Journey On Podcast Summit last year in San Antonio was an epic event. I felt so grateful and honored to share the stage with experts like Mark Rashid, Jim Masterson, Karen Rohlf, Dr. Steven Peters, and so many more amazing individuals.

The Journey On Summit was an epic event on many levels. Here is my personal experience as a presenter: I went with an open and curious mind. And as much as I was certain it would be an amazing event, I was also curious to see how it would unfold. There were 23 (!) 20-minute presentations planned for the three days, plus panel discussions. Would people get too exhausted to pay attention to all of the great content?

Greetings from Germany, where I am right now for another training in the Neuro-Rider system. The charts in the image below are part of this training. You probably think: “That looks like at the optometrist, and what does that have to do with horse riding?”
This is where it becomes really interesting: exercises like e.g. specific eye movements can improve your balance and coordination significantly. Balance and coordination are exactly what you need to feel safe in the saddle, and communicate subtly with your cues.

Are you a lifelong learner too? I definitely am. And I have always felt that I owe it to the horses to become the best version of myself and keep learning and improving.
How do we do that best though? There are so many opportunities out there… And I guess you have also spent money on (online) courses that you never completed.
Let me share some Tips and Tricks I learned as a participant and creator of online courses.

There are lots of Principles of Training that focus on the horse. I have put together The Intuitive Rider Principles Of Training to inspire you to understand what YOU can do as a rider to improve your riding and your relationship with your horse.

Last but definitely not least: the most important mentors have been my horses and the ones I have worked with throughout the years. Here is a story of a horse I met as a teenager who shaped who I have become.

Piano? You might wonder if you were reading that right. And yes, I consider my piano as one of my wonderful mentors. I got my first piano when I was nine. In the same year, I started riding horses. 🙂

When I first started riding as a kid, the instructor just yelled commands and corrections at us without ever explaining HOW we were actually supposed to do these things with our bodies. I so passionately wanted to become a good rider, but that felt very difficult to achieve without understanding the WHY and HOW.

Here are the mentors who inspired my love for the beautiful dance that dressage can be. And by dressage, I do not mean that you need a dressage saddle and polished tall boots. I mean dressage in the sense of connecting your body to your horse’s body, finding a subtle connection, and improving the rider’s and the horse’s balance step by step, so that the movements can become more complex.

Day #2 of honoring my mentors. Sally Swift has been one of the big influences in my life. Let me share with you what I learned from her. As the founder of Centered Riding®, Sally Swift has changed the way riders see their own role. It’s not about the horse not doing this or not doing that, it’s about what you need to do inside of yourself to be a rider that can help the horse move well and happily.

Having great mentors that help you learn and grow is such a great gift! I want to take this week to honor my mentors and share with you what inspired me when working with them, and the most important thing I learned from them.

Would you like to learn how to cue your horse so subtly, it feels like “just thinking it” and it happens?

You have heard me talk about the joy in riding, and how important it is to focus on the things that are already working. Well, what if it’s not going that great? What do you do with that information?

Self-Doubt is one of the big obstacles on our journey to become the horse person we want to be.
Here is an article I wrote for Equine Wellness.

Cate had a stressful day. She is still chatting with her friend in an emotional discussion about politics while dragging her horse to the mounting block. She feels stressed, and she knows she won’t have a lot of time to ride tonight. So, better hurry!

Here is a fun, short video on how to feel your seat bones. Enjoy!

Here is a short video for a first idea on how to feel your horse’s movement and get your timing right, so that you can become more efficient and subtle with your aids.

Do you know this one? You have just mounted, you are riding away from the mounting block, but you haven’t really decided where you are going. So your horse just wanders of until you realize that that’s not where you wanted to go.

One of my instructors once jokingly said: “I don’t know what you are complaining about: You just have to focus on 100 things at the same time…”
Well, he is right, isn’t he? But there is a way to make it a bit easier:

Check out this 2-minute video with a great exercise to help you stay straight and balanced in turns. Enjoy!

Three weeks ago I told you about the lungeing and in-hand clinic I attended in Germany. It was all about getting the horses straight and into self-carriage through lungeing and in-hand work. TODAY I have a really cool riding exercise for you on this topic!

Greetings from Germany.
I am the student this weekend. I am deepening my knowledge of a work that I have studied and practiced for 20 years but as always, there is always more to learn. 🙂

Greetings from Denmark where I will be working with these cute Icelandic horses. I will be traveling through Europe in the coming weeks, and thought you might be interested in my insight from this trip. 🙂

Have you ever struggled with finding the right balance between relaxation and positive tension? It’s easy to get tense in the saddle but you can also be too relaxed.