If you haven’t read them, these two previous articles lead into this one:
The Beauty of a Horse’s Soul
Follow up to “The Beauty of a Horse’s Soul”
Hannah said: A year ago, I couldn’t even catch my horse.
It wasn’t for any lack of effort on my part—I had studied nearly every trainer I could find, tried dozens of methods, for days, weeks, months, years, and yet still my goal of bridleless dressage and transcendent connection with my horse was so far off that I almost felt like giving up. If I couldn’t even catch my horse, what business did I have searching for heaven on earth with my mare, Maia?
I knew it had to be something so simple it was profound, the sort of door in the wardrobe that would lead me to Narnia—I just had to find it.
And then I met Jenny Pearce—embarked on her program through the generosity of the Gold Star Scholarship—and began glimpsing the beauty of pure connection with horses that I’d only dreamed of.
As of today, I’m on Lesson 62 in Jenny’s online program, and the transformation is astounding.
Just last month (and pictured here), I finished my 10-day “bridleless experiment” where I rode Maia only bridleless (not even a neckrope or stick) for 10 days in a row to see if long-term bridleless was possible—and every day was better than the last. Just yesterday, Maia went trotting away from me after being ground tied, and far from her instantly becoming near uncatchable, I was instantly able to call her back to me without hesitation.
How did this happen? Jenny’s program gave me two incredible gifts. First, the lesson that pursuing joy, happiness, lightness, and comfort with horses at all times is good and is beautiful. So often we’re told to push through, to fight it out, that frustration and fear are normal with horses, and I didn’t want to live like that—that was not the horsemanship I longed for. In fact, I distinctly remember when Jenny said that if I felt even the slightest bit uncomfortable, I didn’t have to even enter the paddock—I didn’t even have to look at the paddock! I was so relieved that I began to cry; I had no idea how much tension I had built up about horses.
The second gift was enabling me to trust myself, to continue to study and learn always, of course, but to break down the boxes I’d kept myself in regarding what was “right” or “wrong” with horses. We’ve all heard them—the endless rules of do this, don’t do that, try this, but never, ever do that—and I was trying to remember so many rules in becoming a “Good Horse Trainer” that I was choking my own creativity and grace with horses. By teaching me to truly listen to myself, my comfort zone, and the understanding I already had and also that which was intuitive inside me, I was able to approach Maia as a living being, a friend, and a mystery to be explored, not a problem to be solved.
In the end, it wasn’t that Jenny’s wonderful program has taught me everything I need to know about horses, but instead, it has done something much greater: it has helped me to find for myself what I need to know. As I said before, I was looking for the door to Narnia—the element that would open me to the beautiful world I knew existed with horses—the peace, joy, lightness, success—and let me then explore my world with my horse.
And that is an incredible gift.
More about Hannah:
Like all of us who are not beginners, Hannah has worked with some other great and inspiring mentors and teachers, adding our work here to everything magnificent that she already was and knew.
Early in 2014, Hannah went off to work with the Defender Foundation – a faith based organization rescuing girls from human traffickers, with Maia in foal being looked after by a friend. I haven’t heard any updates of either of them since, but that makes sense, it’s not the kind of work that you broadcast. Join me if you will, on wishing her continued safety and much joy in her work.
Do you want the program that brought Hannah these stunning results?
The Fast Track to Brilliant Riding
This is beautiful and shows how achievable riding bridle-less is when you have the inner wisdom that then enables true connection.
It’s funny / not weird really that I’ve changed so much from when I first rode Bobby bridle-less, back when we knew each other so long ago Cynthia. Back then it was 100% his generosity and caretaker horse personality that made that possible – it makes me shake my head and laugh quietly to think that I took the credit of the techniques for that. Now we have a pathway for the kind of understanding between horse and person that makes it possible for anyone to achieve that kind of One-ness that Hannah describes so eloquently.