Busy year full of horse activities!

What a great year 2019 has been so far! It has been jam packed full of horse activities and many other activities too! My family is involved in a lot of sports (hockey, gymnastics, dance, skiing, soccer, horses, and so much more), so we really keep busy... (perhaps a little too busy), but we have so much fun that I feel it's worth it.

My boys have taken more of an interest in riding this year, and did their first horse show, where they did very well. It has been so much fun watching them get more confident as riders and their horses have been wonderful teachers for them.

There have been many lessons happening at Vendela Villanueva Performance Horsemanship. Over the winter months I did a Horsemanship & Stable Management series. It was a hit with the kids as we packed a ton of useful information into these sessions. Unmounted work with horses is every bit as important as the mounted stuff we do with them, so there is great value in the learning this information. There were plenty of hands on horse activities and the kids learned all kinds of cool things that I wish I would have known myself earlier in my horsemanship journey. I was so happy with this series that I will definitely be doing more of them as my schedule allows. Hoping for a August of September session this year.

I've been teaching lessons on our wonderful lesson horse Razzle Dazzle and working with the 4-H kids with their horses. I have also had the great pleasure of starting to work with an amazing young woman and her horse, who I have known for a very long time (as the horse used to be my riding horse for many years). What fun it is to help her in her journey to understand how this horse thinks and show her some of the neat training that the horse has on her. It is always a mystery to unravel what exactly a horse knows as they are all trained a little differently and not all buttons mean the same thing to every horse. It is cool to be able to help these two become a united team. I can tell that this horse absolutely loves this little girl and I couldn't be more happy for them to be together as a family.

My daughter has started group lessons with her new friend. Once a week they ride together with their trainer and works on exercises together. It is a wonderful way to learn from each other and it is so much more fun for these teens to ride as a team rather than working alone. Also, much, much better for my daughter to take her lessons from someone other than her mother! That's not usually a good combination and seems to be a quick way to un-do any kids enjoyment of riding!

I have been continuing to advance my skills as I work regularly with Lillian Evaniew (top ten competitor and judge for the World Western Dressage show, among many other accomplishments). I have been super happy with how our dressage training with Lillian has been helping my horse carry herself better, get lighter, more responsive, straighter (therefore more comfortable), more relaxed, etc. It is like physiotherapy for the horse when done well and it is really for the horse that I am exploring and studying this art. I love to also let my horse go around western style on a loose rein too, but I have to say that because she has become more balanced (shifting more of her weight onto her hindquarters rather than her forehand as she builds her body differently over time as we practise dressage), her loose rein western style work has actually become so much better. I am very happy I decided to start concentrating more on this style of riding. I has been a wonderful addition to the training I already had on my horse. I actually thought my horse was pretty well trained before, but I have to say, that training is like peeling layers off an onion one at a time...I just keep learning more and more every year. Keeps it fun and exciting and I'm sure my horse appreciates it!

I've been expanding on my knowledge of ground training, long reining and ground driving. This is a whole art in itself, separate from riding. It is amazing preparation for riding, but also helps us see our horses foot movement, something that is impossible to do from the saddle. It is a very useful diagnostic tool and deepens our relationship with our horse.

I've been taking part in the Connection Training courses this year. I have found so many useful tools through this course work. I have to say, it has really opened my eyes to this training method and definitely has helped further develop my relationship with my horse and has deepened our training to another level. Her liberty work has been greatly enhanced through this work. I don't follow the method exclusively as I personally find that using pressure and release works very well as a way to help guide the horse but using the addition of the Connection Training to help re-enforce the teaching is very useful and really helps horses to understand what it is we are asking of them. It can really help to solidify a new idea when teaching to the horse or to help refine the teaching a bit (or a lot) more. I've been really happy to explore this method of training. both methods work on their own, but together, they really seem to be a little magical in the results the combination can achieve.

I participated in a barrel racing clinic with Chelsea Sanders a couple weeks ago. Honestly, that was an absolute hoot and I cannot express how much fun both my horse and myself had. My daughter joined me in that clinic along with some other local riders. I think we all very much enjoyed our day and we plan to meet regularly now to practise what we have learned.

This coming weekend, I will get to try team penning for the first time. Very much looking forward to this experience. My horse has pushed cows a total of one time in her life, so this should be an interesting experience. I am looking forward to learning how to team pen. I think it is so very important to mix things up and keep it interesting for our horses. It makes them more well rounded, keeps them mentally engaged and makes it fun for both ourselves and the horses we work with. Horses get bored and just check out mentally if we do the same thing day after day, so it's important to cross train and keep things fun!

I've also been studying Yvonne Barteau's coursework through her KYB Connected. She has lots of training in dressage, tricks, equine exhibitions, in-hand training, horse care, etc. She is a very inspirational trainer and has a wealth of knowledge to share. I've learned a lot from studying her work. She is part of the organisation called Horses Without Humans, that helps to rehabilitate horses who've run out of options and retrains them so they can find forever homes. So many times, horses end up at auction through no fault of their own (meaning their humans have let them down with improper or poor training, and the horses have become dangerous either from fear or dis-respect due to being spoiled). This organisation does good work and with a $20 donation to Horses Without Humans, you can view the documentary produced by Yvonne Barteau called "Into the Spotlight 2" . The movie is spectacular and well worth the $20.

In addition to all the above, I have also been studying the work of Glenn Stewart and Double Dan Horsemanship.

Yes, I spend a lot of time studying! Each method is a little different but they each have useful tools that I keep adding to my toolbox so that I can become a better horsewoman every year. This helps my horses and also helps give value to the lessons I teach to my own students. I am absolutely passionate about good horsemanship because it's for the good of the horse. Well trained horses with good manners and good body control are almost always going to have a home, and that's really important to me.

There will be some big changes coming to Vendela Villanueva Performance Horsemanship in the next couple of months. I can't make any official announcements quite yet, but I'm looking forward with anticipation to this new opportunity to expand my lesson program. Stay tuned!