When
I was a young girl, I didn't just want to have a horse, I wanted to be
a horse. When I realized I was human (and couldn't change that) I
decided I would be a jockey. I started riding at age four, bareback in
the Santa Monica Mountains of California, with a wonderful, gorgeous,
barefoot amazon my parents found to teach me to ride. Her name was
Anitra...Then
I turned eight, and I was already too tall to make it as a race
jockey, so
I looked for something else I could do with horses besides just
trail-ride, and I fell in love with the idea of dancing with horses,
with Dressage. My experience as a student of Dressage was full of ups
and downs, and at about eleven I noticed the horses didn't seem to enjoy
the lessons as much as I did. In fact,
the worst part of the lesson was going out to catch the horses - they
would walk away, pin their ears, and turn their tails to me...I questioned the
instructors, and wasn't satisfied with the answers: "Crabby old mare;
that one will do anything to get out of work; careful, that one is a
kicker..!"
Something just didn't feel
right, and the feeling of wrongness stuck with me until I gave up
dressage lessons in my teenage years and just played with my horse and
went trail riding. In college, once I realized I wasn't going to stay
sane if I wasn't working with horses, I was required to enter a lesson
program again, at the University stable. The odd feeling returned - I
was riding, getting world-class instruction, "improving," but not
enjoying it as I once imagined I would. Lessons became work where I had
to deal with lazy horses, heavy horses, tired horses, mean horses, crazy
horses... my best ride was on a mare who had to be cross-tied to be
groomed and saddled, because she would literally try to kill you with
teeth and hooves if you approached her with tack and she was loose! There was something inherently wrong with that, and sadly it took me years to figure it out - she didn't like me, and she didn't like her life as a school horse! Wow.
As an Instructor, I started working with clients at a Therapeutic
Riding Stable in Northern California,where I volunteered for more than
eight years. After continuing my education with studies in dressage,
jumping, and eventing, I discovered Natural Horsemanship, which totally
changed the way I approach riding and horses in general.
I have had more fun in the years I have been practicing Natural
Horsemanship than I ever managed to in all my previous riding life and
equally important, my horses are relaxed and are having as much fun as i
am! I am excited to use my knowledge to help dressage riders and
enthusiasts develop lightness and relaxation in themselves and in the
horses.
-Alissa-
