Cowboy Dressage Freestyle and La Garrocha

At the 2013 Cowboy Dressage World Finals we were excited to see the Freestyle competition. Cowboy Dressage Freestyle allows maximum creativity while maintaining the principles of Soft Feel. Freestyle allows multiple horses, multiple riders, ground work and you can incorporate all manner of props in your exhibition. Your creativity is pretty much allowed to soar.

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Introducing Cowboy Dressage

The California sun shines on our heads, warming the brisk morning air. A cowgirl’s paradise spreads in front of us at Murieta Equestrian Center (http://murietaequestriancenter.com/). Four indoor arenas and thirteen outdoor arenas spread across the landscape and we head to the largest barn to begin our day. Entering the main indoor facility, we see the Cowboy Dressage court set up in the center, gleaming white rails, poles and markers set in a 20m x 60m rectangle. Smaller than a standard dressage court to fit the movement and stride of a western horse, the Cowboy Dressage court is also distinguished by the use of brands along with traditional letters for markers.

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Are You a 3-D Rider™?

At MM Training and Consulting, we strive to teach on three different levels (horse sense, equitation, and training). This teaching style is by no accident. Through my experience and observations, many riders are not well rounded in their horsemanship skills. For example some are very pretty riders but lack training skills and horse sense. Others are great trainers but lack proper equitation abilities. These observations are not meant to be condescending or come from the intent to hurt but are made with the intent to learn. And what I have learned is that it takes all three dimensions to be the best horseman we can be.

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MM Training Featured in Horse & Rider Magazine

MM Training and Consulting was recently featured in the February 2013 edition of Horse & Rider. The article is titled “How to Host a Horse Camp”, and Marcia was interviewed about how our camps are structured, what we teach during camp, and the experiences that campers can expect to have. We encourage you to contact us about creating your own customized camp for your family, work team, friends, or sports team. Options for camp focuses can include both horsemanship and relationship skills. Horsemanship skills may include ground training, equitation, training in the saddle, showing, gaming, English, trail, showmanship or a combination. Options for a relationship skills focus can include communication, connection, teamwork, building confidence, overcoming fear, learning self awareness, leadership, building relationships, and many more topics. Please see the summer horse camp article in Horse & Rider for additional ideas or contact us to discuss your camp. Make this summer a time to remember with a camp made just for you!

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Having High Expectations

I had the pleasure of being “introduced” to Katie Davis through listening to the Dave Ramsey show on the radio. Katie, a 23-year-old American, has been living and serving in Uganda since she was 18 years old. She first went to Uganda as a senior in high school for a week-long mission trip and in 2008 started a ministry there called Amazima (www.amazima.org). Today Amazima feeds, clothes, and educates thousands of Uganda orphans on a daily basis. In addition, Katie has become a foster mother to 13 young orphan girls. Katie is an amazing young woman, full of the Holy Spirit and dedicated to showing love to all those around her. Her passion, work ethic and persistence are a powerful example to all of us. But I believe the most important lesson to learn from Katie is the power of high expectations.

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