Connected Horsemanship:
Clicking Forward!
Annie’s Bio:
I've loved horses my entire life!
At six years old I started taking horseback riding lessons. My riding instructor gave me increasingly difficult horses to ride. By the time I was twelve, she was letting me ride her new horses in training, including working with her most difficult horses, and said I should consider training horses for a career. Then, as now, I’ve repeatedly found horses are the best teachers!
As a young adult, I volunteered to work at multiple horse stables. When I was 25 years old I got my first horses, Mystical & Madison (Maddy). Six months later I was boarding horses on our farm and giving riding and horsemanship lessons. I was into horses for the relationships and connection and so looked for the gentlest way possible to work with them. At the time, R+ horse training was pretty much unheard of so I took a particular interest in Natural Horsemanship with influences like Monty Roberts, Pat and Linda Parelli, Carol Coppinger, Sharon Wilsie, and Karen Rohlf. I studied and taught Natural Horsemanship for decades, gradually shifting my training over to Positive Reinforcement.
I worked at a Florida horse rescue for a couple of years helping to prepare horses who were physically rehabilitated for adoption, mentally and emotionally rehabilitating them. I took horses with backgrounds of abuse and neglect and helped them learn to trust people, have safe ground manners, and start some under saddle.
In 2021 I acquired a wonderful equine partner, Sir Francis. He has inspired and encouraged me to start a new journey. Together we are exploring Positive Reinforcement training in place of Natural Horsemanship. I had been including R+ methods in my training for years but had not made the switch (click forward) to pure R+ until 2023. It feels right and I’m excited by the results we’re getting and looking forward to helping others achieve these results. Consequently, the name change to Connected Horsemanship: Clicking Forward. Clicker training is often used synonymously with R+/Positive Reinforcement training. So, “Clicking” is a pun. One of my favorite modern-day theologians often says that we can’t get from where we are to where we’re heading in one step, so we click forward - meaning we take one step in the right direction or one click forward. I always loved that and try to use that in my teaching. I can’t bring most students or horses to the end result in one lesson, but I can get them a little closer to their goal - put them in the right direction. It’s about meeting people and horses where they are today and helping them learn and progress together- you do the best you know until you know better.
I love teaching horsemanship and giving riding lessons. I love helping people and horses along their horsemanship journeys. I find joy watching people create deeper understanding and connection with their horses, and empowering people to reach their horsemanship goals. I no longer be taking horses to train or ride for clients. I will continue to instruct horsemanship and work with you to reach your horsemanship goals.
