Granddaddy’s
draft horse patiently waited while the crew stacked the sled with the tobacco
crop. My early childhood memories of sitting on that horse, who kindly moved up
the steep hillside from my encouragement, fostered a life long love for horses.
Whether riding those draft horses bareback as a child in the North Carolina
mountains or riding Western on mountain trails in the Cascades as a young man,
my appreciation continued to grow for horses, their athletic abilities and their
amazing willingness to bond.
Fast action riding as an amateur steer wrestler (which could be defined as "the 'art' of diving off a perfectly good horse at 30mph onto a cow with horns") and high country riding with seasoned packers from the Back Country Horsemen of Washington have given me a natural background for developing riding skills aimed toward maximizing a horse's performance.
I took my Level I Instructor Course from Sally Haney in the spring of 2002. Teaching horseback riding using Centered Riding® Techniques is appealing to me because it combines my interests in horseback riding and training, yoga and the body mechanics of weight lifting with the fun and encouraging style of coaching downhill skiing and "dry land training" in which I have instructed my local Special Olympics ski team for over ten years.