Steven & Moonie
Maj & Corey
Nell & Bailey
Nancy & Rosie
Dianne & Emma
Steven & Moonie
Maj & Corey
Nell & Bailey
Nancy & Rosie
Val, April, Cricket, and Apache
January 2008
Val: "I had this idea, horses were supposed to be beautiful, graceful creatures. The experience of horsemanship was supposed to harmonious, joyous, and fulfilling. The time I spent as a teenager with the various horses I owned, had been, to me, dissonant and frustrating. I would feel I finally reached a higher level of communication after weeks of intensive training only to have my horse, run away from me, throw me, or bite me. I thought, as most teenagers do, if I only had a better horse, a nicer arena, a new saddle. Just before I turned twenty years old, and I sold my last remaining horse. It had been months since I had ridden. I had neglected him. Sometimes I didn’t even feed him. I had given up.
When April, my partner, was young, her favorite toy was a stage coach, with the big blonde Belgians pulling them along. Truly, all she ever wanted was a horse, but, when money was tight, and all your family could afford was a little rented house in the city, she never got one.
Two years after moving to Bastrop, I still couldn’t figure out why I was here. I had left my friends and my trendy, active life in downtown Austin. We had bought a nice little house, with a big backyard, but I just didn’t feel like I had come here with a purpose. I did however like our neighbors, especially the lady on the corner. She had a few horses she kept in a field by the railroad tracks. In a conversation one day, while passing by, I told her briefly of my horse experience and she said that they could really use some handling and I was welcome to ride or work with them anytime I wanted. I wasn’t particularly interested in getting back into horse work but I thought it might be beneficial to both the horses and me.
With just a few trips out to the pasture, April and I had come to find that all of my neighbor ladies horses were quite sociable, and well mannered, except for one, big blonde filly named Cricket. Usually as we would enter the pasture gate the two geldings and an older mare would come to greet us, if Cricket made the effort at all, she would approach stiff, head held high, and snort at our hand, then she’d run away. When the time came for routine worming, or vaccinations, catching Cricket was an ordeal that would last several hours. Our neighbor told us Cricket would destroy things; she stomped in the water tanks, pushed over fences and, would drag various objects, like the water hose, around the pasture. I didn’t like her, she was pushy, high strung, and just plain dangerous. I was annoyed, disgusted, “what a stupid horse”, I thought. April, however, was enthralled.
One July afternoon, while I was away, our neighbor told April that Cricket was for sale. April without hesitation bought Cricket and soon she was snorting and running around our own backyard destroying things. My nightmare of poor communication with horses was beginning all over again. I didn’t want to work with her, I didn’t want to try to fix her, and I didn’t want to be disappointed with horses anymore.
April was persistent, she said she loved her, Cricket was her baby and she loved her, faults and all. After months of watching Cricket grow fat, bored, and now attempting to jump our five foot fences, we decided we needed help. April was still stuck on her childhood dreams of a horse drawn carriage, so we called all the numbers we could find for horse trainers who also trained horses to drive.
What I think is so ironic is that April was so determined to make everyone believe that Cricket could be a good horse, that when she finally found someone who saw the same thing in Cricket, she was intimidated. The first three times we went to Balance Point, April did not want to go back. She had finally realized that you have to be open and direct to truly communicate with a horse.
The emotional baggage that April carried within, was the same that Cricket was keeping with her. She wanted to help Cricket because she wanted to help herself. She saw herself in Cricket, and when the time came to face those challenges she was just as resistant as her equine friend. While April struggled to let go of her fears, I felt I was finally learning how to focus, and control my energy, in a way that horses understood what I was telling them. I could finally see what I had been missing all this time, and that it was possible for me to learn to work harmoniously with horses.
The training lessons became like therapy sessions for April and I, and eventually we had gained enough skill to work Cricket and begin to undo all the negativity that she had experienced in her short life. Lessons with Cricket were often frustrating and monotonous: one step forward, two steps back. There were many times that we left the barn and drove home in tears. Fortunately Rachel had enough insight to realize that we needed a horse that we could learn from, who wasn’t in need of so much “therapy“. Cricket was so sensitive, that even minor mistakes, on our part, turned her world upside down. We needed the opportunity to learn from a horse that had some positive experiences, and a good basis of training. In all truth Cricket was too much horse for our level of experience and while Rachel tried many times to get us to sell Cricket, April wouldn’t budge.
I was still resistant to fully committing to a life of horsemanship, until I met Apache, a short, fat, stocky little paint draft cross. Rachel used him as our lesson horse several times. He was so kind, and so forgiving. Rachel told us he was for sale, and thought he would be a good match for us. I knew that if I bought Apache, that was it, I would have to finally face the mistakes I hade made in the past, and re-learn how to do things the right way. I wasn’t willing to give up again, and I bought him.
What I have learned in the short time I have trained with Rachel has not only given me the chance to finally experience the fulfillment I had been missing all this time, but it has changed my whole outlook on life. Watching April and Cricket grow and learn together has been the most rewarding thing I have ever experienced. I have been able to find the joy, trust, and most importantly the respect for horses, that I knew was there all along, but could never achieve. I know now why I’m here. Not in Bastrop, but here. It’s to do this."
Nancy and Rosie
September 2007
"Rosie, my 6 year old haflinger, and I finished our first driving competition at the Plum Creek Swap Drive. This was quite an accomplishment for us since just a few months ago Rosie had a habit of bolting whenever she encountered “monsters” and whenever she felt that she didn’t really want to listen to me. Needless to say, my confidence fell to the floor.
When I began working with Rachel this summer, I was uncertain if I should even keep Rosie – our first 6 months together hadn’t seemed like much of a honeymoon. Rachel suggested that we work through the problems and then decide if Rosie was going to be a good match for me.
Our first few lessons were spent on groundwork; we worked on keeping Rosie’s attention at all times and getting her to release her anxiety. Rachel determined that Rosie was a very willing and sensitive mare, but there were some large holes in her training that made Rosie uncertain of her role, and resistant to human direction.
After months of work on the ground and in the carriage, I am so very pleased to say that Rosie is listening and becoming more responsive everyday. Rosie is turning into a great driving horse!
I am also learning how to be calm when I am driving Rosie. I am working on keeping my contact soft and steady so Rosie knows where to go, but so I don’t get in her way. I think my training is taking a little longer than Rosie’s.
But Rachel is teaching me the skills to continue Rosie’s learning when I am on my own and my confidence is building in my handling of Rosie both at home and at an event. Rosie and I are definitely looking forward to our next driving event!"
Nell and Bailey
Sunday, May 15 2005 
"It took five weeks after having my son Jake, to physically be able to ride Bailey again. While I was pregnant I spent my time with Bailey doing in-hand work, teaching him to soften in the bridle at the halt, and strengthen his back doing shoulder-fore (I also found these same exercises useful in training my young horses).
When I finally rode Bailey, we were both in a better place MENTALLY- really understanding the priciples we had been working on."
Marjorie and Corey
Saturday, May 7 2005
"I was riding Corey at Silver Hill Stables in a clinic with Loma Fowler from Colorado. Loma was working with the two of us on really moving forward and keeping a rhythm that I had never been able to accomplish before. She concentrated on me keeping my head up, my chest raised and VERY strong stomach and back muscles engaged. And Corey got engaged too! In this picture we are leg yielding across the diagonal line. It was an awesome experience...Loma is so energizing and positive, she really makes me want to get out there and ride well and have fun too!" - Maj
Steven and Moonie
April 2005 
"As a carriage driver, but not a rider, I have had difficulty understanding how a horse must come from behind and stretch into the bit to become properly balanced. For the past month, I have put the carriage away and instead I have been practicing my connection through ground-driving. This has enabled me to clearly see the horse's movement and adjust my aides with each step.
Here, Moonraker's face is perfectly on the vertical and he is stretched forward allowing his back to come up thus making a beautiful top line. The picture is pretty, but I must say that the feeling of engagement with the horse is even more satisfying.
Working on the ground to get "shoulder-fore" action and "leg yields" is not only fun in itself, but will be extremely helpful when we get back into combined driving event (CDE) competition." - Steven
Dianne and Emma
"Emma Bey and I have been competing in Competitive Trail Rides, sanctioned under the North American Trail Riding Conference. We are in the Novice division. Our rides are 15 to 20 miles a day for 2 days. The rider is judged on our horsemanship (including ability to safely camp with our horse) and the horse is judged on her fitness and condition as well as her willingness to perform an obstacle (such as side pass a log or back between two trees or open and close a gate).
We started in 2002 and managed to place second in our division on our first ride! Since then we have always managed to be in the ribbons. More importantly, I have managed to take my dressage lessons and put them to good use. Emma Bey and I are not much for arena work. However, we have found many uses for our dressage lessons riding the trails in competition and in conditioning." - Dianne