| y"> | | | | eventing at the highest levels. Their training |
| As a horse trainer rooted in classical dressage, | | | | program is based on a natural horsemanship |
| natural horsemanship, and modern competitive | | | | foundation, and its principles guide them to top |
| sports I sometimes feel like I'm looking at the | | | | level success. |
| world through bifocals. The horse community | | | | Not everyone wants to spend years developing |
| seems to be divided into two camps: those who | | | | communication and understanding with their |
| ride and compete in traditional equestrian sports, | | | | horses through groundwork only, just as not |
| and those who practice natural horsemanship. | | | | everyone aspires to ride in the Olympics. So how |
| Both harbor misinformed grudges for the other. | | | | do we define "winning?" I won when I rode up to |
| Many competitors feel the "lead 'em and feed | | | | collect the tri-color ribbon at my last show. I won |
| 'em" crowd wastes time and money on | | | | yesterday when, despite the howling wind and |
| name-brand gear and silly tricks instead of getting | | | | stampeding horses in the adjacent field, the young |
| to the nitty gritty of "gittin' it done!" Many natural | | | | saddlebred listened when I said "Whoa!"... though |
| horsemen feel competitors are bullies who do | | | | this was the third time in his life he carried a rider. |
| whatever it takes to force unwilling animals to | | | | I won this morning when the big mare with a |
| chase meaningless prizes. | | | | reputation for being a horrible loader walked |
| These sweeping generalizations fall far short of | | | | calmly into my horse trailer then just as calmly |
| the truth idealized by both camps. The principles | | | | backed off. |
| of natural horsemanship have been around since | | | | In each horse training situation, what was the |
| the dawn of the horse-human | | | | common denominator? It's clear to see how I |
| partnership-certainly since the birth of the written | | | | won, as humans set the goals. But how did the |
| word. In the first known written text of | | | | horses "win?" My horses remained calm and |
| horsemanship, Xenophon tells us:" what the horse | | | | responsive. Their safety was protected. They |
| does under compulsion, as Simon also observes, is | | | | learned and grew. Most importantly, the horses |
| done without understanding; and there is no | | | | maintained their dignity while I achieved my goal |
| beauty in it either, any more than if one should | | | | as a trainer. |
| whip and spur a dancer." Xenophon's "Art of | | | | Natural horsemanship is defined as a method of |
| Horsemanship" is considered the foundation text | | | | horsemanship based on working WITH the innate |
| for modern horse training methods, yet the | | | | nature of the horse. Competitive success is |
| principles also guide natural horse trainers. | | | | defined as winning an artifical game with |
| As a longtime three-day eventer, I see the finest | | | | manmade rules, generally in a fabricated |
| example of natural horsemanship in competitive | | | | environment. What better way to win the games |
| success in Karen and David O'Connor. This | | | | we choose than by nurturing the essense of |
| husband and wife team dominate international | | | | Horse innate in all our equine parners? |