Strong Stable Seat

25/04/2026

Today, on Anzac Day, we honour all who served.

The men and women, horses, donkeys, camels, dogs, birds and others who all shared the burden of war. With gratitude and respect today and always.

Lest we forget.

23/04/2026

Dates yet to be released....
Katrina Park - Cadence Horse Training is holding a clinic here in November!!!
There will be extremely limited places - only 3 or 4 after I book my horses in🤭🤩 And yes, you can stay here with us for the clinic and fully immerse yourself in the learning and fun.
Watch this space!!

𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐁𝐔𝐓…

You’re probably working too hard.

That might look like,

You stop riding, your horse stops going
You let reins out, your horse runs forward
Your horse drops in, if you don’t hold the shoulders up

A horse who is balanced, strong and able to travel in self carriage is easy to ride.

Instead of driving, pushing, pulling and holding, your job becomes simply to set up, allow and encourage - AND enjoy!!

By actually teaching your horse how to carry themselves and how to regulate both body and mind it allows you to concentrate on yourself rather than constantly fixing, blocking and off balancing them.

If you want to work smarter not harder get to work on:

☑️ Self regulation, for calm confidence
☑️Modifying movement patterns, for symmetry and body awareness
☑️ A healthy balance of mobility and stability
☑️ Our balance and strength on and off the horse

Stay tuned and let me know if you’d like to get on the waitlist for one of my upcoming clinics by dropping a 🦄 in the comments, winter/spring schedule on the way!

19/04/2026

By this evening, I expect the logging at the back of our horse property will be finished, and the trees we’ve come to love will be gone. 🌳

It’s a sad day for us. We’ll deeply miss listening to the birds in the mornings as we feed out, the sound of the wind moving through the pines, and the shelter these trees provided for our horses and our property.

Change like this always takes time to settle. While today we grieve what’s been lost, we also look ahead with quiet hope. Waiting for the new growth, for the land to heal in its own way, and for the freshness to emerge as the season changes. 💚🐎

12/04/2026

'You don’t know what you don’t know'.

Yesterday we had a beautiful country drive to visit my good friend Kate from in Kenilworth.
I rode KITT, the equine simulator, already aware that I’ve developed a rotational pattern driven by my vision and limited eye movement.

But what I *didn’t* know completely… was how that was showing up in the saddle.

Until KITT and Kate pointed it out.

That rotation?
It was creating a grippy right calf.😱

I already knew where the issue stemmed from, but the new awareness allowed everything to shift.

Suddenly I could feel it.
I could tell exactly when I stopped gripping…
and KITT confirmed it too.

No guessing. No overthinking. Just clear, immediate feedback.

This is where equestrian biomechanics connects:

✅Understanding what’s happening in your body
✅ Recognising how it shows up in the saddle
✅Having a way to change it — both off and on the horse

Now I can develop a pathway to improvement, and track my progress
👉Off the horse targeted exercises to reprogramme body patterns
👉Off the horse assessments to measure improvements
👉On the horse awareness to stop reinforcing it
👉 On KITT a way to check, refine, and track progress

Because you can only change what you *know*. And change without tracking progress may not be really change.

Curious what you might be unaware of in your own riding?

Personalised rider biomechanics plans are coming very soon, with options to ride KITT the equine simulator.

Comment below or DM if you’d like to be one of the first to know.

08/04/2026

A great example why off horse rider assessment is so important.

05/04/2026

Our baby Giles is now a fast growing 5-month-old c**t but these pics portray him perfectly.

He's confident and friendly to the point of being extremely social. He's often the first one to whinny to us in the morning and will always come over for a scratch. Do not enter the paddock if you are scared of horses, as he will happily come over and introduce himself to anyone he hasn't met yet, he is not shy at all!

Mid-morning you'll find him stretched out asleep in the paddock with lovely old grandpa Rob standing watch as Polly is happily off grazing. Sometimes I think she forgets she has a child until he decides he needs a feed🤣🤣🤣

Looking forward to watching this young man grow and develop.

05/04/2026

Happy Easter!! I've been spending a little time heading out the back into the forestry on either Davey, or Dallas.

🐴Both chestnut OTTB's, both 16.1hh, a pretty similar view 👀...but each one is very different under saddle.

Can you tell who’s who — Davey or Dallas?

So proud of both of them for completely different reasons.

✅Dallas is really starting to find her confidence and a sense of calm out on the trails, taking everything in without tipping over that edge. It’s been a process, and seeing her settle like this feels like a big step forward. Next stage is to find our confidence in the dressage arena!

✅And then there’s Davey… two months off and straight back out on the trails like he never missed a beat. Cool, steady, and happily in charge. He used to come back an anxious dripping mess, but these days he's the ultimate trail boss.

Same scenery, different journeys — and that’s exactly what makes riding OTTB's so rewarding.

11/03/2026

ONE Spot Left!!
📢Reset Your Riding – 6 Week Series 📢

Starting Wednesday 18 March at 6:15pm, right here in our classroom, and running every Wednesday evening for 6 weeks.

There is only ONE spot left, so don’t think about it for too long or you’ll miss out.
Space is limited so that everyone still receives individual support, while enjoying the motivation and energy of training in a group.

These rider-specific workout sessions are designed to help you develop the strength, coordination, balance, and body awareness for a more effective, stable position in the saddle.

If improving your riding is a goal this year, this is a great place to start. 🐎💪

DM to grab this spot!

07/03/2026

Dallas ventured out to her first dressage competition last Saturday.

Was she anxious? Yes. But going out is part of the learning process — especially with an OTTB.

What we learned was interesting. Dallas was actually more stressed during the second test than the first. Even though she was unsaddled, relaxing and happily eating grass between tests, the moment we tacked up again she immediately started sweating. It was a good reminder that mental fatigue can be just as significant as physical effort for horses that are still learning the ropes of competition environments.

Taking an OTTB out to competitions isn’t about chasing ribbons. For us, it’s about checking in on where we’re at, seeing how she copes, and figuring out what we need to work on next.

All things considered, we’re really happy with how Dallas handled the day. Experiences like this will help her grow in confidence, settle into the atmosphere, and gradually find the relaxation and harmony we’re all working towards.

She is such a sweet, kind mare, and I’m really looking forward to many more outings together. 💙🐎

Thanks to Maryborough Active Riders Club Inc for putting on a low key comp day with a lovely supportive environment.

Special thanks to Trease for the pics. I'm looking forward to supporting Debbie as she begins taking more comp pics very soon!

And finally thanks to QOTT re-trainer Dezi Carratum Park for ongoing support and coaching.

18/02/2026

🚧 Warning❗❗Unpopular Opinion ❗❗🚧
📢Unstable Hands Are a Symptom -->Not the Cause📢

When we correct the hands directly, we often create compensation elsewhere.
The rider may momentarily “fix” the hands…but then we see locked elbows, elevated shoulders, a rigid thoracic spine, or loss of breathing and pelvic movement.
🤔Why?
👉Because the hands are rarely the origin of the problem.

👋Hand instability is typically a downstream effect of:
❌ Poor thoracic control (stiffness or weakness limiting shock absorption)
❌ A lack of coordination between core and pelvis
❌ A pelvis that is not dynamically organising to the horse’s movement

If the rider cannot absorb motion through the trunk and pelvis, they will stabilise by gripping with the legs and back.
The energy then redirects distally - expressing itself through the reins.

🏇This is not a hand issue. It is a whole-system motor control issue.

Effective intervention includes predominantly off the horse specific exercises to address:
✅Thoracic strength, mobility + postural endurance
✅ Lumbopelvic stability + coordination
✅The rider’s ability to absorb, not block, the horse’s movement

Quiet hands are an outcome of organised body movement - not something we can train in isolation.

There is a plethora of fabulous exercises I use with riders to improve their strength and motor coordination. Below are a sample of some of the more common exercises that support the systems for soft, quiet hands.

15/02/2026

💧🌨️A beautiful 160mm of rain the past 48hrs🌨️💧

The tanks are full, the pool is full, and
the arena is full!!! Actually everywhere is slushy and soggy and the rain is still gently falling🌧️

No 🏇riding this weekend 😢 but my heart is happy as it's finally raining and hopefully our paddocks will be full of feed in preparation for winter.

14/02/2026

💥⚠️Tight muscles in riders don’t always mean you need to stretch more!!⚠️💥

In many cases, muscles feel “tight” because they are actually weak and overworking to compensate for a lack of stability. When a muscle doesn’t have the strength to do its job efficiently, it increases tone as a protective strategy — and that sensation is interpreted as tightness.

This is why stretching alone often gives only temporary relief.

Riders also need strength training AND improved proprioception (your body’s ability to sense where it is in space and coordinate movement without consciously thinking about it). Good proprioception allows the brain to organise efficient movement patterns instead of defaulting to compensations.

One example is a rider with “tight hip flexors.”
They stretch… and stretch… yet still find themselves gripping with their knees or thighs, with the leg creeping up, the rider may even lose a stirrup at times.

Part of the issue is often the iliopsoas (hip flexor) is not correctly functioning to stabilise the trunk and pelvis. When it cannot provide this support, the body looks for stability elsewhere - usually by gripping, bracing, or lifting through the leg.

The gripping isn’t the primary problem.
It’s the compensatory habit.

To change this pattern, the rider needs to:
✅ Develop strength in the deep postural system
✅ Retrain coordination between the trunk and hip
✅ Improve proprioceptive awareness so the body recognises a more efficient strategy
✅And then the rider can work on allowing length to return naturally to muscles that no longer need to guard

👉Mobility without control is instability.
💪Control creates the freedom riders are actually looking for.

If you feel constantly tight in the saddle, the solution may not be “more stretching”. It may be smarter strength training (just lifting weights is not enough), and training new movement patterns through body awareness and movement education.

SSS Posture and Position Clinics and Rider Assessments are all about educating and re-training the rider's body. Upcoming clinic schedule out soon!
DM if this sounds like what you need and you would like to reserve an upcoming spot.