Ridewell Trainwell

01/11/2026

Just love this from Dauphin Horsemanship whom I had the opportunity to watch at Equifest recently.

Saying those words out loud or to yourself as you release kind of adds something too! It helps us see the moment and release. Clicker training works on the same premise where the click marks the moment.

I'll put my hand up that I can be too greedy and catch myself asking for a bit more with my own horse when I should have said "that's it, good boy"! I think the danger especially comes as we advance the training on our own horse and we think "they know this, or they should know this" and we get greedy or maybe we get needy and we stop seeing the try or the resignation that develops.

This is where eyes on the ground can be so helpful in prompting or reminding us when we cant see see the wood for the trees and needed to release, give them (or us) a moment.

Those eyes on the ground can be very helpful to see where we may be inadvertently clinging or leaning or hanging due to an imbalance in our position and by doing so we aren't giving the horse clear signals nor releases.

I'm a little bit jealous of my South Island Friends who got to attend clinics or lessons with Daniel Dauphin. Will be keeping my eyes wide open for opportunities in the North Island next time!

"See? That's all I wanted."

This phrase is magical for training a horse. I strongly suggest you adopt it. When introducing a new skill, or working on one with some wrinkles to iron out, you need to know what your end goal is and be looking only for a glimmer of that ultimate goal. A couple of better steps is likely the best case scenario.

If you can find that glimmer ASAP and release on it like your hands and legs and seat are spring loaded, then you will have successfully communicated to your horse, "See? That's all I wanted."

This keeps them engaged and motivated. Getting greedy and pushing things too far is the recipe for a resentful horse that wants to quit. Let them be assured that a little effort pays off. Let them see that you're just asking for a little progress and it will be rewarded when given. They tend to enjoy the work if you are asking their bodies to move in better ways. Just be willing to take smaller bites.

30/10/2026

The kids taking themselves back to their paddock on a blustery evening.

30/10/2026

Two books arrived in the mailbox today 🙌
Train Your Seat certified coaches are reading The body Has a Mind of its
Own in our book club. We have a dedicated Whats app group to share insights and a zoom meeting in January to discuss.

While I was browsing the online book stores to buy this, because I love a physical book rather than audio or kindle version, I came across the The Vagus nerve healing Guidebook which is a newly published book , I thought it would be worth a read and practice and would likely back up nicely the Franklin Method Vagus Nerve workshop I did last year.

So it's going to be Neuroscience November for me as I'm also currently reading Dr Steve Peter's books on equine Neuroscience and will be attending his workshop/clinic at the end of November in Tauranga .

Never stop learning!

21/10/2026

Who has read the Silver Brumby books? Better still who still has them? I have the entire series and still read them from time to time. I will never part with them!

🐎🏔️ 𝗘𝗟𝗬𝗡𝗘 𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗟’𝗦 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗪𝗥𝗔 🏔️🐎

✨ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗯𝘆

Long before Thowra became one of Australia's most beloved fictional horses, a remarkable horsewoman was exploring the rugged mountains, hidden valleys and wild landscapes that would bring his story to life. ❤️

Her name was Elyne Mitchell (1913–2002), the celebrated Australian author whose love of horses and the High Country inspired generations of readers.

🌿 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗬

Born in Melbourne, Elyne learned to ride from her father, General Sir Harry Chauvel, a distinguished Australian cavalry commander.

In 1935, she married Tom Mitchell and moved to Towong Hill, near Corryong, where the magnificent Australian Alps became part of her everyday life.

Here, surrounded by horses, mountains and the changing seasons, Elyne developed an extraordinary understanding of the landscape.

She wasn't simply imagining the High Country from behind a desk. She rode through it, worked on the family property and experienced its beauty and hardships firsthand. 🏇

📖 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗪𝗥𝗔 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗡

The inspiration for The Silver Brumby came partly from Elyne's desire to give her young daughter Indi an exciting story rooted in Australia.

Living far from major libraries, she wanted her daughter to discover the wonder of the country surrounding them.

What began as a story for one little girl grew into something extraordinary.

In 1958, The Silver Brumby was published, introducing readers to Thowra, the magnificent creamy-silver stallion whose courage, intelligence and determination to remain free captured countless hearts.

🐴 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗪𝗥𝗔 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗘?

Although Thowra was a fictional character, his world was inspired by real Australian mountain country and the brumbies that roamed it.

His adventures reflected Elyne's knowledge of horses, their behaviour and the challenges of surviving in the mountains.

There is no firmly established evidence that one particular horse was the original Thowra. Rather, he emerged from Elyne's experiences, observations and imagination.

💛 𝗔 𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗖𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗥𝗨𝗡𝗦 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘

Perhaps one of the most touching details of Elyne's life came at her funeral in 2002.

Her beloved pony, named Thowra, led the funeral procession.

A beautiful farewell to the woman who had given the legendary silver stallion his name and his story. 🕊️

Today, Elyne Mitchell's writing continues to connect readers with the beauty, mystery and spirit of Australia's High Country.

🌄 Thowra may have been born in fiction, but the mountains that inspired him were wonderfully real.

20/10/2026

Hmmm I have another tidy upperer

20/10/2026

Jezzie let himself into the yard to "tidy up"

19/10/2026

Lesson spot available this Saturday at Henderson Valley in the beautiful West Auckland RDA arena.

This clinic was full but a horse injury has created a space. If you'd like to come along for a rider biomechanics tune up, a dressage tune up or an in-hand lesson - here is your opportunity.

Lesson cost is $120 (includes arena fee)
The original time was 2.30 but there is some flexibility to move to a morning slot if preferred.

Flick me a message here, txt or phone 0220403580 or email me [email protected]

19/10/2026

Day 3 at Equifest - another fabulous day in all ways!
☀️🦄🐎🤠😀

With some trepidation as to how it was going to go, I delivered an off-horse Train Your Seat with Pelvis Power workshop - where not only my four demo off-horse riders, but also the audience participated.

The only thing that went wrong was we ran out of time!
What fantastic participation from the audience, my demo riders and even nearby stall holders! We practiced the art of 1 minute concentration, noticing and bringing awareness. This is a great skill to be in the moment for you and your horse when you ride, but as we all found out it's not so easy to shut out a busy environment with lots of distracting sounds! We used this as a baseline for the rest of the workshop.
We found parts of our pelvis, understood where our hips are, where our seatbones are, looked at them on pictures and on the pelvis models and then explored movement and noticed what we found easier, harder more fluid, less fluid, stuck etc
Just doing the movements (especially with new found awareness of our pelvis) and then some tapping reduced tension and improved movement. The demo riders played with the exercises lying on the mat with and without a Franklin mini roller under their sacrum, or on the Swiss ball or a yoga ball on a chair.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of audience participation, which is a pity because there were a lot of them and they were great sports.

The content of the workshop was covered in articles I wrote for the Autumn and Winter 2025 editions of The Foundation Rider Magazine - so if you weren't in the audience (they got copies) or don't have these you can get them from the magazine website. Individual copies can be purchased and as at time of writing they still have some stock of these two editions.

Thanks to Kristine Jones , Samantha Jones , Angela Lloyd and Alexia Wright for being such great demo participants, sharing their awareness, noticing, movement issues and improvements as we went on.