September 9, 2007

Katie;

I began riding in 1994. In January 2006 I had the good fortune of being able to employ Katie Buckle as a personal instructor. Unlike, I suspect, many of Katie's clients my intention has never been to enter the showing world. My only desire is to be a proficient and competient rider for my own sake as well as my horse's.

At the time, I strongly suspect Katie did not know what she was getting into with me. Not only was she working with reschooling an OTTB, with plenty of bad habits, she was also faced with reschooling a rider with even more bad habits.

Katie accepted this challange without flinching. She recognised the need to take both horse and rider back to basics in order to build a solid foundation. Katie is able to articulate the lessons in such a manner that I find easy to understand and relate to. She also has the patience to assist and adjust my application whilst explaining why my horse is reacting to my mistakes the way he is. Her expertese and outstanding coaching abilities surpassed my expectations for both myself and my horse.

Due to the foundation building work I am no longer apprehensive when faced with situations while on the trail. I also feel that not only do I have a stronger bond with my horse, he now respects me as he has never done before.

We still have a lot of work to do and I look forward to doing this work under Katie's supervision.