Hi Everybody,
Well already this year is getting off to a running start and we are so excited about our 2012 schedule! We hope that all of you will join us at some point through clinics, demonstrations, and/or workshops that will be hosted at NLHTM throughout the year. Our schedule commenced this year the week of January 2nd when we hosted two Penn State University students for a week-long training externship. We have been participating with Penn State to host externship students for three years now. We typically accept 2 students both on winter break and spring break weeks. We look forward to working with the students because it is a great way to introduce people to horsemanship like they’ve never known it before!
The NLHTM Program is very broad based and comprehensive, both for the horses and for handlers. I know this because I developed the Program through nearly 27 years of working with horses of all breeds and most disciplines. I’m finding out more and more through talking with people that I’ve trained horses for and those that have participated in our clinics, that most had no idea what was possible with their horses until after they’ve gone through our Program.  I sometimes assume that everybody should be aware of how well trained their horses can be but the reality of it is that many horses are not being ridden at nearly what they are capable of being because they are missing specific elements of training. And, they stay that way until something prompts their owners to want more from them.
Working with the extern students is a fantastic way to introduce them to what is possible in the training of the horse. Many of the students have never seen horses do what we teach our horses to do, or they have never witnessed or fully understood what it takes to get horses to a particular level of training. It truly gives me great pleasure to give them a glimpse of how to develop the Partnership with a horse and pave the way for Performance and Possibilities on many fronts.
Similarly, we teach many what is possible with their horses when we take our Program on the road. The weekend of the 19th of January we participated as clinicians at the Maryland Horse World Expo in Timonium, MD where we talked to many about how to build confidence as a rider,how to coach your horse to the Next Level of Performance, and how to stay fit while having fun with your horse. People had a chance to see what some of our horses are doing and I hope that it motivated them to realize what is Possible for them and their horse as well.
It is always great to get out and about and mingle with people at the expos. I love talking with passers by at our booth and hearing the stories of their horses and experiences in horsemanship. This time of year is a perfect time to get people motivated to make a plan for their horse and for themselves for the coming year. If the department stores are hanging the new line of bikinis for 2012 on the racks already, shouldn’t we be making an action plan for our horses and horsemanship goals for this year now?!
It does pay to plan ahead and this time of year we’re doing just that! We don’t want to miss out on anything including the chance to work with you all! We have a lot in store for 2012 and we’re hoping you will join us for fun and an exciting exploration of what is Possible for you and your horse.