Gratitude for a Very Busy 2023

by Mary Gallagher

A very full year. Somehow I feel like we started this year busy and never stopped! I am going to share some highlights…

Early spring cleanup. As I sat down to write this year’s notes of gratitude, I let my mind wander back
to late winter 2023. The extensive winter clean up from last year featured the expert pruning and cleaning of the flower beds by Gerardo Vidal and crew. I was so very grateful for Gerardo blessing our gardens and fruit trees—our spring and summer foliage and fruits reflected your expertise. Thank you Gerardo!

Many colts to start..! Jerry Schmidt connected us again this year with clinician Martin Black for

Jerry and Jackson, first saddling.

another fabulous clinic, which included a pretty amazing colt starting series, pushing us to acquire more skills again this spring. After the clinic Jerry was so generous with his time, helping me and training assistant Elise Dean with what seemed like a constant string of talented babies to start. Thank you Jerry and Elise! Also thanks to fellow trainer Brad Varner who joined us for some great early sessions. Most of all—speaking of the colts—special, deep thanks to their owners Amy Johnson, Wendy Comstock, and Melene Bourm for sending so many lovely, special horses this year. We honor and value your trust in our work.

Inspired by Beach Camp!

 by Mary Gallagher and Kathy Schmidt

For the last 17 years we have had the good fortune to visit the farm of Cindy and Gary Flood, in Long Beach, Washington, for our annual beach camp. They have graciously hosted our campers and horses, giving us use of their excellent covered arena and paddocks, with easy access to the legendary beach nearby. Our camps have taken many forms and included campers of all ages at one time or another. We are so grateful for the ongoing opportunity to be at such a beautiful facility!

This year’s camp was, in a word, outstanding. As many of you know, recent beach camps have been exclusively for our Hoof Beats riders. Well, the small but enthusiastic crew that came with us this year really excelled at making this camp about horsemanship, pitching in to help, being there for each other, and having loads of fun in the process! Together we set a new standard for the future.

Kathy Schmidt, who has partnered with me the last few years, bringing many years as a grade school teacher as well as a high level of horsemanship to the occasion, agreed that this camp was special. The question is, how to make it a success every year?

Here’s what we think:

Horsemanship at Beach Camp - A Conversation

First ride on Long Beach

Newsletter editor Mary Tulin gets Mary Gallagher and Kathy Schmidt to talk about horsemanship at the beach—how they took a group of Hoof Beats students and horses for a private clinic in Long Beach, Washington. [Photos courtesy students Haleyanna Fell, Elise Dean, and Elly Dam.]

Kathy Schmidt: When I tell people about Beach Camp with the kids, they always ask, did you gallop on the beach? People have a romantic idea of that, and are sure that’s what we went for.

Mary Tulin: Well....did you?

KS: Of course! But that was on the last full day—after three days of preparation. You have to take into account the readiness of both the students and the horses. Some were raring to go on day one, but their horses needed time and prep; and some horses would have been fine, but their rider wasn’t quite ready.

Mary Gallagher: Besides, there’s a lot of great stuff to do with horses that’s not galloping full tilt!

Emotion and Consequences for Predator and Prey

 by Mary Gallagher

Mary Gallagher and student.

I was reading this week’s excellent short article by Grace Mitchell, one of my students, on consequences in horse training. She pointed out that effective consequences—our actions—in communicating with our horses needed to be appropriate in degree and timing to correct or reinforce behaviors in the horse. Importantly, Grace also reminded us that consequences are either positive or negative, and that we create consequences intentionally or unintentionally which impact our horse’s learning.

Timing and Degree of Consequences in Training Horses

Grace and Cysco in conversation.

By Grace Mitchell

Hoof Beats Beach camp is our best horsemanship camp for our advanced students. Each summer we spend 5 days at the beach immersing ourselves in our horsemanship as well as having a lot of fun with our horses.

We combine ground skills, on line and at liberty, to test the strength of our connection, and define the weaknesses in our communication so we can progress in our relationship with our horses.

Model student Grace Mitchell had some very wise insights to share with her fellow students this camp. I was so impressed with her ability to articulate this to the other students I asked her to write her thoughts down for our online students (and wrote a companion piece). Here are her words. -MG

A Tenderfoot Hubby's Experience at Beach Camp

By Kip Tulin (husband of Magnum's owner, Mary)
 
When Mary and I moved to Sequim in 2010, one of the thoughts that did not enter my mind was, "Gee, now I can be around horses!"  I guess the universe had different plans in mind. Mary started riding at Freedom Farm last November and I would accompany her from time to time to watch what she was doing. My prior experience with horses was long enough ago that the rental horse I got at Rocking Horse Stables, Burbank, CA, was an eohippus....but still a bargain at two dollars an hour. What a revelation to hang around at Freedom Farm!