Honoring the Horse’s Learning Process: reflections on a clinic with Martin Black

by Mary Gallagher

We were privileged to host Martin Black for a great clinic last week, in which he stressed his approach to “evidence-based horsemanship” —recognizing the results of our communication in the horse’s immediate response. The participants came with a good foundation in connecting to their horses’ feet, so Martin was able to further refine our understanding and inspire us with his unique insights. He got us out of our comfort zones, challenging what we thought we knew, while giving us tools to communicate more effectively.

 

Kenny's Fitness Corner: A Triple Whammy Squat

 by Mary Gallagher, with coach Kenny Hall, fitness trainer

During our Monday morning Fitness for Riders class, I asked Kenny to give me and our students an exercise to help with shoulder position, and he gave us a triple whammy: an exercise to work on our 1) balance, 2) seat position in the saddle, as I 3) open up our shoulders. Once again, I got to be the model for this post:

Great Coaching

By Thomas Gallagher

I have been musing on the role of coaching in my own life, early on with equestrian trainer Jimmy Williams, and more recently with Kenny Hall, my personal trainer at Anytime Fitness. I asked my son Thomas, an offensive lineman at Georgetown University, to share his view on the role of coaching in achieving our aspirations not only in physical fitness, but in general. -MG

Humans are extraordinary beings; courageous, proud and resilient. Often times we hear stories of ordinary people performing great feats of strength, speed, bravery, compassion and so on. However these qualities both physical and mental are not inherent to humans. Environment is a key foundation, and people, like any great monument, need a base.