March 2022 Issue

Page 10 March 2022 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN Ivy Starnes got started training horses when she was just sixteen, working with gaited horses. She started out just training yearlings to do basic groundwork. Until the previous year, she had virtually no contact with horses at all. Once Ivy started working with the yearlings, she realized that she could train horses and got very excited about it. Ivy started reading as many horse training books as she could get her hands on. From there, she progressed to training her own horses and other people’s horses. Ivy has always been interested in the dressagemove- ments, but didn’t like how the dressage horses appeared to be ridden, the reins always held tightly, with the riders appearing to lean back in order to pull harder on the horse’s mouth. At twenty-one years old Ivy learned that there were other ways to train dressage. At that time, she came across a wonderful website: The Art of Natu- ral Dressage. The forum there had a wealth of information on how to train your horse to do dressage, but in a lightest possible manner and without bits. That same year, she had also started spending a lot of time with her Quarter Horse/Paint cross gelding, training him to do tricks. She found this to be so much fun and it really made her want to spend more time trick training, as you can see results so quickly. Ivy became involved with clicker training after reading Karen Pryor’s book, Reaching the Animal Mind. She started using positive reinforcement to train her horses and dogs. The results were fantastic! Ivy couldn’t believe how quickly the horses started to learn the tricks and movements she was teaching them. She used the clicker to help with both the trick training and the dressage training. Ivy now combines trick training, natural dressage, classical dressage, endotapping and clicker training to work with the horses. The tricks are fun to teach and they help develop your relationship with your horse. The dressage methods can help strengthen, supple and improve your horse’s movement and balance. Clicker training makes it so much fun for the rider and the horses to go out and work together. Ivy currently lives in Fort Worth, Texas. Her dream has always been to help gaited horse owners to be able to get a smooth gait with their horses. Ivy has been training gaited horses for over 12 years. She started out with the idea that you could train any gaited horse to gait on a loose rein, preferably with a snaffle or simple bitless bridle or hackamore. Ivy has traveled around the country and was able to work with over 90 different horses just in the past year! Through her travels, Ivy has learned that most horses respond the same way, no matter what the breed, but some need just a little bit of something extra (lateral work) to get the gait. She also learned that most horses will start gaiting in as little as 3 one hour lessons! The most important thing is to get them relaxed first. Speeding Up the Gait; Keeping It Smooth (Thurs., 12:10 am, Equine Arena) Training Relaxation & Gait Through Head Down (Fri., 3 pm, Large Arena) Getting a Smooth Gait From the Trotty or Pacey Horse (Sat., 1 pm, Large Arena) Three Exercises to Get Gait: Ground Poles, Leg Yields & Rein Back (Sun., 10 am, Equine Arena) Visit Ivy Starnes at the Ivy’s Glide Gait booth 414. Welcome to the hottest event at Horse World Expo, the Trail Champions Challenge. In the Challenge, riders and their horses compete for cash and priz- es by negotiating an exciting course of obstacles while being timed and scored by a panel of judges. The event will be a challenging course open to any riders and trainers. The professionally designed course by Jason Charles will challenge the communication and trust riders have with their horse. Watch as Horse World Expo crowns the next Trail Champion! Trail Champions Challenge (Sat., 9 am, Equine Arena) Jeff Wilson has been teaching horses for over 40 years, creating balanced riding horses that can ride like champions anywhere, through the foundation of dressage. He performs with his stallions to showcase the fun and strength a horse and rider can accomplish together. He’s been featured nationally, including Horse World Expo, World Equestrian Games and Breyerfest, as well as honoring our United States military. As a clinician, Jeff’s passion is to teach people the tools for safe and happy partnerships—from the arena to the trail. All that he’s learned from horses, and all of the triumphs he’s learned from the spotlight, he brings to you and your own special horse. Western Dressage: Bridge the Western Rider & Practical Dressage (Thurs., 1 pm, Large Arena) Western Dressage: Balance It’s Where You Start (Fri., noon Large Arena) Western Dressage: Exercises to Improve You and Your Horse (Sat., 5 pm, Large Arena) Western Dressage: Everything You Need to Know (Sun., 2 pm, Large Arena) Theatre Equus Performer (Fri. & Sat., 8:30 pm, Large Arena - Separate ticket required ) Visit Jeff Wilson at the Jeff Wilson Horsemanship booth 319, 320. Brendan Wise has been playing with horses ever since he was old enough to pull his boots on and has always had a love for the horse greater than anything else in this world. He has devoted his life to the study and the teaching of Horsemanship in the Classical Tradition. Brendan has spent his entire life learning from many disciplines including Natural Horsemanship, Dressage, Reining, Show Jumping and Racing. He has combined his experiences and successes in all of these disciplines, as well as a constant intense study of the Classical Masters, in order to develop his skills as a horseman and teacher. Brendan has had the honor of studying under many of the greatest mentors and teachers of our time; includ- ing having two of America’s greatest horsemen, John and Josh Lyons, give him his start as a young clinician. Brendan always says that he owes much of his ability as a teacher and communicator to spending years with John and Josh Lyons. His desire is to share the knowledge he has gained from his personal experiences, and the wisdom of other great masters that he studies under (including Jean-Claude Barry of Le Cadre Noir de Saumur), in the hopes that he may make an impact on the lives of many horses and riders. Brendan seeks to follow the wisdom and principles of the Classical Masters, handed down from teachers like Nuno Olivera, Xenophon, Baucher, La Gueriniere, Dr. Klimke, Steinbrecht, Podhajski, Anja Beran, and Phillipe Karl. Natural Horsemanship and French Classical Dressage are at the very core of Brendan’s personal horsemanship. Brendan has a passion for the proper training, conditioning, and maintaining of the integrity of the horse’s mind and body from beginning to end. A great reverence, respect and admiration for the horse guides every thought that Brendan has in regards to the horse. It is his hope that he may bring a refreshing and much needed breath of air to the training of high level horses, with a commitment to putting the horse first. Engaged in modern competitions and teaching modern horses, it is the proven work of the Classical masters that guides what Brendan teaches from beginning to end, always striving to learn more with each ride. Also joining him at the Expo will be his wife, Melanie Ferrio-Wise, who just recently made history and has gained international recognition by being the first rider to compete bridleless in Show Jumping at the 2017 Washington International Horse Show. Melanie and her horse, Wings (Vlad around the barn), are now competing exclusively bridleless in all competitions, breaking down the barriers of what is “normal”, and making history as they go. Come watch this incredible pair! Why Bridleless: Unbridled Wings Brldleless Q&A (Thurs., 1 pm, Seminar Hall A) Building the Classical Dressage Horse & Bridleless (Thurs., 5 pm, Equine Arena) Dressage for Jumpers (Fri., 11 am, Equine Arena) Dressage; Classical, Competitive & Bridleless (Sat., noon, Large Arena) Advanced Bridleless Riding (Sun., noon, Equine Arena) The Story of Unbridled Wings (Sun., 3 pm, Seminar Hall A) Theatre Equus Performer (Fri. & Sat., 8:30 pm, Large Arena - Separate ticket required ) Visit Brendan Wise at the Brendan Wise & Unbridled Wings booth 424. Ivy Starnes Trail Champions Challenge Jeff Wilson Brendan Wise Buy your tickets early! www.horseworldexpo.com Photo credit: ©mgs2020