March/April 2024 Issue

Page 8 March/April 2024 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN Nicky Kurty has been riding horses for over 40 years. She taught fifth grade for 15 years while training and coaching on the side. Eventually the horses won out and she is living the dreamof spending all day every daywith horses and their people. She has a diverse client base including riders of pleasure, horsemanship, hunter, trail, ranch riding and barrel racing horses. She grew up competing in English and Western pleasure then about fifteen years ago adjusted her focus to primarily barrel racing. She currently competes throughout the East Coast as well as stretching out as far as Texas and Canada. Nicky has maintained her plea- sure horse roots by continuing to coach the Cornell University Western Equestrian Team, judging open and 4H horse shows as well as Ranch Horse shows, and offering horsemanship and barrel racing clinics. As a barrel racer she competes at futurities, NBHAs and pro rodeos. Here is a partial list of her accomplishments: • AQHA World Show Top Ten Finishes • ARHA World and Reserve World Champion • NBHA Colonial National Top 5 • NBHA New York State Champion • BFA World Championship Top Ten • All American Quarter Horse Congress numerous Top Ten finishes • Midland Barrel race $10,000 added winner of entire first division • 3x Futurity Winner • 3x Arena Record Setter • Pro and Amateur Rodeo winner–numerous APRA and IPRAwins, BullrideMania Finals Champion, Hardway Rodeo wins, finals champion, and year end champion Barrel Racing Fundamentals (Thurs., 6 pm, Equine Arena) Introduction to Ranch Riding (Fri., 3 pm, Equine Arena) Barrel Racing Problem Solving (Sat., 1 pm, Equine Arena) Ranch Riding Patterns (Sun., 1 pm, Large Arena) Kaleigh Marie is an international performer and clinician. She has dedicated her life to cultivating a connection with horses and the people who love them and believes liberty work holds the key to discovering deep levels of understanding and attunement. Although she grew up riding horses, the first animals Kaleigh Marie ever trained to work at liberty were a pair of Holstein steers that she trained as a team of oxen when she was a teenager. In addition to being a working team of oxen, they would work at liberty as a team, perform tricks, ride bridleless, and even Roman ride bridleless. Kaleigh eventually discovered liberty work with horses as a young adult and has been dedicated to learning its art ever since. With experience training cattle, horses, donkeys and mules in a variety of disciplines, paired with influences from trainers all over the world, she has used her experiences from traveling, teaching, and performing internationally to develop her own unique approach to training. Her program focuses on creating a connection that accommodates all levels through utilizing a deep understanding of psychology, classical dressage, and positive reinforcement to help humans and horses reach new heights with liberty work and bridleless riding. Through inspiring performances with her horses and effective tools that she shares with her students through in-person clinics and lessons, as well as her online academy, she embodies the belief that a strong connection is the key to working successfully with horses in any discipline, and that working horses at liberty helps us to become who our horses need us to be. The Power of Attunement to Create Connection (Thurs., 1 pm, Seminar Hall A) Trick Training 101 (Fri., noon, Large Arena) Helping Anxious Horses Find Connection (Sat., 11 am, Round Pen Arena) Theatre Equus Performer (Fri. & Sat., 8:30 pm, Large Arena) – separate ticket required Guy McLean is a self-taught Australian Horseman who has entertained, inspired and educated thousands of Australians from all walks of life. Guy arrived in the USA in June 2010 with his four Australian bred Horses and commenced his USA-wide tour. Since 1999, Guy and his equine team led by Nugget (the father of Guy’s 3 Dun Horses) have been featured in many Australian events including: Royal shows, Equitana Asia Pacific, major equestrian festivals, international rodeos and Australia’s famous “Man from Snowy River Festival”. One of Guy’s talents is bush poetry, and he has twice been crowned Australian Bush Poet Champion. In 2002 and 2006 Guy received the great honor of being named an official ‘Ambassador of the Outback’ and through his performances of horseman- ship, bush poetry and whip cracking he has helped to keep the traditions of the bush and the true Aussie Stockman alive. In 2005 Guy was the inaugural winner of Equitana’s, ‘Way of the Horse’ young horse starting competition and it was the methods he learned in the Queensland bush under the watchful eye of many a young horse that brought him victory. Since being in the USA, Guy and his equine team have had the honor of performing at the World Equestrian Games 2010 held in Lexington, KY, as a nightly pre-show performer at the National Finals Rodeo 2010 in Las Vegas and at many other events near his home base of Allen, Texas. Skills of the Australian Stockman; Helping Your Horsemanship (Thurs., 1 pm, Equine Arena) The First Ride; Starting a Young Horse (Thurs., 4 pm, Large Arena) Liberty, Bridleless & Saddleless; the Where's, Why's & How's (Fri., 11 am, Large Arena) Starting a Young Horse; Day Two, Growing the Young Mind (Fri., 4 pm, Large Arena) Inspire to Educate; Use Inspiration to Fuel Desire (Sat., 10 am, Large Arena) Starting a Young Horse; Day Three, Qualities of the Lead Horse (Sat., 2 pm, Large Arena) Advancing the Young Horse; Time to Go to Work (Sun., 10 am, Large Arena) Lasting Impressions; Make the Last Thing the Right Thing (Sun., noon, Round Pen Arena) Theatre Equus Performer (Fri. & Sat., 8:30 pm, Large Arena) – separate ticket required Lindsey Partridge is a 5 time discipline champion of the Thoroughbred Makeover run by the Retired Racehorse Project, Mustang TIP Champion, Extreme Cowboy Champion, Freestyle judge, level 2 Centered Riding Instructor, founder of Harmony Horsemanship, horse trainer for feature films and television, Jumper Champion, and has been nicknamed as “Canada’s Horse Whisperer” by the Toronto Star. She also has a bachelor’s degree in health sciences and nursing and specialized in mental health. Lindsey is passionate about using positive horse training techniques and uses the Harmony Horsemanship approach to help many horses. She likes to show everyone that if you have a calm connection you can take your horse anywhere, and if you create a “yes horse” you can ask them to do anything. She is mostly known for her ability to retrain off the track Thoroughbreds – having competed 5 years at the Thoroughbred Makeover, her horses always making the finale in Trail, Freestyle, Ranch and Field Hunter. She is also the only Pro competitor in extreme cowboy racing, riding an off the track Thoroughbred… and riding bridleless. Lindsey’s impressive bridleless work has earned a spotlight during Horse World Expo’s Theatre Equus and Equine Affaire’s Fantasia evening performances. Balanced Riding (Thurs., 3 pm, Large Arena) Creating a Calm Connection (Fri., 11 am, Round Pen Arena) Self-Regulation & Emotional Control for Horses (Sat., 2 pm, Seminar Hall A0 Building Confidence (Sun., 10 am, Equine Arena) Theatre Equus Performer (Fri. & Sat., 8:30 pm, Large Arena) – separate ticket required Nicky Kurty Visit Nicky Kurty at the Oakwood Manor booth 314, 315 Kaleigh Marie Visit Kaleigh Marie at the Braveheart Beasts booth 407 Guy McLean Visit Guy McLean at the Horsemanship with Guy McLean booth 114-116 Lindsey Partridge See Lindsey Partridge at the Harmony Horsemanship booth location 309