Mid-Week Intensive: TBD 9a – 3p
Saturdays: TBD
3p – 5p
This class builds on your horsemanship foundation to advance your riding with soft feel and balance at the walk, trot and canter. It also gives you the skills to ride with light hands in the bridle and without.
Course Outline:
- Refine Beginning Horsemanship skills
- Finding balance within yourself
- Advancing ground skills
- The power of focus
- Developing soft, yet clear, communication
- Effective pressure, not just mechanics
- Awareness of timing, sensitivity, effectiveness
- Using imagination
- Keeping it interesting for your horse
Creativity with games and tasks- Avoiding boredom
- Riding in harmony
- Footfalls and body movement
- Foot control and cues
- Right cue at the right time
- Riding on a loose rein
- Carrot stick riding
- Saddling and bridling
Format
Intensive: The course hours are designed to accommodate busy folks with family responsibilities (9a – 3p). You will receive three hours of instruction each day, practice your learning for another 1-2 hours and then study readings and videos for an additional hour.
Saturdays: The course hours are designed to accommodate those who have more freedom on the weekends. You will receive two hours of instruction every Saturday for six weeks. Students are expected to study required readings, watch videos and practice their learning outside of class time. Practice time with an NWNHC school horse can be scheduled.
Courses are limited to no more than six students at a time. This provides more individualized attention and learning.
Your Instructor
Jim “Hutch” Hutchins
Hutch began his horse journey in earnest with a beautiful, but troubled, Thoroughbred from off the track. The search to bring peace and trust to this beautiful grandson of Secretariat led to Hutch’s discovery of natural horsemanship and study with horse masters such as Pat Parelli, Craig Cameron, Jack Brainard, Anna Twinney and so many others. These studies gave Hutch an understanding of the horse based on fairness, leadership, and partnership. He has been sharing these lessons with hundreds of students for more than 10 years. As director of education for NWNHC and a former adult education teacher at the University of Washington, Hutch has created certificate courses that simplify the learning process, clarify the horse/human relationship, and encourage and motivate students.
Tuition: $600
$200 deposit required to hold your spot