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Cowboy Dressage Clinic with Dave Ellis

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Cowboy Dressage Clinic with Dave Ellis

Cowboy DressageCowboy Dressage, Western Dressage, and Working Equitation are all just a little bit different.  Their goals are very similar:  have your horse negotiate a course using basic horsemanship maneuvers.  The scoring is based on your smoothness and accuracy in cueing your horse.

We had an opportunity to experience an “Introductory Cowboy Dressage” Clinic at a local stable here in Bakersfield, Rancho Rio Equestrian Center.  The instructor is a 6-Star Certified Parelli instructor by the name of Dave Ellis.  The clinic was limited to 10 horse and rider teams and Ranae and I had the opportunity to audit the clinic.  We got to watch as Dave Ellis described the maneuvers then help the participants negotiate the course.

In between sessions, we had an opportunity to chat with Dave and get the history of Cowboy Dressage and its founder, Eitan Beth-Halachmy.

Links for Cowboy Dressage

Cowboy Dressage World website

Contact Us

We have well over 100 episodes up now and you can find them all for free on iTunes, with our Android App in the Amazon store, and now Stitcher, or wherever podcasts are distributed.  Get the Stitcher app and tell us how it works.  We are on Google Play too!  You can also find every episode and more about the show at whoapodcast.com.  Please take a moment and join our email list. Get in on the conversation with Facebook and Twitter and Instagram– just look for WhoaPodcast.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast.  We really love getting your feedback.  Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show.  You can email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #134

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Kalley Krickeberg Versatile Horsewoman

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Kalley Krickeberg Versatile Horsewoman

Kalley KrickebergKalley Krickeberg was raised on a cattle farm in Illinois.  From using the horses on the farm, she moved up to riding and training OTTB in playing polo.  As a farm girl, Kalley was active in 4H before moving on to other disciplines.  Kalley rode dressage, jumping, and reining.  She also trained and rode horses in cutting and learned how to train a horse at liberty.

Kalley Krickeberg calls her program the “Balanced Horse Training”.  She brings what she has learned from the many disciplines she has studied together to build a solid horsemanship program.  Because of her variety of experience, Kalley is not “locked in” to one set of rules or mantra and can look for the solution that best fits the horse.

Horsemanship Tip

Increasing the Degrees of Difficulty

According to Kalley, there are four ways to increase the degrees of difficulty:  Position, Length of Time in Position, Speed, and Environment.  Kalley explains how to use the ways to improve your horse.

As a Contributing Editor & Equine Advisor to the APHA magazine, Chrome, Kalley provides advice in her column “Keepin It Fresh”.

You can follow Kalley Krickeberg on Facebook at Kalley Krickeberg Training Barn and at her website KalleyKrickeberg.com

Tell Us Your Problems

Have a problem with your horse?  Do you have a favorite trainer you would like to hear from?  Send us your question and the name of your favorite trainer and we’ll see if we can contact them and get you an answer.  Email John@whoapodcast.com or call on our message line (661) 368-5530 (toll charges may apply).

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Get Free Helpful Horse Tips

There is a “Join Our Email” list at the top of this page.  Signup.  Occasionally, I’ll send you something useful you can use to build a better relationship with your horse. Thanks!

Contact Us

We have well over 100 episodes up now and you can find them all for free on iTunes, with our Android App in the Amazon store, and now Stitcher, or wherever podcasts are distributed.  Get the Stitcher app and tell us how it works.  We are on Google Play too!  You can also find every episode and more about the show at whoapodcast.com.  Please take a moment and join our email list. Get in on the conversation with Facebook and Twitter and Instagram– just look for WhoaPodcast.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast.  We really love getting your feedback.  Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show.  You can email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #115

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Western Dressage Jennifer Collman

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Western Dressage with Jennifer Collman

western dressageHow can western dressage help your horsemanship?  Jennifer Collman has over twenty years experience training horses.  Jennifer is the manager of a training and instruction program overseeing 60 students and 20 horses. Western dressage is so important to her, she uses it as a foundation for her training techniques.

In response to a listener email, I sought out an expert in western dressage and came across Jennifer’s name.  A quick email and soon we were talking on the phone.  Jennifer is on the Competition Committee for the Western Dressage Association of America.  She also was a founding member of North American Western Dressage, a great source of educational material about western dressage.

Much of our conversation is about general horsemanship principles and how techniques in dressage can help the “average” horsemen understand their horse better.  Communication is a two-way street.  Many times we are focused on getting our horse to understand us, but how often are we listening to him?

The Dressage Pyramid

western dressageDressage uses a training pyramid to take you through steps of improving your relationship with your horse.  Jennifer takes us through those steps and briefly explains the purpose and reason for each of them.  While you may not understand them completely after our conversation, I hope it will get you to thinking about horsemanship from another angle.

Links Heard on the Show

Jennifer Collman Website

Jennifer Collman Facebook

North American Western Dressage

Western Dressage Association of America

Get Involved

It’s your turn to get you involved.  Tell me about your horse.  What’s his/her name?  What do you like most about him?  Is there something you know now about horsemanship that you wished you had learned a long time ago?   What would you like to do?  I’ve set up a Google Voice Line at (661) 368-5530.  Call and tell us a little about you, your horse, and your goals.  Be sure to leave your name and with luck, I’ll share your thoughts with other horse owners and we’ll all learn.

Get Free Helpful Horse Tips

There is a “Join Our Email” list at the top of this page.  Signup.  Each week I’ll send you something useful you can use to build a better relationship with your horse. Thanks!

Contact Us

We have well over 100 episodes up now and you can find them all for free on iTunes, with our Android App in the Amazon store, and now Stitcher, or wherever podcasts are distributed.  Get the Stitcher app and tell us how it works.  We are on Google Play too!  You can also find every episode and more about the show at whoapodcast.com.  Please take a moment and join our email list. Get in on the conversation with Facebook and Twitter – just look for WhoaPodcast.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast.  We really love getting your feedback.  Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show.  You can email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

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Episode #89

Cavalia Odysseo Orange County Preview

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Cavalia Odysseo Orange County Preview

Cavalia OdysseoCavalia Odysseo has arrived in Irvine, California.  We missed the Cavalia performance when it was in Southern California 9 years ago so when the publicist for Cavalia Odysseo invited us to media day and a preview of the show, Ranae and I jumped at the chance.  The 125′ Big Top was set up in an open field in Irvine in Orange County.  The show had taken this open field and transformed it into a state-of-the-art facility.  Stables for 65 horses plus all the feed, pellets and bedding, a kitchen that prepares 600 meals a day, plus the gift shop, food concessions, and stage which includes a 3 story “hill” the horses make their grand entrance.

We got to check out the grounds and meet the horses and trainers and grooms.  Everyone at Cavalia Odysseo is proud of the work they do and very welcoming to guests.  The patiently answered all our questions and showed us where the horses warm up and how some of the backstage mechanisms operated.

An Intimate Performance

Cavalia OdysseoFour or five days later the place was ready for a performance.  We got front seats in a truncated but very exciting show.  There were gymnasts, urban stilts, and horses, lots of horses.  An amazing performance of liberty using nine horses.  Yes NINE horses.  No whips or crops or anything other than hand signals and voice commands.  This was the highlight of the show until, near the end of the performance, the flood the stage and create a lake.  For the next 10 minutes we watch a high level dressage performance.  Horse and rider were one.  There were even flying lead changes through the water.

If you live in the Southern California area, you won’t want to miss Cavalia Odysseo.  Tickets are affordable and the show is so fabulous you will be talking about it for months.  You can find out more at the Cavalia Odysseo website.

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It takes a lot of time an money to put on the podcast.  I’ve been willingly footing the bill on both for four years now.  My equipment is wearing out.  My travel budget is shrinking.  If yo want to help, there is a simple way to do it.  I’ve partnered with Patreon.  You can contribute any amount.  Anything you would care to send along would be greatly appreciate.  Thanks.

About Us

Welcome to the Whoa Podcast about Horses and Horsemanship.   I am your host  John Harrer.  Along with my wife, Ranae, each week on the show we talk about some aspect of owning a horse.  It could be feeding or supplementation.  It could be bits and bridles, tack, or cowboy boots.  We cover training problems, or competing in shows.  We talk to farriers and horse chiropractors.  We talk about movies, books and magazine articles.  And, we travel to places we think you would like to take your horse.   That’s what the Whoa Podcast is all about.

Contact Us

We have well over 90 episodes up now and you can find them all for free on iTunes, with our Android App in the Amazon store, and now Stitcher, or wherever podcasts are distributed.  Get the Stitcher app and let us know how it works.  It’s Free.  You can also find every episode and more about the show at whoapodcast.com.  Please take a moment and join our email list. Get in on the conversation with Facebook and Twitter – just look for WhoaPodcast.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast.  We really love getting your feedback.  Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show.  You can email us at: John@WhoaPodcast.com

I blog at TrainingJessie.blogspot.com and I have a new blog about my Louisiana Leopard Catahoula puppy named Buster at BusterBrownDog.blogspot.com and if you want to know even more – and I can’t imagine why – it’s all at JohnHarrer.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #76

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Early Californios

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Skills of the Early Californios Rancho


Early CaliforniosThe more I learn about the Early Californios the more I am impressed with their horsemanship.  There is a show coming up in Santa Barbara that, if you are anywhere close, you will surely want to see.  The Early Californio Skills of the Rancho Show is taking place June 5th-7th at the Earl Warren Showgrounds and admission for spectators is FREE!  On today’s show we have  Bruce Sandifer who has been a student of the Early Californios for some time.  Bruce explains some of the origins of this unique style of horsemanship. The Early Californios evolved a little differently than the cowboy horsemanship that was going on in other parts of the country.  The traditions and equipment they use are kept alive by the California Bridlehorse Association.

The event in Santa Barbara will him in conjunction with a working equitation show organized by the USWEA.  What is really cool about this show is that the equitation judges will grade the Early Californio tradition riders in their equitation.  Then, the cow people (sorry, not sure what they are called) will judge the working equitation riders in their cow work.  It is guaranteed to be a lot of fun.

Early Californios Skills of the RanchoAlong with the show there will be all kinds of vendors – bit makers, tack, clothing, even a bootmaker.  If you are like me, you really don’t need a reason to visit Santa Barbara, but just in case you do, this is it!

Links mentioned in the show

Skills of the Rancho Facebook Event Page

California Bridlehorse Association

Bruce Sandifer’s Website

Books Bruce Mentioned to Learn More

United States Working Equitation Association

Contact Us

We have well over 90 episodes up now and you can find them all for free on iTunes, with our Android App in the Amazon store, and now Stitcher, or wherever podcasts are distributed.  Get the Stitcher app and let us know how it works.  It’s Free.  You can also find every episode and more about the show at whoapodcast.com.  Please take a moment and join our email list. Get in on the conversation with Facebook and Twitter – just look for WhoaPodcast.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast.  We really love getting your feedback.  Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show.  You can email us at: John@WhoaPodcast.com

I blog at TrainingJessie.blogspot.com and I have a new blog about my Louisiana Leopard Catahoula puppy named Buster at BusterBrownDog.blogspot.com and if you want to know even more – and I can’t imagine why – it’s all at JohnHarrer.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #061

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