Lori's training philosophy is individual communication with
horse and
rider.
Lori's grandfather helped her train her first horse at the age of eleven. Folks
said the Quarter horse would never amount to anything, but Lori proved them
wrong winning several National Gymkhana Championships. She apprenticed with
several local western riding legends. Her education evolved from the cowboys of
yesteryear "buck them out methods" to her present day non-threatening,
natural way of training horses. Her patience manner encouraged several riders to
ask her to coach them. But when Lori's favorite horse had to be put down due to
massive sand impaction, she lost heart in the horse business and moved to
Alaska.
Moving back to California a few years later Lori eventually started back into
horses. People were skeptical about Lori's first re-training project, a
greenbroke Morab that couldn't bend. That Morab has won both local and
California Gymkhana Association Championships since 1995.
Re-training "Backyard and Backward" horses are Lori's specialty. Her
methods work-proof by the hundreds of trophies, plaques, ribbons, buckles, and
other awards that decorate her office. "It takes a lot of time and effort
to fix a horse, but the results are worth it." Ask her students whose own
trophy rooms echo her accomplishments.
Lori's students learn basic through advance horsemanship and sportsmanship. They
are taught how to re-train their own horses through the three "P's"
patience, persistence and perseverance.
"Most horses can easily be taught the basics, but as you get into advance
training such as gymkhana patterns, the training program must be tailored to the
individual horse. Teaching people to ride is similar. Start with the basics;
balance, good horsemanship, sportsmanship, then the job of the trainer is to
find a way to communicate to the individual rider the advance skills so that
they can transfer those new skills to their horse."
Lori's diverse education background includes a Bachelors of Business
Administration degree, Interior Decorating Certification and an Adult Education
Teaching Credential. She attends various horse clinics and keeps up-dated on the
latest training and coaching methods in the industry.
Lori is President of Los Vallecitos Riders equine club. She was Contributing
Editor for Suite 101 Horse Management and Training Website www.Suite101.com
and a monthly columnist for Australia's HorseMania, and writes training tips and
articles for Horse Talk and other publications. Lori's a member of the American
Riding Instructors Association, Horsemanship Safety Association, Certified
Instructor Horsemanship Association, the American Youth Horse Council,
California State Horseman Association, National Barrel Racing Association,
American Quarter Horse Association, and is a certified California Gymkhana
Association judge. Lori's also CPR and first-aide certified.
