About the Trainer
I was born and raised on a cattle ranch in 100 Mile House BC. I was involved in horses at a young age, from my first ride at 18 months of age to later clutching the cantle of my parents' saddles as they drove cattle through the 7,000 acre lease. I soon progressed to showing western pleasure/equitation/trail/gymkhanas, competing in english pleasure/equitation/hunter/jumper through Pony Club, and working cattle alongside my parents. When we moved off the ranch I continued to work and show cattle through High Lonesome Ranch and also continued to compete in both english and western disciplines.
I
currently own a dark bay 2004 Thoroughbred gelding off the Alberta race circuit (Link's Secret), a grey 1995 Quarter Horse/Arabian gelding (Silver), a grey 2000 Dutch Warmblood/Quarab gelding (Koolaid), and (most recently) a dark bay 2007 CWB mare (Soraya).
Silver (pictured at right) was homebred/ raised and was started (30 days or so) at age 4 by a local natural horsemanship horse trainer, Russ Dreger of Knutsford, BC, who put on an excellent natural-horsemanship-based foundation. From there, I started riding him, moving off of my little black Morgan/Welsh pony Sinbad and Silver's Quarter Horse/Arabian dam, Lady, and onto the younger and more athletic Silver. Silver and I worked cattle long days and competed in Pony Club (jumping primarily), 4H, and open shows for years afterwards.
In 2000, I acquired Silver's half-brother, Koolaid (as an ever-resistant foal, below). He was out of one of our old mares (Silver's dam, a Quarter Horse x Arabian mare), who had been leased out at the time, and by the Holland-import Dutch Warmblood stallion Formaat. I began working with Koolaid as a foal, but it was soon clear he was beyond my capabilities. He made every attempt to always get his way, including intentionally hurting me. Over the years, he was becoming increasingly unruly and dangerous, and I was at my wit's end. Until I attended a Parelli tour stop in Calgary, Alberta, in 2003. Seeing what was possible with horses completely blew me away. Pat and Linda Parelli offered me a completely new approach to horses (though their approach is not new to the horse world, it was new to me at the time and I still find it to be a different approach to many within the industry, even in this day and age), a completely new way of working with them and offered me the type of partnership one previously only associated with fictious tales such as The Black Stallion.
July of 2004 I attended a Level 1 clinic by Jonathan Field, and August 2005 I attended a Level 2 clinic by Jonathan as well, bringing along Koolaid both times. Koolaid soon became a successful partner who enjoyed jumping and trails as much as I did, a horse I could finally enjoy riding - even at liberty! I quickly brought Silver up to the same level and capabilities.
Fall 2008 I purchased a Thoroughbred gelding off the track - Link's Secret (pictured at top). I had worked on the track with this "problem horse" and loved his mischievous personality as well as his energy. Over the last year he has progressed from the highly-reactive, rebellious horse he was into a (mostly!) calm and thinking partner who is now progressing past Training Level dressage, so as to properly prepare us for our show jumping career, and is started jumping lightly. My hopes are to compete in dressage/jumping on him lightly over 2010, after which hopefully (eventually) making our way into the Grand Prix show jumping ring.
The newest addition to my herd is a 2007 Canadian Warmblood (Hano-bred) filly whom I hope has what it takes to eventually make a Grand Prix show jumper as well! Soraya is jumper-bred and has the bold and confident attitude I was seeking in my search for a suitable mare, as well as the sensitivity, responsiveness and the intelligence that will make her a great partner. My goal with her is to bring her up to the GP level prior to eventually retiring her as a jumper-producing broodmare.
I started 'training' horses when I was approx. 8 years old. At that time, 'training' consisted of riding the bucks out of the neighbour's Shetland ponies!! Silver taught me much as a young horse, but I have to credit Koolaid for getting me into the actual training end of things. As a difficult horse, he presented an entire new set of challenges and in overcoming every obstacle he threw at me, I gained new insight into horse psyche and how to work with various 'problems'. He is the horse who completely changed my outlook on horses and allowed me to see things from another perspective...one that worked and that followed the natural instincts and behaviours of the horse. Late 2008 I started training professionally by taking on a problem-horse Warmblood mare who had formerly been deemed 'untrainable' by her former abusive trainer. I turned out a solid mare ready for dressage, jumping, or trail and in doing so started to realise my potential as a trainer. Fall 2008 I won a small trainer's challenge in St. Paul, Alberta, including against a horsewoman who had been successfully training for many more years than I. I came away with additional experience, a lot of excellent feedback, and some complimentary judge and spectator comments. That fall I also took on Link's Secret, another horse I would definitely deem a 'problem horse'; I have since successfully turned him around (and continue to do so) as a high-level jumper prospect. Though I have not been training professionally for a great length of time, I find that I do have the natural ability to turn out fantastic working partners who have a solid foundation to build off of. I have a good grasp of what motivates a horse, how the horse thinks, what to and not to do (depending upon the horse), and how to solve various 'issues' a horse might present. I have a natural feel and sense of timing with horses, as well as the morals and ethics necessary in the horse world. On the other hand, I also possess the humility and honesty to tell an owner when to take a horse elsewhere if I find my own capabilities not quite up to par with a particular horse.
I find I learn from each and every horse and have been able to successfully turn out horses with strong foundations that go home to happy owners. My primary goal with every horse is to fully develop them into the horse they need to be to become a healthy, happy, successful partner under-saddle (no matter their intended use) who can later specialize into whichever discipline their rider so chooses. A horse who is braver, calmer, smarter and who is respectful and trusting in their rider, with their dignity and confidence intact. Of course, the unintended consequences of developing horses is also that each horse also becomes your teacher and thus allows me to gain greater insight, wisdom, and knowledge. I don't 'train' or 'break' horses, I 'develop' them into successful partners - the rest is just refinement!
>>Tara Fehr
