Hi Everyone, we are really gearing up for an exciting Fall.  By the time you read this, I will be in the UK and then will be heading to Santiago, Chile for the Pan American Games (Endurance.)  I've been feverishly brushing up on my Spanish.

Soon after I return home, my book, Beyond Horse Massage, will be hitting the stands.  It's due out the second week of November.   For our UK enthusiasts, you won't be left out in the cold! J.A. Allen will be distributing the book in the UK and they are currently offering a discount for those that pre-order the book.  Click here for more information on buying the book in the UK

High Horse Productions are putting the finishing touches on the 80 minute DVD which will be a companion for the book.  The DVD should be for sale at the same time as the release of the book (second week in November.)  Both the DVD and the book will be for sale from our home office.

Just to get things rolling:  Interested in the DVD AND saving money? If you pre-order the DVD (before 11/08/11) I'm pleased to offer you a 15% discount off of the retail price of $34.95. Just send me your email address, and we will contact you when your DVD is ready to ship - it's as easy as that. Click here to send us your email for presale of the DVD.

I encourage all of you to consider using the book and the DVD together as a resource.  The book goes into detail of each technique by showing step-by-step instructional pictures.  In the DVD, I have tried to convey the "feel" of each of these techniques.  They are good companion resources to have in your toolbox.
Click here for presales of the book in the US.

Switching gears here, I want to introduce you to Coralie Hughes, our newest Masterson Method™ Certified Practitioner from Indiana. Read below her bio and how she became interested in bodywork.

Coralie rides dressage and has just finished an article for "Dressage Today" magazine on the Masterson Method™.  We'll keep you updated as to when that article will appear. Thanks Coralie!

Lastly, I wanted to point out that we only have a couple more seminars left this year!  Lisa Haldane, one of our Certified Instructors is teaching a weekend seminar-workshop in Tucson, Arizona in November.  She promises great weather and a smaller group for you to get lots of one-on-one time with her.

I encourage anyone who hasn't done a workshop to take her up on her offer.  Click here for more information on the hand's-on workshop.    Lisa sent us a picture of the barn where the course will be offered.

It's beautiful Fall weather, so get out there and ride your horses. And.....

Like me, enjoy your horses!

Jim

Having raised a family and being on the backside of a long corporate career, horses remain a lifelong passion. Over the years I have participated in about every equine sport and activity to at least some level of delight, where skill may have been absent. I found my way rather late in life to dressage....and I'm hooked.

They say it's the journey that counts; good news for me since I have so very far to go! With the help of a giving but aged schoolmaster horse, I made my way through the  USDF Bronze medal requirements, receiving it in 2007. Though excited about this achievement, I still felt I didn't have a good grasp of what "good" was, so I went through the USDF L judge training program in 2009. Along the way, I have read every article and book on the subject of dressage training and riding and equine biomechanics that I stumbled across.

Still feeling woefully inadequate when encountering a training issue,  I have developed the habit of asking myself four questions.  First, am I asking the right question of my horse? Second, what might I be doing wrong in applying the aids? Third, does my horse understand the aids?  And fourth, is it a fair question to ask of my horse? By the latter question I am addressing whether or not the horse can easily comply physically with the request, if he understands it and I am doing my job correctly asking. Since my horses have been basically fit and sound, I searched for several years for a way to best answer the last question, when I didn't feel I needed the services of a veterinarian.

During a clinic at her barn, my trainer and Dressage USET member Jennifer Conour (of Jolietville, Indiana) introduced me to Jim Masterson who was preparing horses for an internationally known clinician. Jennifer wanted me to see what Jim was doing, because she felt my horses needed the benefit of his techniques.  I talked briefly with Jim, got his introductory video, spent hours practicing on my horses, and decided I needed to know more.  After the weekend seminar, I knew that the certification path, daunting as it would be, was for me. Since achieving certification, I delight in offering bodywork to clients and friends as an extension of my farm business www.serenityfarms.biz

As I have practiced these techniques and learned to read the very subtle responses of the horse, I have gained more than an awareness of the condition of a horse's body that is meaningful to me as a horse owner and rider. The extensive study of the equine bone and muscle anatomy required for the Masterson Method™ certification fed my fascination with biomechanics and deepened my understanding of what a dressage movement really requires of the horse.  I feel my effectiveness as a rider, instructor and trainer have been dramatically enhanced by what I have learned from Jim and the application of the Masterson Method.

Thanks, Jim!

Coralie Hughes can be reached via email at: coraliej1@gmail.com