How it Began

Four and a half years ago myself and five of my students went to a Parelli tour stop in Yakima, Washington.  By the end of the event, we had all decided to share in the purchase of a Parelli Level 1 pack.  That was the spring of 2006.  By October of that year, we had all submitted our Level 1 assessment videos to David Lichman.  One of my students passed immediately.  The rest of us (me included!) had to do a couple of resubmits.  But we all passed on the second try. 

The Parelli method has proven itself to be the best and most fun training system I have tried.  I have always done natural horsemanship, having started with John Lyons' earlier round pen method in 1998.  I started quite a few horses that way with great success.  But these were all horses that I did not own and was only preparing to be used as trail horses, or sold to others.  I purchased my current horse partner in 2000 when she was 18 months old.  She had responded well to the round pen work and we likewise did really well together.  By the time she was five she had passed her Introductory Driving, Draft, English and Western tests in her breed evaluation with blue ribbons, also earning her Silver Medallion award.  It was after that that I learned about Parelli, and even though we had achieve this much, there was something lacking in my attitude and our relationship.  So when I started Parelli, I started over at Level 1 with the halter and lead rope.  I didn't use a bridle again until the following summer, except when I was driving her.  At the age of ten, Kjarda passed her Advanced Driving, Draft and Western tests again with blue ribbon scores and earned her Gold Mediallion award.  I think I want to do the Western test again and also do the English test.  I know we can get a better score on the western test, even thought we got a blue ribbon.  But we didn't have the flying lead change yet, and that will be in place next year.  I'm excited.  I'm learning that with Kjarda.

I am still learning a lot about myself . . . I am a direct-line thinker, impatient, and get angry . . . I never thought I had a temper, but now I know.  Kjarda is teaching me to be humble, to wait, to work through problems, to take more time.  Even now, playing in Level 4, I still get impatient . . . but not as often.  Kjarda is so patient with me and very forgiving.  She is a great partner!  I know where I stand with her at all times and I still have a ways to go.  Sometimes I think she acts like a left brain introvert when she knows I am hurrying too fast just to get me to relax and take more time.  Unfortunately, I tend to get impatient . . . that's one of the areas I still have a ways to go.  She acts like a left brain extrovert when I push her too hard to teach me to be more gentle and, again, to wait.