Every moment is a lesson

Unlike at other yards, where the horses are presented at a mounting block good to go, I have found that every moment spent at Pippsway is a lesson.

Everywhere I look something is happening and in a way I am not familiar with. For a start the yard is immaculate and yet the atmosphere is so relaxed. I’ve seen both of those things before, of course, but never together. It doesn’t seem to matter how many people are at the yard and how many horses are being worked on at any one time, the atmosphere stays the same. Calm and relaxed. The relationships between owners are also different. When one of us is schooling or riding, and the others are watching, we are all encouraging and supportive of each other. There is no criticism, no judgement. Regardless of who is watching I never feel self conscious.

Even how Pip manages her dogs at the yard is different. She doesn't micromanage their every move, but even from a distance, she always seems to know what they are doing and steps in when needed. There is freedom and yet never chaos. This way of working carries across to her schooling. When I’ve had lessons elsewhere I’ve been bombarded with so many instructions that it is hard to take them all in and apply them all at once. Pip will give me some instructions before I start and then lets me get on with it and see’s how I go. She then gives clear concise instructions when I am getting something wrong, but in such a way as I am immediately able to apply what she has said! There is not the constant babble of interference I have been used to and it really allows me to focus both on what I am doing and on her instructions when they come.