Meet Jamie
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Horsemanship X 2840 N Elm Ave White Cloud, MI 49349 231-689-0953-Home info@horsemanshipx.com |
| Jamie and Dollie |
As a youngster, my family never owned horses. We lived in the country and our neighbors
had horses. I do have a vague memory of thinking it would be neat to have a horse that I
could ride and have all sorts of adventures with. But that is all it was, a memory. It wasn’
t until I was in my early twenties that I started my horsemanship journey. I became
friends with a lady who had horses, and she offered to teach me about them. First things
first, she taught me how to clean stalls and how to feed them properly. From there, we
moved on to grooming and how to pick out their feet. I suppose it was a stroke of genius on
her part, because she knew that if I wasn’t willing to learn how to do the menial tasks,
than teaching me to ride would be pointless.
During all that mucking, feeding, and grooming, a chord was struck somewhere inside me.
There was something about horses. Whether it was the way they smelled or the way they
felt and moved, I don’t know. All I do know is, from that time on, I had a passion for
horses. I started reading all the horse magazines and books on horses that I could find.
As I started to learn more and get some riding lessons, something else happened. I
realized that horses can think for themselves. They would not always follow my every
request. But when someone with more experience got on a horse I had been riding, the
horse was more responsive and respectful. That perplexed me greatly, and started me
thinking about the how’s and why’s of the matter. By this time, I had seen enough of how
some people handled horses to know what I didn’t want to do. There was something nagging
at me, saying “there is more to this than what you are seeing”.
This was about the time that the “natural” movement started to get some attention. I
started seeing articles and books talking about the horse’s nature and how their natural
instincts affected how they respond. Me, being a common sense guy, latched on to this
philosophy. It just made sense to consider the horse’s feelings when I was with them.
Also, during this time, I met my wife Rachel. She has had horses since she was a kid.
One big bonus of meeting her was (other than the whole falling in love thing!!) was that she
had a horse. I had not yet bought my own horse, I was just getting on my friends’ horses
whenever I could. Rachel gave me some pointers on my riding and got me going better
under saddle. I also got to experiment with her horse, what worked and what didn’t work.
Shortly after we were married, I bought my first horse. Then my learning really started.
I was free to ride as much and whenever I wanted. Boy, did I make a lot of mistakes!! I
had plenty of frustrating times in those early days. At times, it seemed like all I did was
fight with my horse. But one day I had a revelation. I realized that I was fighting
myself, not my horse. If I was having trouble, it was because I was having trouble with
me. This took on a whole new element for me. But in acknowledging this, my ability grew in
leaps and bounds. By realizing these things and devouring whatever educational material I
could get my hands on, my horses started getting softer and more responsive than my
friends’ horses. Most of my horse friends had been into horses for most of their lives,
and they didn’t take too kindly to my new way of thinking and the success I was having. I
did my best to not let this deter me and I kept going.
As the natural horsemanship movement grew, some of the key players came out with
videos and home study programs. I had been studying a lot of John Lyons techniques, and
I was having a lot of results. One day, when I saw a friend of mine “playing” with his
horse, I was taken aback. He was doing something called “Parelli Seven Games”. When I
started the Parelli Program, my world changed again. I learned on a whole new level, how
horses felt, thought, acted, and played. I went to several clinics and rode with some top
Parelli instructors. I was also fortunate enough to spend six weeks at the Ocala location of
the Parelli International Study Center. I had a decent foundation by this time and felt I
was able to “eat fish and spit out the bones”. Meaning, I wanted to learn more from other
people.
I remembered a guy I had seen do a demonstration during the NFR in Las Vegas when we
went there on vacation in 2002. His name was Dennis Reis. I purchased his course that
fall and set a goal to become one of his instructors. The following spring I realized that
goal and became the only male instructor to fifteen of the sixteen endorsements. I had
earned the hallowed Reis Ranch belt buckle with three diamonds in for the three classes I
passed in the Horseman’s Course. I was also invited to come to his ranch in California to
help teach the Freedom course at his one month school in June. While there, Dennis
offered me a job to go on tour with him. I jumped at the chance and left in July to go out
on the road. While we were out there, I met so many wonderful people and had the good
fortune to work with some pretty tough horses. I also gained a lot of experience teaching
the students on the “Friday Ride” portion of the tour stop.
One day I realized an overwhelming feeling to go out on my own, to be my own man, and
start my own program. I had learned so many things from some of the country’s top
horsemen and horsewomen, as well as things that I had discovered for myself along the
way. I could no longer ignore the inclination to put all of the best knowledge, methods, and
techniques into my own program, from my perspective. Sometimes for us humans to really
grasp something, even though the information has been presented before, it takes a
teacher with a different perspective, or a different “delivery”. That is where I feel I
have something to offer.
I have not forgotten those frustrating times and what it feels like to not “get it”. I also
know the things that made a difference for me to progress and move forward down my
horsemanship path. Learning isn’t always comfortable. So that is my mission, to further my
students in their horsemanship abilities, and keep it as fun and enjoyable as possible.
Jamie
had horses. I do have a vague memory of thinking it would be neat to have a horse that I
could ride and have all sorts of adventures with. But that is all it was, a memory. It wasn’
t until I was in my early twenties that I started my horsemanship journey. I became
friends with a lady who had horses, and she offered to teach me about them. First things
first, she taught me how to clean stalls and how to feed them properly. From there, we
moved on to grooming and how to pick out their feet. I suppose it was a stroke of genius on
her part, because she knew that if I wasn’t willing to learn how to do the menial tasks,
than teaching me to ride would be pointless.
During all that mucking, feeding, and grooming, a chord was struck somewhere inside me.
There was something about horses. Whether it was the way they smelled or the way they
felt and moved, I don’t know. All I do know is, from that time on, I had a passion for
horses. I started reading all the horse magazines and books on horses that I could find.
As I started to learn more and get some riding lessons, something else happened. I
realized that horses can think for themselves. They would not always follow my every
request. But when someone with more experience got on a horse I had been riding, the
horse was more responsive and respectful. That perplexed me greatly, and started me
thinking about the how’s and why’s of the matter. By this time, I had seen enough of how
some people handled horses to know what I didn’t want to do. There was something nagging
at me, saying “there is more to this than what you are seeing”.
This was about the time that the “natural” movement started to get some attention. I
started seeing articles and books talking about the horse’s nature and how their natural
instincts affected how they respond. Me, being a common sense guy, latched on to this
philosophy. It just made sense to consider the horse’s feelings when I was with them.
Also, during this time, I met my wife Rachel. She has had horses since she was a kid.
One big bonus of meeting her was (other than the whole falling in love thing!!) was that she
had a horse. I had not yet bought my own horse, I was just getting on my friends’ horses
whenever I could. Rachel gave me some pointers on my riding and got me going better
under saddle. I also got to experiment with her horse, what worked and what didn’t work.
Shortly after we were married, I bought my first horse. Then my learning really started.
I was free to ride as much and whenever I wanted. Boy, did I make a lot of mistakes!! I
had plenty of frustrating times in those early days. At times, it seemed like all I did was
fight with my horse. But one day I had a revelation. I realized that I was fighting
myself, not my horse. If I was having trouble, it was because I was having trouble with
me. This took on a whole new element for me. But in acknowledging this, my ability grew in
leaps and bounds. By realizing these things and devouring whatever educational material I
could get my hands on, my horses started getting softer and more responsive than my
friends’ horses. Most of my horse friends had been into horses for most of their lives,
and they didn’t take too kindly to my new way of thinking and the success I was having. I
did my best to not let this deter me and I kept going.
As the natural horsemanship movement grew, some of the key players came out with
videos and home study programs. I had been studying a lot of John Lyons techniques, and
I was having a lot of results. One day, when I saw a friend of mine “playing” with his
horse, I was taken aback. He was doing something called “Parelli Seven Games”. When I
started the Parelli Program, my world changed again. I learned on a whole new level, how
horses felt, thought, acted, and played. I went to several clinics and rode with some top
Parelli instructors. I was also fortunate enough to spend six weeks at the Ocala location of
the Parelli International Study Center. I had a decent foundation by this time and felt I
was able to “eat fish and spit out the bones”. Meaning, I wanted to learn more from other
people.
I remembered a guy I had seen do a demonstration during the NFR in Las Vegas when we
went there on vacation in 2002. His name was Dennis Reis. I purchased his course that
fall and set a goal to become one of his instructors. The following spring I realized that
goal and became the only male instructor to fifteen of the sixteen endorsements. I had
earned the hallowed Reis Ranch belt buckle with three diamonds in for the three classes I
passed in the Horseman’s Course. I was also invited to come to his ranch in California to
help teach the Freedom course at his one month school in June. While there, Dennis
offered me a job to go on tour with him. I jumped at the chance and left in July to go out
on the road. While we were out there, I met so many wonderful people and had the good
fortune to work with some pretty tough horses. I also gained a lot of experience teaching
the students on the “Friday Ride” portion of the tour stop.
One day I realized an overwhelming feeling to go out on my own, to be my own man, and
start my own program. I had learned so many things from some of the country’s top
horsemen and horsewomen, as well as things that I had discovered for myself along the
way. I could no longer ignore the inclination to put all of the best knowledge, methods, and
techniques into my own program, from my perspective. Sometimes for us humans to really
grasp something, even though the information has been presented before, it takes a
teacher with a different perspective, or a different “delivery”. That is where I feel I
have something to offer.
I have not forgotten those frustrating times and what it feels like to not “get it”. I also
know the things that made a difference for me to progress and move forward down my
horsemanship path. Learning isn’t always comfortable. So that is my mission, to further my
students in their horsemanship abilities, and keep it as fun and enjoyable as possible.
Jamie
