TURBO

Most people ask this as if it is a question of mileage — something that just shows up over time spent on trails.

For me, it's this: Is it the same horse everywhere?

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I thoroughly prepare for the trails. Once the horse is solid in the arena, I take the work just outside the gate, until the feel is the same: same work, different place. Calm standing, walking at my speed on a loose rein, no strong ideas about which way to go. Once they are able to soften and keep the mind with me, I take the work down the trail. I go farther as they're ready, return, regroup, and go out again. The goal isn't distance — it's quality, connection. It's that a circle anywhere rides the same speed all the way around. It's a horse as willing to turn toward home as away.

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It's the same as the arena, as anywhere. Same high standard: understanding, trust and true confidence.

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These more sensitive and generous horses carry a real risk: pushing too quickly and overwhelming them can create a tension that lasts a lifetime.

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I often don't ride out with other horses early on, not until I trust that if the others took off for some reason, my horse would be able to stay with me. That's the standard I hold everywhere: on a group trail ride, in a crowded warm-up arena… anywhere. I want my horse's attention on me, not on the other horses.

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In this way, the whole world becomes my arena,

instead of the arena becoming my whole world.