Cynthia Cooper - my path to instructor
From the age of 6 when I started riding school, I wished for a pony, finally getting one when I turned 8 and proved it wasn't a passing whim!
Mum loved horses and as well as supporting my love for them, and started my interest in breeding. She had an Arabian stallion who was bred to various mares producing some nice riding horses which went onto provide me with pony club and show mounts.
Owning a property in the tourist and holiday area of the Tasman Penisula, inspired our family to put all the horses to work by offering escorted trail rides which naturally led me to instructing people in the basics of horse riding.
Then local kids sought me out to help them and before too long, I'd formed a riding club which is still going strong 20 years later.
Having bred our own young horses and handled them from birth, it was also natural that I'd start them under saddle with guidance from the 'Tom Roberts' books and 'The Jeffrey Method', both known for their horsemanship skills in Australia. Once word got out that I could do this, people were soon asking me to start their horses too.
I'd always admired Arabians so while working for a stud in Queensland, I took the opportunity to get my first purebred - a colt, who I educated and competed with to become the top performed Arabian stallion in Tasmania. There wasn' t much we hadn't tried and been successful in - led and ridden shows, endurance rides, dressage, picnic racing, jumping and western events.
As I gathered a small group of mares to breed with him, I also played polocrosse then started campaigning his progeny in the show ring and at endurance rides.
After such a varied equestrian career, I became very dissolusioned with the methods people were resorting to for success, and with no desire to compete and mix with them, I lost my enthusiasm for riding.
Cynthia and Manny (Examiner Photo)
That was until I saw Pat Parelli in 1992 at his first clinic in Tasmania. I knew I'd found the way I wanted to be with horses and jumped right in, buying all the equipment, videos and registering as a student.
With enthusiasm coming in waves (mostly inspired by Linda Parelli's newsletters and Philip Nye's acheivements and encouragement), it took me two years to have Level 1 assessed, then I got serious about my horsemanship and aims of being an instructor.
This led to organising many clinics in Tasmania and taking on the role of Area Coordinator for the State. After reaching level 2 thanks to mentoring with Ken Faulkner, I started my annual pilgrimage to Braidwood in NSW to learn more from Pat. I then studied at his International Study Centre for 6 weeks in 1996, the first year of ISC courses.
The following year, qualified as an instructor, my career was now with horses, something I'd always dreamed of. But then a back injury forced me to stop riding for almost a year so reaching Level 3 seemed to take forever and was finally achieved mid 1999.
Now after many courses and many years of experience, I have the knowledge that I've always wanted to be able to offer my horses. With 13 of them (and a mule!) to play with, I have no shortage of projects to broaden my horsemanship skills.Having earned my living from instructing now for over 10 years, I have and will continue to learn from my students and their horses too.
I believe experience is the greatest teacher of all.
My interest in providing as close to a natural environment for my horses as possible has led me to develop skills in hoof trimming for barefoot performance, feeding and treating most health problems naturally.Developing more awareness for what horses prefer has led me to making my own design of Bitless Bridle, Bareback Pad and saddle (coming soon).
As my horsemanship awareness grows, I am exploring the various ways of communicating with horses, truly understanding what they want and how they can heal us as much as we can them.I am now in the process of recording all I've learned and have published on this web site by writing my first book.
About
this web site:
My
aim is to provide a site that may help and inspire horse owners to
take a more natural approach to all aspects of horse ownership by
developing a better understanding of the horse's inherant needs.
This has come from my studies of horse psychology, natural horsemanship methods, keeping, feeding, treating and hoof trimming my own horses, naturally.
I would love to see all
horse owners become more interested and capable in more aspects of
the care and education of their horses,
for the benefit of this beautiful animal who is here to teach us so
much.
Having fun with Manny and Tigga. (Examiner photo).
Manny
and I were regular performers in the Agfest central arena from 1996
to 2005.
Read a tribute to Manny, my special horse
partner, here.
WHAT I DO
-
Develop, market and sell the LightRider Bitless Bridle
-
Teach people through private lessons, workshops, 2-5 day courses and
seminars in Tasmania and occasionally overseas. -
Educate foals, young horses and trailer loading problems
-
Teach and consult on hoof trimming
-
Consult on horse psychology and horse problems
-
Consult on natural horse care
-
Give appraisals for horse purchases
-
Mentor Polytechnic Equine Hoof Care Students
-
Write articles, newsletters, books.
or Phone 0419 372279
The view from my place on a winter morning.
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Disclaimer: The information contained within this website is soley the expressed views and opinions of the author, unless otherwise stated, and the author accepts no responsability for the way this information is used by viewers. The information is provided to help PREVENT problems, not to replace veterinary advice.
Contact:
Cynthia
Cooper -
Natural Horse World
46 Wattle Lea Lane, Golden Valley. Tasmania, 7304. Australia.
Ph.
0419 372279
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