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When you value your partnership with your horse, you seek out the best care, the best training, and the best experience for them at every turn, including when your knowledge or experience ends. I adopted my little mare at 10 days old from a nurse mare foal rescue. After years of groundwork and desensitization through obstacles, I trusted a lovely friend to back her for the first time. She’s a smart and sensitive creature and did amazingly well in her first 45 days under saddle. After putting miles on her on trails and over poles in the arena for the next two years, taking it slow, I knew it was time for her to have the next step in her formal training. At five, she was getting stronger and smarter at evading my training cues.
For me, knowing that Lennon was very sensitive (once described as having an ignition point of nitroglycerine by Chris Irwin at a groundwork clinic) she needed someone with quiet and consistent discipline to bring her along. Having taken dressage lessons from Erica, I reached out to her to see if she would take Lennon on for training.
I had never been away from Lennon longer than 10 days—but Erica provided updates after each ride and I looked forward to reviewing her summaries and watching Lennon’s rides recorded on a Pivo. I don’t know many trainers who would narrate a training session and let you have it on video—this was a huge way for me to learn as a rider and reinforce what Erica was teaching Lennon. I was also able to take a few lessons with her on Lennon to physically learn what she had been teaching. The progress was immediate and just kept getting better. She’s a lovely little thing, and feels/looks like a real horse now, muscled, conditioned and disciplined, and most (not all!) of her baby brain has matured during the 60 day experience. Lennon offers the right behaviours—offers them!
Erica’s love for every horse she works with is evident in their boarding care, the way she speaks to them and the way she listens to them to discover what they need to give her what the rider wants. This has been a wonderful experience for me to learn as a rider and horse owner and I am so excited to work with Erica on upgrading both mine and Lennon’s skills in our journey together.
- Calleigh Dauphinais
For me, knowing that Lennon was very sensitive (once described as having an ignition point of nitroglycerine by Chris Irwin at a groundwork clinic) she needed someone with quiet and consistent discipline to bring her along. Having taken dressage lessons from Erica, I reached out to her to see if she would take Lennon on for training.
I had never been away from Lennon longer than 10 days—but Erica provided updates after each ride and I looked forward to reviewing her summaries and watching Lennon’s rides recorded on a Pivo. I don’t know many trainers who would narrate a training session and let you have it on video—this was a huge way for me to learn as a rider and reinforce what Erica was teaching Lennon. I was also able to take a few lessons with her on Lennon to physically learn what she had been teaching. The progress was immediate and just kept getting better. She’s a lovely little thing, and feels/looks like a real horse now, muscled, conditioned and disciplined, and most (not all!) of her baby brain has matured during the 60 day experience. Lennon offers the right behaviours—offers them!
Erica’s love for every horse she works with is evident in their boarding care, the way she speaks to them and the way she listens to them to discover what they need to give her what the rider wants. This has been a wonderful experience for me to learn as a rider and horse owner and I am so excited to work with Erica on upgrading both mine and Lennon’s skills in our journey together.
- Calleigh Dauphinais
Sky Haven Stables is an exquisite, well-run, well maintained, top notch stable. Erica is a very respectable coach who ensures her riders are comfortable, confident, knowledgeable and excel to the best of their abilities. Erica's passion is seen through her dedication, high standards and attention to detail. The desire for her students to excel is far superior to any we have previously encountered at other facilities. Erica's lessons go beyond the basics of horseback riding and can be applied to many different situations in life. She encourages her students to be knowledgeable in all aspects of horsemanship and takes the necessary time to share her knowledge and ensures the students understand what is being shared. Erica is a 5* coach and is highly recommended.
- Danielle Vernier
- Danielle Vernier