Trisha Wren
My promise to you:
My goal is to work
with every horse and rider with empathy, softness and understanding. If you or the horse is struggling in some
way, I will find another way of explaining, to make things as easy as possible
for you. I aim NEVER to stress or
distress a horse or rider, and to never MAKE your horse do something. I don’t believe in being a dictator, I don’t
want your horse to submit – I am only interested in mutual trust,
understanding, softness, and helping you and your horse learn.
About
Trisha
Born and bred in
Scotland, Trisha was horse mad from an early age, and had regular riding school
lessons until half way through secondary school (her daddy wouldn't buy her a
pony..... he probably wishes he had now, then I might have grown out of this!!)
She cadged rides on friends' ponies, and worked at weekends at a Welsh Cob Stud
Farm. After college (Business Studies) she moved 'down south' (England) with
her first job, and started taking regular lessons once more and studying for
her British Horse Society exams, attaining
Level 3. Then things changed...
On a weekend away at
a Western riding school, Trisha was introduced for the first time to Quarter
Horses and western riding. There was no looking back, and soon after she bought
her first horse. On moving back to Scotland,
Trisha became the first resident representative in Scotland for the Western Equestrian Society. She spent several years promoting western riding in Scotland,
organising shows, clinics, and social events for the rapidly increasing number
of western enthusiasts, and also spent 2 years as a WES Council member. She
became approved by WES as an Instructor, and in her spare time gave Western
riding lessons and started horses.
Trisha competed
successfully in Western shows in Scotland, and at the UK Championships,
and won the Scottish Open Hi-Points twice, with 2 different horses. However,
problems with another of her horses started leading her down a different path.
She began searching for someone who could help to explain and overcome the
problems that had developed, and, when traditional methods didn't work, found
'natural horsemanship'. After investigating many trainers (Ray Hunt, John
Lyons, Pat Parelli), she discovered an American clinician called Mark Rashid, and took
her horse to his first UK clinic in 1999. It's safe to say that the lessons
learned there changed her way of thinking, and pointed her in a new
direction! In order to continue working
with Mark, Trisha began hosting clinics with him in Scotland (read clinic reports here)
over the next few years, as well as with other eminent
US clinicians - Leslie Desmond, Dr Deb Bennett, and Peggy Cummings. She would highly recommend hosting clinicians
as a way to really get to know these highly skilled horsemen and their
philosophies.
Trisha attended
Mark’s ‘Horse Gathering’ in Colorado
in 2000, and was stunned to be offered the chance to work for and with
Mark. She worked in the US as Mark Rashid's apprentice in 2001 and 2002,
assisting at clinics all over the country and in the UK.
Amongst many other life changing experiences, Mark introduced Trisha to
the martial art of Aikido, which teaches the student how to blend with any
energy directed at them and redirect it rather than resist it – invaluable when
working with horses.
Since May 2000
Trisha has been working full time helping others understand and communicate
more effectively with their horses. For
her last few years in Scotland
she trained primarily with Peggy Cummings, spending time with her in Scotland,
Canada and the US, all the
while extending her experience, understanding, and abilities. Through Peggy Trisha has become a fan of Feldenkrais,
‘body awareness through movement’, which she finds helps her own body and mind
and also relates to what she is teaching to horses. If we want our horses to be truly balanced,
physically and mentally, then we have to be too.
Trisha is also
deeply interested in rider position, and offers 'balanced' riding sessions to
promote security in the saddle and enable riders to feel more connection with
their horse. Even advanced or competitive riders can vastly improve their
horse’s performance by addressing how they use their body in the saddle. Trisha's other specialty is helping horse
owners with those irritating problems we all come up against at some point.
They seem insignificant, but can have a big effect on our relationship with our
horse and therefore trickle through to whatever we are doing with them. By
showing you different ways to work with your horse, Trisha can help you
strengthen your relationship and improve your communication. All disciplines
are catered for, whether for competition or pleasure - good horsemanship is
good horsemanship!
Trisha and her Kiwi
husband, Ian, emigrated from Scotland
to the Waikato, New Zealand,
in September 2005. From their 225 acre farm outside Cambridge Trisha continues
training and instructing, also offering residential
courses, and horse B&B,
and traveling NZ (and beyond!) conducting Connected Riding clinics.
About my horses
When I lived in Scotland my horses
were shod more than not, and rugged / covered While turned out during the day
in the winter. They lived out 24/7 in
the summer months, and were stabled at night in winter due to lack of shelter
in their fields. Here in NZ my Scottish
mare loves the heat, and has had a whole year living out and uncovered. She is also now barefoot, quite happily after
a short tender period. All of my Kiwi
bought horses are also barefoot, and I’m trimming them myself, learning more
all the time. My horses live in herd
situations (5 geldings in one group, 4 mares in another) in large paddocks
summer / autumn / winter, with grazing restricted more in spring. This enables them to socialise and move
around. I’ve just started running them
up the farms’ central race and back, for entertainment, exercise and varied
terrain. My biggest learning curve since
coming to NZ has been nutrition and mineral supplements, which horses here seem
to be affected by much more than in the UK.