There be Dragons Farm

Melissa Mahoney

I'm sure you've heard it before -- “Heels down!” -- and I had too, countless times. But all pushing my heels down got me was shooting pain extending from my knee down the side of my calf, and prevented me from a truly connected seat. I thought that was just my anatomy, or that riding would just hurt and I'd get used to it. Pushing down through my heels was all I'd ever been taught and the lack of connection in my seat didn't bother me (since I came from a hunter background). Within two weeks of lessons with Tommy, my knee pain was gone, and I can't believe I ever thought that it was normal. She was the first person to actually explain my seat to me through biomechanics, teaching me which muscles to compress and release and how to support myself in my core and not by (essentially) standing in my stirrups. In the year that I have been training with her I feel that I have made incredible progress. Tommy takes the time to really get to know her students and understand their individual needs, and in lessons pairs them with horses that either build confidence or provide a challenge as needed. Tommy's lessons often incorporate bareback, lunging, and in-hand work too. I think the opportunity to learn techniques for lunging and in-hand work is pretty unique in lessons where you don't have your own horse, and I feel like I'm learning a whole side of horsemanship I missed out on before. Tommy has helped me work through some serious anxieties (stemming from a bad fall), pushing me to be a better rider without me ever feeling unsafe. Becoming a better rider has really been a side effect of her priority in helping people build relationships with their horses. This is one of the biggest differences about Tommy and one of the things I value the most: the end-goal isn't a blue ribbon (though of course, that'd be nice). Its the journey to achieve a relationship where horse and rider consistently work in concert to produce connection and lightness – for me, that's the prize.

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