Cedar Ridge Farm, Inc.

07/29/2026

As horse trainers, we all see a lot of angst, drama, fear, and anxiety at horse shows, Daphne Thornton writes. Sometimes, it’s not even ours. Kids and drama seem to be able to find each other in a crowd. When you add in horses, judging, and parents spending a ton of money… things can escalate quickly. Sometimes perspective is hard to achieve.

I like to look at it this way—horse shows are nothing more than a great big bowl of life lessons. You can take a bite. You can eat the whole thing. Or, you can go hungry.

What lessons can you learn at horse shows that apply elsewhere in life? Well, for starters, these:

1. Very few people will know, or care, if you do well. Those few include your mother, your small handful of close friends, and your trainer. This is actually a good thing. All the people who you think are watching you actually aren’t.

2. A small-ish number of people will actively hope you do not do well. As we say at Two Bit Training, “That’s fair. I can live with that.” And, most of them aren’t watching either.

3. The rest of the world…Does. Not. Care.

4. 80% of the work that is done in the world every day is done by people who are hot, cold, tired, or hungry. You will be hot, cold, tired, or hungry some days. Keep going as best you can. And if you need a break and can take one, do it.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2022/11/28/horse-shows-are-a-big-bowl-of-life-lessons/
📸 © Evelyn Szczepanek / ES Equine Photography

07/22/2026

This!!!!

STOP CHASING A HEAD SET... TRAIN THE WHOLE HORSE

I truly believe two words have ruined more horses than almost anything else in our industry... "Head Set."

Somewhere along the way, people have become obsessed with where a horse's head is instead of understanding why it's there.

So what happens?

We reach for draw reins, tie-downs, martingales, leverage bits, nosebands, gadgets, drugs, and stronger equipment... all to force a horse into a picture that we humans thinks look correct.

But here's the question...

What if the horse's head is only a symptom of what's happening through the rest of its body?

A horse can't truly carry itself correctly if it isn't engaging its hindquarters, lifting its back, moving with rhythm, balance, and relaxation.

You can pull a horse's head into position all day long, but that doesn't mean you've created collection.

In fact, many horses learn to tuck their nose while becoming tighter through their back, stiffer in their body, and and that makes it harder to communicate with them.

I'd rather spend my time teaching a horse to move correctly than teaching it to simply look correct.

When the feet, shoulders, rib cage, back, and hindquarters start working together... the head and neck usually take care of themselves.

I'm not saying every training aid is bad. In the right hands, for the right horse, at the right time, some have their place. But often times the people who know how to use tools like draw reins never need them because they know how to achieve the same results without them.

No piece of equipment will ever replace good timing, feel, balance, and horsemanship.

Quit chasing the head... and start training the whole body !!

Jeremy Anglin

07/04/2026

Enjoy this holiday and remember to thank those who make it possible 🇺🇸

06/04/2026

Good luck to to the Cedar Ridge YEDA team competing here in Lexington VA today
Ashley Korrow
Ava Christman
Lydia Lemieux
👊👊💪💪🤠🐴🐴

05/02/2026

What a great race!!!

🌹 GOLDEN TEMPO WINS THE 152nd KENTUCKY DERBY 🌹
A dive at the wire. A lifetime.
Golden Tempo crossed the finish line at Churchill Downs the way great horses do — not easily, but with everything he had. Digging deep in the final strides, he found one last surge when the world held its breath.
This is the Kentucky Derby. Not just a race. A story written in seconds, told forever🐎

04/21/2026

Great article

At major horse shows, the difference between making the top ten and landing in the top three is rarely one dramatic thing. More often, it comes down to a series of smaller, less glamorous things done at a higher level, with more intention, more consistency, and more belief. Most riders in the top te...

04/15/2026

Great article

It may sound redundant at this point, but horses and horse showing are incredibly expensive. It can be hard to feel motivated to hit the road and spend the money when you aren’t winning often…or at all. While it is incredibly rewarding to be recognized as “the best” on a particular day, thes...