“When we first started working with Mary Kay 3 years ago, Gitana and I could not even walk in a straight line down the side of the arena on the rail. Now we are competing (and winning) in dressage, hunter jumper, and breed shows.
What I truly value more than winning ribbons is the connection that I have developed with Gitana. Mary Kay has taught me to listen to my horse, be in the present moment, and stay in tune to Gitana’s needs and my needs.
Cantering was a big problem for us. Gitana was not able to canter to the left when I first started riding her; she would pick up the wrong lead every time. Mary Kay worked with us to develop Gitana’s topline and balance and also my seat and cues so that now she rarely misses a lead and is even learning how to do flying changes.
Mary Kay is incredibly intuitive and seems to have almost a sixth sense when it comes to being able to decipher what Gitana is feeling and “saying”. We both were baby beginners with no idea what to do with this dream of dressage that I had. Mary Kay met us at our level, understood our needs, and gently brought us along as we learned how to be a horse and rider team. That feeling of teamwork is what I value most and what I believe to be our greatest transformation.”
“I have had the pleasure of teaching Mary Kay over several years in my clinics. I also have had on-going conversations with Mary Kay as part of my Virtual Arena courses she has taken. She has always stood out as a thoughtful and skilled horsewoman. When you are able to observe Mary Kay it is obvious that she has a deep understanding and connection with her horses, strives to see every situation from her horse’s point of view, and to be her best for her horse. She is passionate about sharing what she has learned with her students and puts a lot of focus into being an excellent teacher. It is a rare individual that has the range of experience from horsemanship to upper level dressage, and has the ability to explain it! Anyone would be lucky to have Mary Kay as part of their team!”
“Working with MaryKay has given me awareness and an alternate answers. I have learned to go slow, to be patient and to allow him to look and process on his own.We have been able to tap into the curious/friendly aspect of his personality and get that to stay with us more than the worried/fearful aspect of his personality.”
“You are VERY intuitive and that has been extremely valuable to me as I am more “black and white”. You can read Bailey so well and help me understand what’s going on with him. I feel more connected to him since working with you and I know he loves our visits to your place. The biggest transformation for me is that from our work with you I feel more connected with Bailey. It’s been hard in the past for me to understand him. He gives subtle indications of his needs, wants and or issues and it took me a long time to pick up on that.
You have helped me tremendously with breaking down goals into small pieces instead of “lumping” things. It’s always been amazing how doing one tiny little thing differently can change outcomes.“
“Mary Kay invests in my horses and cares about each one’s particular needs. I have never had a trainer who knew all of my horses and cared about each one as much as MaryKay. I also love that MaryKay tailors each lesson to fit where I and my horse are that day. She has set an example of being flexible and meeting your horse where he is at that very moment. That habit has been helping me in my relationships with people as well.
I have seen drastic improvement in each of my horses attitudes. They all WANT to play with me! None of them are hard to catch now. I have horses offering various behaviors and using the thinking side of their brain instead of dull reactions to a cue or waiting for the session to be over.
My mare Bella used to hate working with people and she was had to catch. She would kick out when she was annoyed and pin her ears. Now she is first in line every time I come out to work with the horses and she LOVES it. She has a happy expression when we work and she gets excited to try new things. “