My name is Melanie Garner and i am a Natrual Horsemanship Instructor and Horse Agility Accredited Trainer and Judge with http://www.thehorseagilityclub.com
Every human and horse relationship is unique and I enjoy helping people connect with their horses on a new level discovering more about each other and how to communicate effectively.
The biggest influence on my teaching has been Dinks, my beloved welsh cob mare who I had the pleasure of sharing live with for 28 years. She became by beloved partner in 1993 until 2022 when she passed aged 30. Dinks has been by far my biggest teacher. She was a challenging Welsh Cob with a mind of her own, very opinionated and leaving you in no doubt what was on her mind! We spent many years building a relationship mainly on her terms!! In 2008 I saw a Horsemanship Demonstration which changed our lives together forever. What I saw I wanted for Dinks and myself. My dream on that day at that point was the closeness of horse and human, a dream I now live. A dream which I want to share with others and help them to achieve.
My natural horsemanship journey began with instruction and the guidance from Victoria Johnson and Kingdom Horse where we found new ways to communicate. My highly strung Welsh cob was now calm and relaxed in my company. We then went on our first ever clinic with Ingela Larsson Smith taking in True Connection at Liberty, then followed over the next couple of years with Advanced Liberty and Riding clinics. Ingelas teachings have helped to form a foundation from which teach. From there on my dreams grew big and I could ride Dinks bareback and bridle-less, something I would never have thought possible before my Natural Horsemanship journey, living my dream
I began teaching natural horsemanship in 2010, sharing my knowledge and helping people build stronger relationships with their horses.
In Spring 2011 I saw Horse Agility advertised and it caught my eye, something Dinks and I could do to progress our relationship. I did a one day course and fun competition and was hooked. I joined the club and began taking part in the OLHA (online filming) competitions. Finding this such a fun way to build a relationship with a horse it was a natural progression to become a Horse Agility Trainer. Since then I have taught a wide range of people and horses. From young horses building up communication and confidence, to the older horse no longer able to be ridden but still enjoying groundwork. I have taught a range of young people from those at the Princes Trust, using horses to help build their confidence and self esteem, to street children and orphans in Brazil for the charity Horses for Orphans.