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At Rudy Horsmanship we produce Happy Atheletes. We uphold classical horsemanship and dressage principles in our instruction and our training. Our preferred clients are those who truly care about their horse's health and happiness- showing is fun, but the horse's well-being comes first. We teach regular clinics on Horsemanship, Riding in Balance, and Dressage. We are currently producing more learning materials in order to help our clients, near and far.
I've taken ideas from so many places I hardly know how to label myself. I have studied so many training methods I could never claim to be a follower of only one discipline. I've auditted, I've asked ,I've read, and I've experimented. I've listened to trainers from all discliplines and thought about how I can incorporate the best of thier programs into my own. Maybe I am a "jack of all trades, master of none" but having this broad education has helped me tremendously. It is the combination of all that allows me to enable riders to fill in the blanks and move forwards with their ridng. I have a competitive show jumping record including two third places at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, a fifth place zone 2 Horse of the Year Award, and even a few mini-prix wins (jumps over 4'9"). I have a passion for dressage- correct biomechanics are often overlooked by natural horsemen, and I seem to have a knack for teaching anything with four legs how to do the lateral movements. Bridle-less riding, ground work, and trick training have been the biggest possitive impact on my horsemanship- the more I focus on these areas the better everything else gets. In April 2008 I placed second in the in-hand portion and sixth over all at the 2008 Midwest Mustang Challenge in Madison, WI with "Rave"- and I bought him the next day and have been developing a relationship with him ever since. My specialties include teaching riders how to get their horses calm, willing, and biomechanically correct without using a million aids. I also LOVE working with young sport horses. I also enjoy competing provided the horse's owner is more concerned with their horse's health and happiness then on ribbons- of course, winning is fun too!
Davin worked with multiple trainers in the western world, including those who rope, colt start, team pen, and cut. But the man who made the biggest impact on Davin's horsemanship was Raymond Anderson. The stories Davin has told me about this old man are incredible- too incredible to write about here, because you probably wouldn't believe me! No one seems to know where Raymond acquired his knowledge, as he wasn't much of a talker, but we have reason to believe he spent time directly with Tom Dorrance. Raymond was a true master who seemed to be able to ride any discipline and settle any horse within minutes. It is only ashame he passed on his knowledge to so few. Davin's other great teacher was Clapper's Pepper. Pepper was bred by his family and sold young. Later they learned that she was beaten and starved and bought her back. She was terrified of humans, yet she was self confident and a true leader. She wasn't even broke to lead. Davin spent over a year building a relationship with her from the ground. It was slow going and they spent much of their time together just watching each other from across the round pen, but when the relationship was solid, it was incredible. Once riding, Pepper was so smart and had so much natural cow sense that team pening, cut and sort, and roping just came naturally. Davin now realizes how spoiled she had him! Pepper helped him work young horses, rode fence lines, caught loose cattle, and brought home the prize money. She was tacked up early and untacked late. She is the only horse Davin ever knew to sleep regularly on a moving horse trailer. She was instrumental in teaching Davin what you can accomplish when you have a horse by the heart and soul. Davin specializes in reschooling troubled horses, gentling mustangs and starting young horses, however he is now working on refining his riding with a little cowboy Dressage. But don't expect him to give up Extreme Trail and ranch work! He was a top ten finalist at the 2009 Eastern States Extreme Mustang Makeover in Murfreesboro, TN riding "Soldier." (Read about their story on our mustang page!) Davin also bull rode in large rodeos across the country and still occasionally competes in calf roping. Our Family I can't believe how old our boys are getting! Dustin is 10 years old and loves trains- he is very passionate about them and is obviously a "Life-er". He seems to have a very good grasp on God and Jesus and how important they are. He is one smart little kid, has a great understanding of math concepts, and is very polite and caring. Then there is Wyatt- our six year old wild child. He would definitly go in the 'strong willed' category, but his antics are so hysterical we can't hold a straight face long enough to deliver any kind of discipline! His old cowboy obsession has currently gone by the wayside (Transformers are hard to compete with!)but I have a feeling it will return ;-) |
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