How a wild-eyed colt, a western saddle and a big red horse led to my first ever canter pirouette (thanks to a special cowboy named Peter).

My horse Santo is big, sweet QH with a heart of gold. He also is a very emotional kind of guy. Santo has LOTS of feelings that he wants to share with everyone, all the time. He had some dressage training (not a massive amount, but much more than I had as a rider). One year, I came to realize that both Santo and I needed to concentrate on foundation work together. So I took Santo to a clinic with Peter Campbell.  I put aside my usual dressage tack — and I decided to ride in western gear (wade tree saddle, mecate reins). My goal was to concentrate on the fundamentals and do my best to set Santo up for success. A calm, slow ride without any dressage bells and whistles. Instead, a whirlwind of troubled colt swept across the arena, leaving a wake of chaotic riders behind him. The outcome turned out to be my first ever canter pirouette, an advanced dressage movement that I never expected to experience on Santo. This episode is dedicated to the memory of Peter Campbell (1964-2017). For more information on Peter and how his clinics helped the horses at LOPE (the racehorse adoption charity I founded), please read this 2015 blog post from former LOPE staffer Suzanne: http://lopetx.org/blog/horsemanship/10-things-learned-peter-campbell-clinic/