Premier Equestrian Dives into Horse Psychology at Linda Parelli’s Master Class in Australia

Creator and distributer of top quality arena footing and dressage arenas, Premier Equestrian, spotlights ambassadors from all corners of the equine industry who use Premier products to continue to perfect their equestrian skills. When Premier Equestrian united with natural horsemanship icon Linda Parelli, the company could immediately tell that Parelli was a uniquely accomplished equestrian professional who has impacted equestrian culture through her kindness, philosophies, and sportsmanship. That’s why Parelli was dubbed an official “Premier Equestrian.”

Born in Singapore and raised in Australia, Parelli brought her 'crazy' dressage horse to a Parelli Training Clinic, where she met her future husband, Pat Parelli. AlongsidePat, she has since become dedicated to communicating the principles of natural horsemanship across the world and, more recently, collaborating with Walter Zettl and Christoph Hess. “The deeper I delved into the real, classical approach to dressage, the more congruity I found with the principles of horsemanship that we espouse. What’s missing in the equestrian sports is the very thing that took human athletic performance to new heights— sports psychology to develop a more mentally and emotionally fit equine athlete, and that’s our specialty,” Linda Parelli stated.

Heidi Zorn, President of Premier Equestrian and a life-long equestrian, recently had the opportunity to accompany Parelli to Australia for the Linda Parelli 2016 Master Class Tour. Parelli Natural Horsemanship’s goal is to help raise the level of horsemanship worldwide for the benefit of horses and the people who love them. The Parelli program is focused on training humans, and is based on the study of equine behavior. This Master Class was an opportunity to learn specializations in areas that the Parelli program develops, including equine psychology in training, seat and posture, and precision riding with comfortable contact (otherwise known as 'The Precision Box’). “I thought the Master Class and its principals were exceptional,” Zorn remarked. “As an instructor, Linda is among the best. Simple isolations and simulations really gave the rider an opportunity to feel exactly what their horses were feeling. I highly recommend this for any rider at any level.”

On her New Zealand through Australia Master Class Tour, Parelli focused on helping students become better leaders as well as riders, and motivating individuals to set personal goals. Zorn and fellow participants were exposed to Parelli leadership principles and practices that emphasize the horse’s perspective on training to develop more relaxation, willingness, and a happier disposition. After the Master Class tour, Parelli reflected, “I love watching how quickly horses and riders transform when you emphasize a calm, connected, and responsive relationship and add good riding dynamics to the formula.”  

Parelli’s dedication to helping people around the world better understand equine psychology and improve horse and rider partnerships are qualities that stand out to Premier Equestrian. “Our Premier Equestrians are people dedicated to the development and preservation of horse sport,” stated Kathryn Rustad, Premier Equestrian’s Internal Marketing Director. “These people have accomplished high levels of competition, generated awareness of the sport, shared knowledge and training techniques to better serve the industry, or have impacted the equestrian culture through their kindness, support, and good sportsmanship.”

Premier Equestrian, the Official Footing Supplier of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), is best known for it’s innovative equestrian arena footing. Premier’s footing increases horses’ comfort and performance while decreasing chance of injury. For more information about Premier Equestrian and the company’s footing and other products that equestrians across the disciplines love, visit www.PremierEquestrian.comor call 011 1 801 446 1857