Jody currently teaches clinics in Canada, USA, Ireland, UK, Asia and Europe. She enjoys combining her love of overseas travel with meeting new horses and riders and spreading the word of Equitation Science far and wide.
If you are interested in hosting a clinic with Jody in your corner of the world - please just drop her a line. Jody is happy teaching private lessons or giving Lecture Demonstrations either in the classroom or arena. A perfect way to bring Equitation Science into your equestrian community.
What makes a lesson with Jody so different?
The system she teaches is both ethically sound and progressive. A lesson may start with ground work to gain control and relaxation of the horse, where basic signals can be pre-programmed before riding. Then under saddle the GO, STOP, TURN and YIELD responses are assessed and trained using an equine-specific shaping scale that firstly involves the horse giving a basic attempt at the response. This is then made obedient (on a light cue) and then rhythm and line control are trained in till the horse is in self carriage (holding your speed and line without any constant pressures from the rider. Then and only then is contact (frame and shape) of the horse taken into account. Once the horse holds itself in self carriage he is free from constant signalling from the rider and is light and obedient. He is then ready to blend the signals into movements such as shoulder-in, half-passes and flying changes.
The emphasis is always on the LEGS of the horse – not his frame and devices such as draw reins will NEVER be used to cover up basic training faults in the stop, go, turn and yield responses. The result is light, obedient and relaxed horses. The system is very EMPOWERING to the rider who takes home the knowledge of just HOW these improvements have taken place and now has the skill to be able to keep on improving the horse’s responses after the lesson.Jody is happy to ride your horse during the lesson to demonstrate the system to you. Spectators are welcome at all the lessons with the approval of the rider, and riders are encouraged to watch other lessons.
Feedback from worldwide clinics with Jody
"Jody Hartstone is like finding that piece of the puzzle that's been eluding you! Her refreshing and in-depth way of looking at a horse and rider combination has helped me out of that frustrating time that every rider comes across, where it seems you've tried everything but nothing is helping you take that step forward. Well never fear, Jody is here! Even in a couple of lessons she will help you riddle out even the most tricky of horsey problems. She's a relief!
- Sophie Brise, Professional Event Rider, United Kingdom
"Jody gave a clinic on getting difficult horses to load into a trailer and how to solve mounting issues, and gave riding lessons. Her lessons were easy to understand, applied different techniques and got results. It was great to have Jody here and we would love to have her back anytime."
- Wan Ming Ong, Selangor Turf Club Equestrian Centre, Kuala Lumpur
"Jody Hartstone has done several clinics at my farm in Canada. Her coaching and training methods are very clear and effective utilizing Equitation Science principles. Jody’s fun personality and humour puts everyone at ease while getting top results. I have had amazing results with my FEI horse riding with Jody and my students have benefited immensely from her top rate instruction also."
- Jane Stone, Equine Canada High Performance 1 Coach, Vancouver Island, Canada
"Jody Hartstone has helped me train the flatwork for my eventers on many occasions over the past ten years. She helped me to understand that clarity of signals is important, not just holding my leg and rein on and forcing things to happen, but actually training the horse to respond to clear signals in a way that makes them happier and less stressed"
- Capt Terry White, Event and Point to Point rider, Ireland