A great way to learn about Michelle’s philosophy is to listen to her interview with John Glass (on his podcast The Break Through, Break Free). Below is a statement written by Michelle which states her core values.
Feel • Time • Ethics • Athletes • Performance
We recognize the value of using our senses to remain sensitive to the needs of our horses and each other. We will listen to this feeling and communicate with each other. Feeling and observing small changes can prevent injury and open the door to new learning.
We acknowledge that caring for and training horses and ourselves takes time. We will demonstrate patience in our pursuit of excellence. Horses and humans cannot train faster than their bodies can develop or their minds can process.
We trust what we feel, observe and are taught through classical theory and modern science to determine how best to care for and train our horses. Our ethics will direct our training, coaching, competing and sales. We believe poor decisions either come from a lack of feeling and understanding or a lack of clear ethical standards. We vow to always strive to learn more and to never compromise on our ethical treatment and training of horse and rider.
Everyone involved in our program is considered an athlete. We expect horses and riders to all be treated as such. This includes all of the mental and physical and emotional components. Our horses are not just animals and our riders are not just passengers.
We find the harmonious performance of a horse and rider to be sublime. We will use goal setting and competitions as a way to challenge our growth and enhance our partnerships. These serve as beacons and markers for measurement but will never out rank our larger commitment to horse and human welfare. We will always love the horse and like the discipline.
We believe that all of these core values combined will result in breathtaking harmony between two happy healthy athletes.
