A LIFELONG EQUESTRIAN JOURNEY
SHE WAS BORN A HORSE GIRL…
Lyndsi’s love for horses started at a very young age – six weeks to be exact. That was when her mom strapped her in a chest carrier and took her for her first ride. As a child, Lyndsi’s favorite thing to do was to pull her mom’s Thoroughbred/Appaloosa mare out of the field and take off on the trails in nothing but a halter and lead rope.
At age 9, a barn friend offered Lyndsi the opportunity to show her horse at a local show. Winning a reserve champion ribbon, she was immediately hooked and could not wait to learn more.
YOUTH & COLLEGIATE –
THE COMPETITION ERA
Throughout her youth, Lyndsi furthered her equestrian skills by learning many disciplines of riding including western pleasure, English equitation, reining, barrel racing, jumping, and showmanship. She competed nationally in APHA and PtHA-sanctioned shows, earning titles such as World Championships, the coveted Superior Youth Championship, many year end High Point awards, and multiple Lifetime Leaders’ List achievements. Her accolades then led her to a scholarship to ride for Texas Christian University’s NCAA Equestrian Team in western horsemanship and reining, where she earned multiple MVP’s and was nominated for the Dutch Meyer Student Athlete of the Year Award as well as NCEA Student Athlete Honors.
RUNNING AWAY WITH THE CIRCUS
Nearing the end of her collegiate riding years, Lyndsi was ready for a new challenge and discovered equestrian vaulting. Developing the acrobatic skills to match her equestrian prowess, she competed and coached for American Vaulting Association teams and competitions. However, she fell in love with performing, and vaulting soon opened a door to a whole new chapter. Taking a leap at a chance to perform with horses, she moved to Las Vegas to intern with Gladius The Show. There, she gained experience in many new skills such as roman riding, partner stunts on horseback, aerial arts, chariot racing, and classical dressage.
Lyndsi’s performance career would then lead her into trick riding, performing traditional cossack riding in the circus ring with Alanian Riders as well as American trick riding and roman riding with Riata Ranch International. She has performed for many events including rodeos, circuses, renaissance faires, and private events. Her performance history includes shows such as Circus Sarasota, The Shriners Circuses, and Fantasia at Equine Affaire.
HORSE TRAINING
In every equestrian endeavor in her career, Lyndsi has been heavily involved in the training of the horses. From a young age, she was unsatisfied with merely being a “horse show rider” and aimed to be as involved as possible in the physical and mental development of the horses she rode.
She would often camp out at her trainer’s barn, hanging around for weeks at a time and riding any horse that she was allowed to sit on. She learned how to feel and influence a horse’s movement, how to start young horses, and how to fix problems in older horses. Most of all – she learned that her own confidence when approaching any type of horse would become one of the greatest tools in her toolbox.
As a young adult, Lyndsi began training and teaching lessons for the public in between performance opportunities. Her diverse background in many riding disciplines and with many breeds of horses has allowed her a wide range of experiences and tools for helping horses and riders succeed.
DRESSAGE
Although Lyndsi has an appreciation for many styles of riding, there have been two disciplines that have stuck out to her as the most helpful in building a firm foundation for an excellent and well rounded horse. These two disciplines are dressage riding and liberty horse training.
Lyndsi’s experience with dressage began at the same time she discovered equestrian vaulting, as dressage was used as the basis for a good vaulting horse. In the first few years of her performing career, she had the opportunity to ride Spanish horses, Arabian horses, and draft horses with varying levels of dressage training, as well as learn occasional tips from dressage riders and trainers.
During a break in her performance career, she sought out formal lessons in dressage to fill in some of the admitted gaps in her dressage education. She would continue lessons and clinics whenever she could for the next couple years, and it didn’t take long for her main instructor Dawna Kuhlmey to recognize her natural riding ability, willingness to learn, and bravery with young horses. Dawna hired Lyndsi as an assistant trainer at Torrey Pines Dressage, which allowed her many more hours per week to further her dressage education with hands-on experience.
With the shutdown of performance opportunities in early 2020, Lyndsi threw herself into horse training on a full time basis, taking on more lessons and training rides at many barns in the Las Vegas area. She also purchased her first personal horse in many years – Marengo, an Andalusian/Arabian with an abundance of natural talent but a habit of spooking and bolting violently. Within the next year, she was able to take Marengo from a green broke and insecure horse to competing at third level and completing a USDF Bronze Medal and LVCCDS Year End Championship with limited competitions.
Marengo has been one of the most challenging and the most rewarding horses in Lyndsi’s entire career. You can follow Marengo’s journey (and his antics) here.
LIBERTY TRAINING
Lyndsi was first exposed to liberty horses when she began performing with horses – although the methods of liberty training were often regarded as “industry secrets”. Because of this, Lyndsi did not receive much advice from liberty training, and it became something she explored on her own during the years of training horses for clients. She prefers to do a lot of groundwork with all horses but especially young horses, so she began to use basic liberty training as a way to introduce movements on the ground as well as build a horse’s confidence. Therefore, her liberty training methods evolved largely from her own experience – experimenting with different approaches and learning what was most effective.
In 2021, Lyndsi and her husband (and Marengo) moved to North Idaho in search of a place to set down roots that offered freedom, beautiful nature, and a God-centered life. There, they found a home at Wild Hearts Equestrian Connections, a unique horse training and lesson program that involves many styles of horsemanship including liberty training. Training alongside owner and trainer Jessie Leen, Lyndsi found more time and a much better environment to focus on liberty training. Lyndsi and Marengo are thriving in this like-minded program and now perform liberty, dressage, and more with the Wild Hearts Equestrian Performance Team.
Lyndsi believes that liberty training is extremely valuable for establishing a relationship and building confidence for horse and handler. She has found that liberty provides an excellent foundation for the mental development and individual expression of the horse, which balances well with the correct physical development that dressage training provides. Her training across multiple disciplines refers back to concepts from these foundations in liberty and dressage.
OTHER EQUESTRIAN ENDEAVORS
Lyndsi also has completed the Color Breed Council Judging Academy, and she judges horse shows for both online and live competitions.
Lyndsi has experience modeling for fashion brands such as Alyson Eastman, Loschy Designs, and Mauricio Montebello. She and Marengo often partner with 5MW Photography to create beautiful photographs.
She welcomes inquiries about any of her above mentioned services – please reach out to lyndsipratthorsemanship@gmail.com.