"We rely on hard work and dedication to lead us to success, and count on teamwork when we reach for victory." -Howard & Erica Peet
We have been a part of the horse world for the past 30 years. In those years, we have come to strongly believe that the owner should get as much education as the horse does. Our lesson programs reflect this belief. Our biggest sense of pride comes from your growth with your horse. It does not matter how fancy the horse is if the owner does not know how to communicate and interact with it, be it riding, driving, or showing the horse! This applies to any rider/horse pair, be it a trail horse for pleasure or a show horse for competition. We take as much pride in knowing that a client's first trail ride was a fabulous one, as we do in winning a title at a show. Most important for the horse, is that they must learn to be confident to succeed in whatever discipline they enter. With confidence comes the willingness and happiness in their work, no matter who asks it of them. As far as showing is concerned, we have shown in venues from little county fairs, clear up to the national level. We have earned our share of national titles, and we have taken great pleasure in watching our amateur and youth riders earn their titles as well! English, western, driving, halter, Working Equitation, we love it all! So, if we sound like the fit for you and your horse, give us a call and we can discuss your goals and let you know what we can do to reach them. We welcome all breeds! Please see our Contracts page for information and details about being a part of the Peet Equestrian team!
The Peet Equestrian Training Program Our training program has a strong foundation based on horsemanship from many disciplines that has been learned over many years. We are thankful for the many people we have learned from. Our training program continues to grow as we learn. We believe life is a journey and education in our trade is the key to being successful with a variety of horses and to remain at the top of our industry. Halter work is the foundation to our training program. We were very fortunate a few years back to travel to Spain and learn halter from an accomplished horseman, Nourddine. We applied the new information to our already existing program and are very pleased with the end results. Every horse in training learns the basic halter program. It creates trust, relaxation, and teaches basic body control that will carry over into the horse's performance career. The keys to our halter program are: *Softness in the poll *Control of the body through control and the guiding all 4 feet *Understanding straightness while the horse moves forward or backward *Understanding how to be expressive in the show ring, but remain relaxed while doing it
Ground work. Lungeing, bitting, & long-lining are very important keys to our program also. When starting a horse, forward movement is the key to success. Relaxed, balanced movement with proper frame is the goal. *Develop stamina to be healthy and want to be worked *Learn verbal and body language of the human *Accept Equipment *Learn to be in a working frame *Allow the trainer to control the speed and direction of the horse *Movement with expression
Driving. This training allows the horse to develop muscle with very little resistance. Driving is a great foundation that prepares a horse to be ridden. *Horse learns self confidence while pulling the cart *Forward movement is confirmed *Horse learns to walk and trot in a straight line *Horse learns proper movement by letting the shoulder lead in movement *Softness, relaxation, the walk and whoa are confirmed *Canter work may start when the horse is confident
Saddle work. Regardless of the discipline; dressage, working equitation, hunt seat, saddle seat, or western, riding is based on one's ability to communicate with their horse through their entire body. *Horse accepts communication from rider's whole body *Horse is introduced to lateral movement *Horse learns frames (free, working, lengthened, medium, extended, collected) at all gaits *Horse learns proper bending *Develop increased carrying power in the hind end *Training on obstacles are for giving a focus, creating confidence, and having variety in their work
Howard and Erica Peet
The path to the creation of Peet Equestrian started in 2002, when Erica went to work for Howard. Howard had been in the horse training business for a number of years before he and Erica met. He had learned from a number of the greats- Bruce Howard, Danny Burgren, Joe Polo, Keith Kritchy, and Bill Matton, to name a few, and attended numerous seminars and clinics to become a well-rounded show trainer. He wanted to know about every discipline so that he could properly place the horses in his care in the exact place that they would shine. He trained and competed horses for a number of Andalusian and Arabian farms for a number of years. He eventually took a break from showing to run his own business, training pleasure horses and their owners. This is when Erica came along. She became Howard's apprentice. It was an amazing time and place to learn how to train. Howard had around 20 horses in training. Horses of a number of breeds from Andalusians to Paints, Mustangs to Minis, Foxtrotters, Arabians, and even a Fjord. Talk about learning it all. Each breed taught Erica something unique. In 2003 Howard began showing again, with his favorite breed, the Andalusian. Howard and Erica eventually became a couple in 2005 and began the long road to building a name for themselves as top Andalusian trainers, capable of training for a variety of disciples. They worked for and with a number of barns around the country, and trained some of the best horses in the industry. They became well known for their prowess in all in-hand classes and driving, and did very well under saddle too. Eventually the time came to make the big decision to start their own training barn. So in 2010 they made the leap and officially started Peet Equestrian. In that first year they proved that they could take on running a business and continuing to stay on top on their own. And over the last 15 years they have had the pleasure of working with horses and owners from all over the country. They attend as many possible Andalusian shows as they can, Regional, National, IALHA, ANCCE, they love it all. They also complete at Dressage and Working Equitation Shows. Working Equitation has become a big part of their program. They have both competed locally and Nationally, hosted and presented clinics, and taught at the Cross National Cup events. Erica loves the sport so much that she began the journey to become a Working Equitation judge, and is currently a licensed Working Equitation "R" judge. While we specialize in the Andalusians, Peet Equestrian happily accept any breed for training. We do occasionally have spots available for new clients, so please feel free to contact us and become a part of our team!
2020 was Peet Equestrian's 10 year anniversary!
Peet Equestrian's Official Logo
Our logo was created by Erica Peet. The horse in the logo is made up of three different parts; an E, H and P, which stands for Howard and Erica Peet. The circle around the horse stands for our bond in everything we do.
