Sent: Feb 19, 2011 7:53 PM
Subject: So happy for u Brenda!

So happy for u Brenda! You are great at what u do! U make alot of people very happy :) Congrats! See ya Monday.

August, 2010

Some quick pic’s of the horses for you guys. Jamie and I have traded a few jobs. She takes care of max’s main and I will clean Georges hoofs for her.
We had great rides this weekend with Jamie loping for the first time and Max is getting a lot braver with me . We have a new game we play chasing deer. Now every time he sees a deer he wants to catch it. He is so awesome I never want to get off of him. Jamie’s not letting me and Max eat supper together any longer she says I’m taking it to far. I don’t see what’s wrong with it? Anyway I have some huge trail rides coming up so I will keep you posted.

Oh Ya forgot to tell you that Max and me are jumping small logs at a easy loping speed in the pasture. I hope I’m doing things right. Max seems to love it and he just fly’s over them and I’m having the time of my life, I think I jumped the same log 832 times on Sunday. I will have to get you guys to show me how to jump over taller ones in a wile.

Thank you two so much for all you help getting us started with these horses, Jamie and I are permanently smiling and feel like excited kids again.
Mitch

May, 2010

I would like to take this opportunity to say a few words about a fine gal they call “The Horse Whisperer” - click here

May 22, 2010

Thank you so much Brenda, it really means a lot. After a year I finally found someone who is genuinely trying to help me and its a great feeling.
Anna

Jan, 2010

Subject:  update on Memphis and StormYeah, he is adorable, so much you want to just squeeze him to bits and eat him up.
 
Thanks for the support and letting us know we are on the right track.
 
I will continue to keep you updated and send you photos!
 
We are having so much fun with our unexpected baby and his mommy!  She is such a nice mare.  Everyone just loves her and can't believe what a good mare she is!
 
You did well matching us up!  Thanks so much for selling Storm to me! 
 
Cheers,
Heather
 

Thank you for the lesson last night.  Such great results!  I was surprised and happy to see the softness in his eyes. I have not seen that since I purchased him. Its like I am getting the old Charlie back, the one that is mischievious and friendly.   He really likes you.  He had been pretty unhappy lately and I was not sure what to do with that.  I need to become a leader with him and I am looking forward to you helping me get there.

I showed my husband and he was really impressed with the bridling,  so was I.  It is all so useful. 

Kim Chester

Brenda - have to tell you, you made a really good match with Cheryl and JJ!
It was SOOO nice to see her have a good, safe, sensible ride today...what a nice horse he is! Well done!"

Thanks a lot. I'm having a blast, your a great teacher.
You can book me in.

Until next time
Bri

Hi Brenda.
 
Thanks for checking in on us.  Storm and I are doing fantastic.  She is a real sweetheart and everyone loves her!  We went on our first trail ride last Sunday and she did fantastic! There were about 15 of us that went and she was such a super girl!  I even had her in the water at Minnedosa Beach!  I just love her.  We are starting lessons this Thursday so will keep you posted!  I will have to take some pictures and share them with you!
 
I will be sure to stay in touch!
 
Thanks again.
Heather

Dear Brenda
you are the best horse back riding teacher ever.

From Brandi

Hi Brenda,

Just got back from our weekend at Spruce Woods. Rue did absolutely fantastic. LOTS of up and down hills - some really big hills and she got
the hang of walking down and trotting or loping up them. I took her swimming after the 14 mile ride !

On Sunday there was a fun show with games involving sand bags, gates, driving, poles, obsitcle course, trail buddy. Rue and I tied for 1st place !
She was awesome. Drove her through the poles and obsiticle course like she had done it a million times, jumped the tires and logs with little hesitation, stood up on one of those big tractor tires filled with dirt, didn`t spook at a sand bag being on her back and falling off. She did or
tried everything I asked of her. All a first for her! I was so proud of her. This is what I got her for.

Living my dream - finally.
Cheryl

Thanks Brenda, for selling me such a great horse.

Thanks so much for your recommendation Brenda – I couldn’t have found a better horse.

Thanks again-
Jacquie

Brenda Gauthier and her wonderful staff at Richland Ranch are dream makers! They opened up a whole new world of horses to a soon to be 55 year old woman who had dreamed since childhood about owning and riding horses. I had achieved the owning bit being the owner of several Life-of-Riley Norwegian Fjords and an Icelandic horse. Richland Ranch has helped me to achieve the riding part.
I have progressed well under the tutelage of expert riding instructors using the excellent indoor arena and well trained mounts. Brenda matched me with a bombproof riding horse whose purchase included a bonus colt. Richland Ranch's professional, caring and horse loving staff allowed a stress free - for me - foaling out of a healthy and strong colt. Now, mom, baby and I have started riding together with mom all decked out in the tack that Brenda helped me to buy.
Soon I will be taking mom and baby home to ride our own range. With Richland Ranch's help I know I will be a confident and proficient rider with a great riding horse to provide hours of enjoyment. And the relationship doesn't end there - the camaraderie and inclusion in the world of Western pleasure riding will continue as I receive e-mails from Brenda telling me all about the events and happenings.
Yeeha! the dream is now life. Thanks guys.
Deborah DesRivieres, Fleurs de Rocaille Farm, Ste. Anne, Manitoba

I have known and had a business relationship with Brenda for several years now. I was introduced to Brenda and Richland Ranch through a friend who took me on a trail ride. I had wanted to start riding again and during the ride I asked Brenda about taking lessons. That fall I began taking lessons and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am not the most confident rider and Brenda new exactly how to maximize my potential while keeping it enjoyable. Just because someone is a good rider, it doesn’t mean they are a good teacher, Brenda is one of the few people that exhibit both qualities. I reached the point where I was ready to buy my own horse and I discussed it with Brenda. Over the next several months I (we) considered several horses until we found the one that I eventually bought and still own. For each of the horses I considered Brenda would point out their positives, but she would also mention any negatives. I boarded my horse at Brenda’s for about a year and continued to take lessons. Eventually, I had to move to a different stable (only because I live too far away) but I hauled him back for lessons last fall and will do so again this summer. When I am ready to buy another horse I will once again consult Brenda, she would never recommend a horse that didn’t match a rider’s ability or interests.
Karla Guyn

I have been dealing with Brenda at Richland Ranch for a number of years now, buying and selling horses, taking riding lessons and having her train horses for me. She has always been very friendly and knowledgeable and goes out of her way to try and match horse and rider. She uses sensible and humane training methods on the horses and is able to troubleshoot behaviour problems as well. She has always been honest with me and more than fair. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a skilled and reliable trainer or to buy or sell a horse.
Pamela Austman

My ride with Dusty & Brenda was one word - "AWESOME"!
Even though Brenda says she still has work to do with her, I was totally overjoyed & impressed with Dusty's standing to be mounted, her willingness to take the bit, her neck reining & just her overall responsiveness to what was being asked of her. I think Brenda is a super wonderful trainer and really knows her stuff! After I put Dusty back in her corral and gave her some treats, she even followed me back to the fence when I was leaving. That was a first! It appears that she is becoming a very willing horse and is learning that it isn't so bad to be ridden and worked with.
Another thing I found very amazing was one of Brenda's lessons for me to "direct" Dusty to where I wanted her to go without the aid of reins or feet. Simply by looking ahead at where I wanted Dusty's feet to go to, she went there. I can really see by that lesson how a horse & rider can eventually become one.
So . . . I am really we decided to send Dusty to visit Brenda - it's definitely worth every penny.
Tracy

Hey Brenda, the horse you sold us is the best. I rode her today for the first time and she didn't even act up one bit! Tomorrow I will be riding her more so she get's used to the place a little bit more. She is doing great! I am just so happy that I got her. She knows me already because I go and get her and she comes right too me! I just also wanna thank you for selling us the saddle. It fits her and me good. It looks brand new. Oh well, E-mail me back if you have time, I would be happy to hear from ya!

Well I got to go now, talk to ya l8ter!
verrryyyy happy horse owner, Melissa Desrochers!
p.s. you did a great job training her!

Oh, that's ok, we already found one so I have been riding with her already. We bought it yesterday. Today I rode her in the feild and she was great. She is much better then when she was in the arena. I can already tell and I just rode her once! I can take out and put in the bit very easily, she is the best!
Melissa

Just a quick note to thank you for the wonderful service you provide.
To be good with horses you have to be able to read them, Brenda has a gift for understanding horses. She also has an amazing ability to match horse to rider. In the fall of 2001, Brenda found me my perfect mount. Cheyenne is an awesome mare! I can't thank Brenda enough for finding her for me.
Michele Robertsen, Thalberg, MB.

Are you looking for a horse? Some riding lessons? Maybe your horse is the one who needs the lessons? Well then, I would suggest you go see Brenda Gauthier at Richland Ranch!

I got my first horse last year - a very pretty 3 year old Quarterhorse/Arab with a bossy attitude and no training. Well, I figured - NO PROBLEM!!! I would read lots of books and take some riding lessons and my horse and I would be on our way!

I had seen Richland Ranch ads for 25% off of riding lessons at the local gas station/restaurant in Anola so I called up and made an appointment. At our meeting I told her my plans for Bandit. Very tactfully Brenda advised me that two beginners (Bandit and I ) wasn't always the best way to start a horseback riding career. I ignored her very good advice to perhaps board my horse for a couple of months so that both her and I would be around more experienced people and horses. I had a pasture, what more did I need?

My lessons went very well. I sure wish I had an inside arena!! One of the big things I noticed was how well her lesson horses responded. It is easy to learn how to apply commands when you can see the immediate results. How many times have you gone for a lesson or even a trail ride somewhere and the horses would not listen to a single command? Isn't that frustrating? I was also very impressed with Brenda's attention to detail. If I wasn't sitting right at a walk, well then we were not going to be trotting!!
I am one of those people who like to talk a lot (my husband often asks me if I have reached my maximum word quota for the day) so its amazing that Brenda got a word in edgewise and I learned anything at all.

On the other hand, I wasn't doing so well with training my horse. She was bigger that me (duhh) and I was starting to be a little frightened of her. I was used to training my dogs and I applied that concept to working with her - WRONG. She was in our 35 acre pasture all by herself (not a good thing for a herd animal) and learning all sorts of stuff to outsmart me. By November I had been reduced to the lowly carrot bringer - my horse gave me no respect!!!!

I came to the conclusion that either I needed to have this horse professionally trained or I would have to give her back to the great people who gave her to me. So off she went to Richland Ranch on Dec 1, 2001. Brenda never said "I told you so". She didn't have to.
I had Bandit trained by Brenda through January and February. Even in the first few weeks the difference was amazing. She had never been taught to respect anybody before and it was obvious that Brenda was winning her confidence. Instead of pinning her ears when she was taken out of the corral, she would calmly accept the halter. Bandit learned how to respond to leg cues and was already doing sidepasses and rollbacks. Before training I did not have the confidence to walk behind her and now she lifted her feet for me.

The next step was to find a horse for my husband and make him into a full fledged horse person. By this time I certainly had come to the conclusion that the buy and sell was probably not the place to look for a horse for a beginner. We looked at a couple of different horses at ranches owned by very experienced horse breeders and but ended up back at Richland Ranch. Brenda had found some horses that she thought would be interesting for us to try. She was right. Paul had found his match in a tall and happy Registered Paint Gelding named Spook. He is an excellent trail horse, not shying from anything and always wanting to go forward , alone or with a buddy! My husband is thrilled with him.

After a month of being out on the trail with Bandit and Spook I realized I wanted a different horse. Bandit was excellent on the trail it's just that she wasn't for me. Brenda had warned me way before I brought her over to be trained that even with training her, she and I might still have a personality clash. Along with being a big talker I am a very impatient person and I wanted a horse to complement my personality not clash with it. I told Brenda that I would like for her to sell Bandit. This was Friday evening. I expected to have a month or so to look for something more suitable. Well, by Saturday afternoon two different people were interested in buying her. I hardly knew what to do. A little girl had come to Richland and fallen in love with my horse and had tried her out. Bandit and her got along fabulously and she had even ridden Bandit English. Another salute to Brenda's training.

Brenda recommended that I try Major. He is a big (16.1 HH) sorrel overo Paint with the calm steady willing to please attitude I was looking for. I tried him out in a number of situations and was totally convinced that he was the horse for me. It worked out great! Bandit is with the perfect person and I have got the perfect horse.

We will be taking our horses home in two weeks and putting them in our new corral but we will continue to take lessons at Richland with Brenda. We are already talking about the possibility of boarding every winter. To end my long story I would like to thank Brenda for all her help and time. No matter what time of day, any day of the week, she has been there to answer my questions. She has made it possible for my husband and I to become full fledged horse people without the snootiness that seems to accompany many other professionals in the industry.