Fun, truth, excellence and results

Written by Katie Wahlheim

I recently came across Katie's latest audition video where she filmed her liberty session on a beach in South Australia. It was so beautiful to witness the obvious connection and trust Katie had created with her horse that I wanted to find out more about this talented woman. Sharon Parbery, Regional Correspondent - Australia/NZ (volunteer)

This is Katie's story: 

Since I was a young girl I have always loved horses; their soft eyes, flowing manes, rhythmic canter and, of course, their smell of sweet grass on a sunny day. What a majestic and amazing animal - the horse.

As a young girl you would find me sneaking over the road to feed grass and carrots, at any time of the day or night, to the agisted horses. I so badly wanted a horse of my own but, unfortunately, my parents could not afford one. So, I would ride friends’ horses or visit the local trail riding centre just to hug them.

Katie during her audition taping at the beach

It wasn’t until I was around 21 years old that a dear friend offered to lease me her Australian Stock Horse mare, to breed a foal.  Little did I know this kind offer would start me on a journey of self discovery, love and learning of natural horsemanship. With a little foal on the way, I realised I knew nothing about starting a young horse. In fact, I hardly knew anything about horsemanship and so my search began. Lucky for me, and with the help of my friend, I discovered Parelli Natural Horsemanship.

I spent those early years studying under Shane and Meredith Ransley (Parelli instructors at the time) and going to clinics that Pat Parelli himself ran here in South Australia. It was wonderful to meet Pat face to face and to ask him questions, but the most amazing thing was watching Linda and Pat with their students do things with their horses that I had never seen before – it was amazing. There was no other system I wanted to learn than Parelli.

Baby Rose was born

Soon enough, my little red bay filly was born and I continued building on the ingredients and dynamics I needed to become a great leader for my horse. I passed my Level 1 on an Arab I had purchased called ‘H’, who was by no means an easy horse; he was well beyond my savvy level at the time. I remember how daunting it was to ride with one rein, but by the end of the clinic I forgot how to ride with two!

Working on lateral flexion

I continued on my journey with a wonderful little welsh pony called Bodie. This little man taught me so much that I will be forever grateful that he came into my life. Together, we built a fantastic horse-human relationship and he grew my savvy in ways I could never have dreamt. There are many highlights of our relationship, some of which included taking a pony that would not trailer load to one that would do so at liberty (even yoyo in backwards), riding out with no other herd members and having full trust in me as a leader, hiding those hindquarters, bridleless riding, developing my timing and the power of focus and a soft feel; I could think it, and he would do it. I had never experienced such a bond with a horse before. I am forever grateful to Pat and Linda for the knowledge they share – inspirational.

Standing on the pedestool at liberty

During this time I met my now husband Darren, who had never even ridden a horse. He purchased his first horse, a standard bred named Jake who was severely neglected, and together they started their journey of Parelli Natural Horsemanship. I also spent time helping friends with their horses. I will never forget my best friend’s two little ponies that hated trailer loading. I spent three sessions playing with them and the trailer and I am so thankful for Pat’s systems because one hot summers day my girlfriend rang to say a bushfire was heading to their property and asked if I could come and get the ponies. I was standing in the middle of their paddock on dusk, with flames shooting up at the top of their property and smoke rolling through – it was terrifying. I popped the ponies’ halters on and took them to the trailer, using the same foundations we had laid twelve months earlier, and asked the ponies to load up and they did exactly that. They self loaded into the trailer. It is so important to have good foundations and to put the relationship first, I can’t stress that enough.

Finally, it was time to start my young horse, Rose; she was the reason I started my journey. Using the home study program that Pat and Linda developed, Rose and I began laying the foundations of what is now an amazing bond. She is now 13 years old and has had a foal, which is now two.

Jake and Rose at liberty on the beach

I only recently mustered up the courage to submit our Level 3 auditions (and I can encourage anyone afraid to give it a try to “just do it!!”). Some of the photos shown here demonstrate highlights of our relationship today.

I can encourage anyone that wants to have a bond with their horse like no other, that the Parelli program is a must. Both my husband and I have not only been kept safe all these years, but we have wonderful partnerships with our horses, have met some amazing people and absolutely have had fun times. We have learnt truths about ourselves and our horses, found excellence in our horsemanship and have achieved amazing results, some that you can only ever dream of. Thank you Pat and Linda.

A tender moment!

Posted by Sharon Parbery, Regional Correspondent - Australia/NZ (volunteer)