

Well Done to Ali and Fraiser on achieving their Standard Rosette!
Fraiser is an 8yo ex-racehorse, whom we’ve had for almost 4 years. He is very tall and leggy just short of 17 hh. He had a few different homes before us but has settled in well here.
Having completed a few IH courses and also having had the expertise of IH Trainer Sandra Williams to move our mare and foal previously, I felt we would benefit from groundwork.
Fraiser wasn’t keen to load and being a big lad, he does find some work challenging, couple this with his tendency to spook and try to flee if frightened by a strange sight/sound, as we’d already worked with Sandra on building our confidence and trust in each other we thought we’d improve our skills by completing the IH Award tasks whilst incorporating loading.
These groundwork exercises are making a real difference to us both, building trust and a great bond.
Congratulations to James Oldroyd and Henry for their well-deserved rosette!
Henry, a remarkable 17’2″ Shire x I Draught who came into James’s care in a severely underweight and emotionally shut down state, compounded by the challenge of dealing with kissing spines. In July 2021, Henry underwent surgery to address the kissing spines issue, marking a significant turning point in his journey towards a better and happier life.
With the invaluable support of IHRT Kathy Ellis Witham, James and Henry have worked tirelessly to improve Henry’s quality of life. Their efforts have been focused on providing him with a better and happier existence.
James’s dedication and commitment have truly paid off, and he is immensely proud of the progress they have made together. This rosette serves as a testament to their achievements and the positive changes they have witnessed in Henry.


Well Done Jenny and Miska for Achieving Their Standard Rosette
Miska is a 13 year old Icelandic Horse. She is quite spirited and has been a challenge at times. Regular sessions with Trainer Sandra Williams, has helped us connect and work through situations. Miska is a very quick learner and gains confidence and calmness from regularly incorporating the IH exercises into her daily routine. We have successfully completed the Perfect Manners IH Standard Award, and working well towards our Advanced. I am so proud of her.
Read More about Jenny and Miska in Members Success Stories
Ljufur and Sam Moon
Sam has completed the Five Day Foundation course and attended the Online Horse Psychology course. She also assisted IH Trainer Jessica Pryor at a local pony club demo.
Ljufur is Sam’s first pony with the help of Jessica giving weekly lessons and Joanna Lowes for providing a bit of boot camp Ljufur has been successfully re-backed and is a happy confident Icelandic. In the past Ljufur would bolt and buck with his rider in open spaces, would rear when stressed and had severe separation anxiety. With keeping learning fun and varied, Sam and Ljufur now have a great trusting relationship and bond. Well done for achieving your Perfect Manners IH Award.


Jessie and Amy Walden
Jessie is a sensitive mare an can sometimes be a little insecure. She is well mannered and generally quite chilled out. Amy and Jessie wanted to work towards small goals to build their confidence and create more respect and trust. They have done a brilliant job of getting their Perfect Manners IH Award and look forward to working towards their Advanced Award soon.
Freckles and Claudia Thorogood
Freckles is an Appaloosa X and an ex-riding school pony. She is super polite with her two little 3 year old riders but needed a bit more confidence with adults. Claudia has done a fantastic job of helping Freckles gain her confidence in catching and learning to longline. They have their Perfect Manners IH Award and are now working towards their Advanced IH Award.


Rhiannon Miles and her one year old Luna we welcome you to the IH Awards Team!
Lunas training as a one year old have been has been super low key, focusing on in hand exercises. Rhiannon has included IH groundwork with her other horses and has just been incorporating bite size steps into Luna’s daily handling. Luna has taken it all in her stride and really seems to like to have things to do!
These sort of exercises are perfect for behavioural training as well as improving co-ordination and balance in youngsters!
Going though the Perfect Manners awards alongside IH Trainer Charlie Carr is setting Luna up for her life going forwards, to becoming a dressage horse.
Now Rhiannon is hopeful they can continue and go on and complete the advanced award by the time Luna is ready for backing.
Congratulations to Jen, Peii & Mower on joining the IH Hall of Fame”
IH Welcomes Jen and her fantastic ponies Peii and Mower to the IH Hall of Fame!
For the Shetland Mower the award came naturally; after almost 20 years together and many hours spent doing ground work and horse agility, Jen new Mower would be the perfect contender for an IH Award. Despite some recent health issues and heartbreak following the loss of his companion of 17 years, this opportunity gave the wonderful, much-loved Mower his chance to shine.
At first, the IH Awards was perhaps not natural for Peii (or Pompeii as he’s officially called). Jen came to own Peii in September 2021 as a rising 6 year old after coming across him at the World Horse Welfare rescue centre, where he was known as their longer resident. There he had received 3 years of rehabilitation following a traumatic start to life. Despite this, he still had his issues, particularly bolting, which understandably re-surfaced following by the initial stress of rehoming. So Jen knew it as essential to get on top of these issues right away. Following the guidance of IH Trainer Gillian Bradley, Jen has done a fantastic job at continuing Peii’s rehabilitation process and has seen huge improvements. Although they may have some work left to do, achieving this IH Award shows the trust the Peii has placed in Jen and the strength of their new bond.
Well-done Jen, Mower and Peii!


Welcoming Megan and Darcy to the Team!
We are delighted to announce the winner of the IH Standard Award – Megan Laughlin and her pony ‘Darcy’. Awarded by IH Trainer Charlie Carr.
Darcy was born from an RSPCA rescue and Megan got her when she was around 2yrs. She was rather feral as had had minimal handling. This was when Charlie became involved with Megan and Darcy. Megan has been a member of IH for several years and has completed the Five Day Foundation course.
Darcy hasn’t always been the easiest, as Megan often says “Darcy makes me a better horse person”, if you don’t get the asks quite right or miss a try Darcy lets you know about it.
In 2021 Darcy had an injury which resulted in surgery and box rest. The IH Awards came along at the right time as these have given Megan and Darcy a focus during the rehabilitation phase.
Having successfully completed the standard award, they are well on their way to completing the advanced award.
The Youngest IH Award Winners Chole & Perry
Chloe, who is just 7 years old and her fantastic pony Perry have already achieved their standard award after just few months working together! Chloe and Perry work with IH Trainer Sandra Williams.
Chloe sadly lost the use of her long term loan pony due to injury and so the hunt began for her first own pony. Chole and family found Perry and the bond was instant – arriving ta his new home on 14th November 2021. The very first thing Chloe did with Perry was to work on the Intelligent Horsemanship basic exercises to start their relationship off on the right foot and help settle him into his new home. When he came he was a bit anxious and wanted to do everything at 100 miles an hour. Every week they have worked hard on the IH exercises and trying to progress to the standard rosette. Perry is now far more settled and will walk in step with Chloe rather than rushing ahead. In their short time together they have achieved a lot and all thanks to the IH exercises, he is now happily doing all the exercises required for the standard rosette. Their partnership is growing and they are now working towards the advanced rosette.
Well Done Team!


Welcoming Susan and Barra to the Team!
We are delighted announce our second winners of the IH Standard Award – Susan Menear and her pony ‘Barra of Torlundy’. Awarded by IH Trainer Leanne Rodger.
Sue has been working hard since attending the Five Day Foundation course! Creating the perfect partnership with Barra who has had to adjust from life out on the Highlands of Scotland – where it was very different for him!
Since moving him to Cornwall, Sue and Leanne have exposed Barra to a variety of new things that he had never previously encountered. Sue has done a fabulous job with him and, as an IH Award holder, can now officially say she has one of the best mannered ponies out there…
Well done Sue and Bara!
The Very First IH Award Winners Ruth & Bertie
‘Bert was abandoned as a foal and left in an unfenced field to fend for himself. Chancing upon him while walking, I couldn’t just forget him, so after some legal hurdles and a somewhat rodeo-style catching episode with some local horse-lovers, I took him home.’
Ruth, who found IH shortly after rescuing Bertie, has been on an incredible journey! As a beginner herself she has developed both her own and Bertie’s skills alongside IH Trainer Sandra Williams. Achieving their standard award is just a tiny reflection of what they have achieved and they both seem to have really enjoyed it.
Ruth has said: ‘The skills are well chosen to represent the essentials of a well-behaved equine and are definitely testing enough for this to feel like a massive achievement. Ticking them off is a really good reminder of how far he has come, and I am in no doubt at all that I would have got absolutely nowhere without Sandra’s extraordinary help and the inspiration of Monty and Kelly’s IH organisation.’
Read Ruth and Bertie’s amazing story in the Winter 2021 Magazine pages 19-21.



The First Advanced Award Winners Kelly & Jenga
IH is proud to welcome our First Advanced Award Winners Kelly & Jenga! Having already completed the standard award, Kelly and Jenga have sored to success – achieving their Advanced Award shortly after by IH Trainer Sandra William.
Read Kelly & Jenga’s Story:
‘I rehomed Jenga from the Horse Tust in May 2019. He was dumped as a foal and as a consequence has been left with mobility issues behind as he was so weak and under developed. Although he came across confident and easy going initially it became apparent that he definitely had a lot of anxiety about a lot of things and in particular his legs and would kick out sometimes. This changed for us when we found Sandra Williams and intelligent horsemanship. We attended horse agility which was amazing physiotherapy for Jenga as well as dealing with some of his anxieties over new things and moving scary objects. He can be very spooky when ridden and horse agility has helped so much in improving his confidence in this area.’
‘By practising regularly our seven basic IH exercises our relationship together has grown and he now fully trusts me in any situation and he no longer requires sedation for the farrier or for clipping his legs and all this was achieved by using IH techniques. We have worked closely with Sandra and improved our skills continually to now amazingly achieve the advanced standard award.’
‘When I first had Jenga he could barely back up even 1 step in a straight line and so now to achieve the backing up through an L shape and 20 steps backwards is something of a miracle and was something I never thought would happen but just goes to show what hard work and dedication can produce. I am so proud of my boy and I love the relationship we have together now all thanks to IH. I always look forward to our next session.’
Chole & Perry are Back Again with Their Advanced Award!
Perry came to Chloe just under 11 months ago and although he seemed like the perfect child’s pony, he proved to be a bit of a handful on the ground and his stomach ruled everything. Within the first week of having him and to start their relationship properly Chloe learnt and practiced 8 of the IH exercises and was soon awarded the Standard Rosette. Since then, her practise with him, determination and with help from Sandra Williams ground work sessions along with the horse agility clinics they have gone from strength to strength and are building a relationship to be proud of. Sandra presented Perry and Chloe with their Advanced award for achieving the remaining 8 exercises, as Mum I couldn’t feel prouder.
