Clients & Testimonials

Working with Miriam has redefined how I view riding, training, and working with horses in general. Through her classical approach she rehabbed my chronically lame horse by recognizing that his lameness was originating in his body through imbalances and old compensation patterns. She patiently reeducated him in how to correctly carry himself and his lameness disappeared. In the process, I was challenged to become a softer and more intentional rider with awareness of how my body affects not only the balance of the horse but the effectiveness of my aids. I now feel I am a partner with my horse and not just his rider, and I am riding and working with him in a way to promote and preserve his soundness rather than wearing him down and stressing his body.

Miriam is an outstanding teacher! My son and I had plans to go on a three day trail riding adventure near Steens Mountain. As I had no prior horse riding experience, I signed up for a basic horsemanship lesson with Miriam. Through her skillful, patient instruction, she provided me with the knowledge and confidence I needed to make our trip a truly enjoyable experience. I highly recommend her to anyone looking for horse riding instruction.

I grew up in Michigan, and I had been surrounded by the same group of instructors, peers, and horses for nearly 15 years. When I moved to Oregon about 4 years ago, I was nervous about finding a space to learn that aligned with my thoughts on training and working with horses. Serendipitously, the barn that Miriam calls her home base was the first I visited, and I felt at home from the moment I met her. Miriam has guided me into becoming a more intentional and compassionate horseman and human. One thing I appreciate most about the way that Miriam teaches and trains is the feeling of collaboration - there is always an invitation for question and conversation, both with the student and the horse.  Along with her generosity of knowledge, Miriam has shared her incredible mare Zena with me. I have learned so much from each of them, and I am so grateful to be a student of theirs. 

Working with Miriam has changed my entire relationship with my horse. He is so much happier now that she has opened my eyes to so many things that weren’t in my realm of understanding previously. She gets deep into the roots and takes no shortcuts which we both appreciate. I also find her lessons apply to life in general (slow down, take your time, meet them where they are in the moment) and find myself thinking about them in my daily interactions as well.

I’ve had 2 horses in training with Miriam, as well as having riding lessons myself. One of my horses is working on some “issues” and my other horse she found for me. Miriam is an amazing trainer with excellent feel, skills, motivation, enthusiasm and knowledge. Examples of her feel and skills are obvious with my imported horse. He was taught to be down on his forehand and ended up reluctant to move. It was extreme enough I was advised to sell him by another trainer. With Miriam training him in a traditional manner, he now comes to life and is energetic and capable-a joy to ride and behold! My second horse is younger and is doing great learning many skills for the first time. In my case, training me to ride more traditionally has been just as important as training my horses-Miriam has be a very supportive person to learn from as a student too. I really like how pure her motivation and enthusiasm for the horse and rider are. The horse’s health and well being, including educating for the bigger picture/outcome is refreshing. Regarding knowledge-she has done extensive evidence based research on the movement of horses, foot care, and training the human. In addition to sharing this information during lessons/training sessions, she also shares more broadly through presentations and posting commentaries/pictures/videos on social media for anyone interested. I appreciate that. She also works closely with the horseman Clay Wright who I highly respect as a horse person.