Unique Opportunity to Learn with John Lyons

If working with John Lyons is on your bucket list – 2024 is your year!  John is offering several opportunities to experience his conditioned response training system first hand.  

Two Week Intensive in North Carolina

It’s not a clinic with 10 riders over 4 days and greatly varied rider levels. It’s an in-depth, detailed course in effectively changing your concepts in traditional training.  Spend one on one time with possibly one of the best creative thinkers in training.  This course will only accept three qualified riders to participate. Upon completion, you will receive a certificate of completion in recognition of your accomplishment!

The course starts on January 5, 2024. The cost is $10,000. Stalls are included. Bedding, feed and cleaning are not included. The course will be conducted out of Michael Lyons Horsemanship facility in Randleman, NC. Cabins are available at an additional charge of $750 for the two weeks.

CALL John Lyons directly at 970-366-2856 to inquire. Two spots currently open! 

Did you know the following?

-40 different performance related benefits come from the hind quarters

-7 come from the shoulders

-3 come from the head, neck and mouth

-The head and neck are like a Christmas tree ornament; no wrong place to hang it but never use it for directional control, speed control, or to increase speed.
 
-Suppling or giving to the bit always takes out performance
 
-Softening of the mouth using the mouth is counterproductive and looses performance
 
-The mouth is never the part of the horse that is pulling on the bit.
 
-100% of every maneuver we do with the horse should involve the hindquarters first. Legs to control the hindquarters are ineffective 80% of the time. Therefore we just give up on using or involving the hind quarters
 
-99% plus riders use only the nose and mouth to guide and control their horse.
 
-The rider should be riding an 11” horse not a ten foot horse.
-The tail of the horse will teach the horse directional control 100% better and 50 times faster than the mouth
 
-The difference between aids. What controls direction what controls speed and what happens when we miss use or mix them up. What does what?
 
-99.9% of all riders can not effectively control the elevation of the horse’s head at any or all speeds. Nor the hind quarters or shoulders.
 
-What is the formula for increasing and improving performance?
 
-Overuse of our aids leads to more lack of control.
 
-We can greatly simplify our cue system while making it far more effective and teaching the horse much faster.
 
-Never ride an unbroke horse always ride a performance horse. Never warm up a horse.
 
-Goals are never distance
 
-Effectively eliminating working on negative behaviors while strengthening the bond and relationship with the horse.
 
-How can I get my horse to love being with me?

All of the above will be covered in-depth during the two week training program. Your investment in your learning will be repaid 1000 times over. This is not a clinic, it is an individual special course opening up a complete change in your training.

John Lyons Clinic Opportunities

Lyons Legacy Latest – August 2023 Newsletter

The month of August has proven to be a nice change of pace for the Lyons Legacy team after spending June and July on the road.  The Josh Lyons Accreditation class started their program on August 7th at the lovely Mesa County Fairgrounds in Grand Junction, Colorado.  They will spend 4 weeks working personally with Josh, ultimately joining the family of Lyons Legacy Trainers!  Students hail from Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Missouri, Montana, and Ohio.  They are a fantastic group and we are looking forward to resuming class on Monday, September 4th.

We’d like to give a special shout out to all our host facilities for 2023:

Upcoming 3-Day clinics: Click Here

Upcoming 3-Day clinics: Click Here

Train for success – with THE BEST!

Josh and Johnny are looking to take on a few new training horses as soon as September.  One space open with Josh, two open with Johnny.  Horses receive approximately 4 hours of training per day and tons of exposure! Call Kristen at 615-379-1056 for more information.

 

 

 

 

Still accepting riders and auditors for the October clinics in Festus, MO! Click the picture to register, auditors can sign up by clicking here.

 

 

Ready to pursue a career with horses?  Join us in 2024 to earn your certification!  We are excited to announce our Arizona programs will be held at a private facility in San Tan Valley, AZ.  We are still taking applications for these upcoming classes:

Remember, only our Colorado campus classes are eligible to receive Veterans Education Benefits. Classes are limited to just 10 students – don’t delay, enroll today!

APPLY NOW

 

Fall Clinics with John Lyons

If riding with John Lyons is on your bucket list – here is your chance!  John will be conducting several clinics this fall and they are limited to just 9 riders.  As always, auditors can also attend and learn from the sidelines.  Cost for riders is $900, cost for auditors is $45 per day.  Shoulder, hip and head control made easy – so you enjoy riding and are safer as well.  Clinics run from 9am until 5pm and have an hour and a half lunch break.  Day one of the clinics always starts with a rider meeting on foot before getting horses out to ride. These events will be shared on the Josh Lyons/Lyons Legacy Facebook page and are as follows:

September 14 – 17, 2023Woodloch Stable, Hugo MN
Call Bill and Ingvill Ramberg to reserve riding spot at 651-796-8179  

September 28 – October 1, 2023Hardy Farms, Howell MI
Jolene Deyoung 810-569-4640
 info@hardysfarm.com 

October 5 – 8, 2023 – Copper Rise Ranch, Springport IN
Call Mike & Melinda Garrish
765-524-1383 to reserve a riding spot. melindagerrish@gmail.com 

October 12 -15, 2023Cook Forest Camp Grounds, Clarion PA
To reserve riding spots call John Lyons at 970-366-2856
To reserve camping and stalls call Ray and Terrie Smith 814-226-5985  

October 19 – 22, 2023Birchtown Stables, Forest City, PA
Michelle
Eccles host and John & Josh Lyons certified Trainer.  570-267-5918. Email meccles1027@hotmail.com. CLINIC IS FULL. Observers welcome $45 per day – contact the host for more information.  

November 2 – 5, 2023 – Long Island, NY
Sonny Garguilo Host, & Friend 516-790-8367
CLINIC IS FULL. O
bservers welcome. $45 per day – contact the host for more information.  

November 9 – 12, 2023 – Long Island, NY
Sonny Garguilo Host, & Friend 516-790-8367
CLINIC IS FULL. Observers welcome. $45 per day – contact the host for more information.

November 16 – 19, 2023Rose Hill Ranch, Naples, NY
Jack Minteer Host 585-506-7740. Email. Rosehillranch1@gmail.com 

Mustangs and Show Horses with Alyssa Dietrich

Whether it’s training a wild mustang from California or teaching new skills to a thoroughbred fresh off a Maryland racetrack, Alyssa Dietrich has turned her childhood love of horses into a very grownup career. At 27, she has also worked as a full-time EMT, but training horses and teaching others to show and ride is her true calling. Thanks to the John & Josh Lyons certification program, she’s able to do that.

“The certification program taught technique, but also how to set up a business,” Alyssa said. “Learning to deal with people and a business is 100 times more complicated than training the horses! I was looking for a good solid program that also offered me a good foundation for a business. There are plenty of training programs but none of the others I found touched on the business aspect.”

Alyssa rents a facility in New Freedom, Pa., near the Maryland border. “I ride and compete mainly hunter/jumpers which was very different from my classmates who all rode western, but I admired the sensitivity and responsiveness of Josh’s reining horses; I wanted that for my own horses and the horses I train,” she said.

She’s used the techniques learned at the Josh Lyons clinic to “gentle” wild Mustangs from California. The U.S. government pays to capture and move the mustangs to trainers like Alyssa who train them for the use of reins and saddles. She actually took a mustang to the Josh Lyons clinic, a mustang that was ‘fresh off the range.’

Alyssa also works with horses that used to race but are moving into their next phase. Many move to owners interested in a show horse, mainly in the English or Hunter Jumper realm. To do that takes some work. “These horses are used to crowd noise and they are trained to go, go, go! They need to be retrained to relax, to learn they don’t have to be running, running, running. They need to learn that it’s ok to stop, to walk – oh, and don’t bite me!”

Alyssa said she grew up in Maryland where English and Hunter Jumpers dominate and she continues to train in those areas. She stresses the foundations of all disciplines are the same – even western and ranch riding. They just branch off into different technical areas.
“I’ve loved horses since before I could walk,” she said. “With the Lyons program, I was looking for a gentler approach and a more natural horsemanship than I grew up with.”

 

Alyssa hopes to continue her work with horses, her training and show work along with hosting clinics.  You can find more information on Facebook about Face Up Training & Colt Starting.

Straight Talk from Students – The Accreditation Program

Troy Chappell and April Scarbrough are classmates in Josh Lyons’ accreditation program. But that’s not all they have in common.

Both have had successful careers in the past – Troy as a farmer in North Dakota, April as an active duty Marine – and both now hope to start a new career training horses and helping others in the process.

“I’ve downsized and I figured I’d retire and do something I enjoy,” Troy said. “As a farmer I had horses and I’ve done tons and tons of trail riding but as I age I want to do more than just ride – I want to teach.”

Troy, 59, said he’s helped people in the past, privately, but never as a business. That’s what he wants to change with Lyons’ help.

“This program is just the best,” he said. “Josh makes you feel like family – there’s no pressure. He really helps you tune in to what you want to do.”

One technique that sticks with him is a technique that helps the horse – and rider – let go of unwanted stress. He describes taking the horse in slow, small circles and then slowly increasing speed and moving in bigger circles.

“It raises their emotions up and down … it helps to control the horse’s emotions,” he said. “There are tons of exercises to control parts of the horse’s body – it’s kind of complex, but we break it down and put it together.

“I’m just here to better myself,” Troy said. “A horse is never really finished, and as a horseman, you never stop learning – it’s kind of a lifelong thing.”

The accreditation program is a four-week, hands on course. Trainers learn to control every aspect of a horse’s performance. The program offers targeted training techniques aimed at training higher level horses and riders.

These students say the program is about the horse, but it’s about the trainer too. They say no horseman – or horse woman – is the same – you take what works for you and leave the rest.

April retired from the marines a over a year ago. At 43, she hopes to become an equine therapeutic riding instructor.

“I looked at the qualifications for an equine therapeutic riding instructor and I realized my riding was lacking,” she said. “My brother had horses and I rode as a little girl – trail rides and wagons. As an adult I tried barrel racing and also practiced dressage. But I knew I wanted to learn more.”

She knew early on the Lyons program was different.

“I’ve learned more in two weeks than I did in all the years before,” she said. “There are definitely differing skill levels, but there’s no judgement here. I’m the least experienced but it’s no big deal.”

April wants to team up with a non-profit to help treat women suffering from trauma, specifically military sexual trauma, which refers to experiences of sexual assault or sexual harassment that a Veteran experiences during military service.

“The VA has counseling and therapy but no specific activity to get them off the couch and out of their heads.”

She also pointed to the Lyons organizations use of the GI Bill® Benefits as another factor that drew her to the Lyons program.

These benefits help qualified veterans pay for college, graduate school or training programs.

“I’ve been very grateful for that,” she said.

Are You Bridling Your Horse Correctly?

In this Certification class we took a few minutes learning a simple way to properly  bridle the horse.

It is important to not hit their teeth with the bit or to force it into their mouth, especially when introducing the bridle. Take your time! Let them slowly spit the bit out when taking the bridle off.

Remember, most bad bridling habits come from rushing the process or hitting their teeth with the bit!

Adding A Pre-Cue To The Back-up

“Adding pre-cues to backing your horse off your seat.”

Here’s a peek into classroom time during one of our 5 Day Trainers Clinics.

Be sure to check out or 2021 schedule for our upcoming clinics near you!

https://www.joshlyons.com/events/

For those of you who prefer to stay at home to learn and train at your own pace, our step-by-step Online Training Courses and weekly Zoom meetings with Josh are absolutely perfect!

https://lyons-online.mykajabi.com/

The Outside Horse

You are always riding two horses: The inside horse and the outside horse.

“Everything on the left side of the horse’s mane is controlled by your left hand, left leg, left seat. Everything on the right side of the mane is controlled by right hand, right leg, right seat.”

Cueing Your Horse

 

We cue our horses to do the things we want them to do, (to go forward, to go left, to go right, to change gaits, to change direction, speed transitions, to back up, etc.) but cueing them out of it is just as IMPORTANT.

Give them the responsibility of doing what you asked, until you tell them to stop.

What we don’t want is to tell them to do something and hold them there, constantly helping them do their job. it’s easy to micromanage and over-cue. Give them a job, tell them to do it and KEEP DOING the job until you tell them to stop.