Cari Swanson

Beautiful Summer Day at Windrock

After a fun day hacking through the hunt trails, Mary, Wyatt, Lauren and I took a trip over to the Dutchess County Fair where we visited  cows, goats, sheep, pigs and other animals.  The birthing center had baby animals of many breeds.  We had the famous milk shakes and ate fair food until we were stuffed.  Wyatt won a giant banana that he gave to a little boy who was admiring it.  It was a fun day at the fair with unusually cool weather.  I have never experienced the fair with no sweat and humidity.

Jennifer Garner Bows Mr. T on the Set of Arthur

After several long days of hard work at Old Westbury Gardens on the set of the new film, Arthur, Jennifer Garner bows Mr. T to thank everyone for the successful hours of shooting the horse sequences.  Russell Brand and Jenn were excellent students, learning to work with Mr. T and trust him for each scene.  The entire cast and crew gave Rex and Mr. T a standing ovation at the completion of the day.

Dressage Clinic in NJ

Cari and Bond demonstrate many of the warm up exercises for the participants of the clinic in New Jersey last week.  Eight riders learned how to improve the quality of the horses gaits through a series of riding patterns to create better balance and rhythm.  Everyone improved and we look forward to seeing everyone again in October.

Mini Hop in Local Play

Mini was the star of a local play at a camp in Wingdale Sunday evening,

Lauren walked him on stage and handled him with finesse as the audience roared with delight.  The campers were so excited to meet Mini and many have never been close to a horse.

Rearing Horses for Film

We have to rear Mr. T for an upcoming scene in a film with the two main actors on the horse.  To demonstrate how easy this is on a well schooled horse, we put a novice young rider behind Cari in the saddle and asked T to stand up.  He lifts up effortlessly and waits for Rex to let him down.  There will also be stunt doubles for the main actors if they are not comfortable with the scene.

Opening Night at Bard Summerscape

Bard Summerscape is like a rural version of the Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It brings together visual and performing artists as both presenters and audience, creating a cultural center of gravity for the Hudson Valley.  Rex is visiting from California and met up with a colleague, David Straithearn.  They worked together on the film Temple Grandin.

Estella Rides RJ

Estella and her sister, Matilda enjoyed a private viewing of RJ working with his trainer Rex at Thornedale yesterday morning.  The girls were thrilled to watch RJ perform his many tricks and to ride the famous stallion.

Solving Your Horse’s Bad Behavior

This horse came to us with an issue bucking and misbehaving.  After several weeks training you can see he is overcoming his fears with his rider and walking calmly over a tarp.  He became proficient with all the obstacles on the course and gained confidence in his rider who has this to say;

“My five year old Dutch Warmblood developed a serious bucking problem, using
it to avoid working at all cost.  He even began bucking while walking on a
lead line, especially if he were tacked up for work.  I’m not young enough
to bounce off the hard ground anymore, and it was stressful to handle him,
forget about riding him.  A friend told me about Rex, and I decided to
bring my horse to one of his local clinics.  Sure enough, on the lead line,
walking around the arena, he began to buck.  It was embarrassing, but at
least he wasn’t hiding the problem I wanted to fix.  When Rex told me that
in his book, my horse was a “convicted felon,” and that no horse should
ever buck for any reason, I felt relief. I had secretly wondered if I was
just chicken to ride my bucking bronco, but now I knew I was right to get
help.  Rex’s partner Cari suggested I bring him up for 30 days of training,
and that they would send him back to me super safe to ride.  I have to
admit I was skeptical, but I was also desperate to move past this and start
seriously training this horse.  Plus, Cari is a dressage rider, and I knew
she’d understand my goals.  After one week, there was a noticeable change
in his behavior.  After two weeks, Cari was working him in a dressage
saddle, and I began riding him as often as I could.  Trail rides and
obstacle courses gave me an opportunity to push his buttons, while using
the set of tools that Rex and Cari taught me gave me-and my
horse–confidence. He came home three weeks ago, and so far, he’s been
perfect.  This is the horse I thought I’d bought last June!  He’s calm, a
pleasure to handle, and a joy to ride.  He’ll even get “down on one” and
bow for me!  I’ve entered him in his first schooling show, something I
wouldn’t have even dreamed of earlier this spring.  Rex and Cari did
exactly what they said they would, and I highly recommend them.”
Linda Marciante

Robert Duvall Meets RJ/Hidalgo

We recently took a trip to horse country in Virgina to teach a clinic and were hosted by Rex’s old friend Bobby Duvall and his lovely wife Luciana.  Bobby met RJ/Hidalgo, enjoying watching Rex work him through all his paces.  The two famous actors have a great deal in common.  Rex’s son, Ryan looks on, enjoying all of the family stories Bobby remembers from years of knowing the Peterson’s in Nebraska.

Congratulations Bob!

Bob proved he is a star at his first horse show winning best young horse in the show.  He started training with Rex as a yearling, learning to have excellent ground manners and how to behave like a gentleman.  In spite of the high winds and horrible weather at the show, he stood his ground and won every class he entered.  Bob is not yet two years old and is maturing into a lovely horse.  It pays to start training the youngsters early and will pay off in dividends in the future under saddle.  Contact us to schedule a private lesson with your horse.