At its finest, rider and horse are joined not by tack, but by trust. Each is totally reliant upon the other. Each is the selfless guardian of the other’s well-being.
– Author Unknown
For horse lovers, the quintessential scene we often play over and over in our minds is that of being completely in sync with our equine counterparts; they are part of us, and we are part of them. They trot up to us, not because we have a treat for them, but because being near us is the treat. When we ride, we’re so connected that it only takes a shift of weight, a small movement, a gentle touch or tap, and we head off into the sunset. The reality? Most people who spend a lifetime around horses never experience that feeling. Many believe that that kind of relationship is unattainable, a tale told by movie producers. But what if it wasn’t just a story, what if we could experience that kind of harmony with the horses we love?
Enter: Ashley Dudas, aka The Savvy Equestrian. Ashley loves teaching horse lovers how they can “transform their relationship with their horse into the partnership of their dreams.” She shares, “I used to think that the scenes I saw in movies like Hidalgo or The Horse Whisperer were magic, but it’s real. And, it’s even better than what they depict in the movies.”
Ashley’s journey to discovering this oneness with horses began early on. “I think I came out of the womb screaming ‘horse!’ I’ve been obsessed with horses ever since I could remember, and I was very fortunate to have parents that could support my horsey dreams. I had my first riding lesson when I was five, and my parents purchased my first horse when I was eight — they did a fantastic job picking out a safe, suitable horse that I could learn on.” Ashley was involved with English Performance riding and jumping, and as she progressed it was time for another horse. That horse would be the catalyst for a ride Ashley never imagined she’d take.
Everything Ashley knew before getting her second horse was not working. She explains, “It took two hours to catch her and four hours to load her in a horse trailer. We were showing and jumping and winning, but at the end, her mouth would be bleeding from the bit, and my hands would be sore and blistered.” Ashley’s coaches told her to use more force or bigger and bigger bits; one told her she should sell the horse to a cowboy — none of these sat well with Ashley. “I loved the horse, but at that point, I felt like we were not riding off into the sunset. She was terrified of everything, and it was a struggle to get anything done with her. I felt that the horse hated me. I wanted to give up. I went to my parents and said, ‘I don’t know if this horse thing is for me.’” Luckily, Ashley’s mom wasn’t so quick to give up on her daughter or her horse.
While researching ways to help, her mom came across Pat and Linda Parelli and struck a deal with Ashley. They would go to a tour stop in Tuscan, Arizona, and see what the Parellis were all about. If fourteen-year-old Ashley still wanted to call it quits afterward, her mom would support that decision. Ashley reminisces, “I showed up and was very closed off to any of the information because I had made my mind up that horses weren’t for me anymore. But all of a sudden, there was music playing, and their horses were let out with liberty; there were no lines attached. Pat and Linda came walking out into the arena, and their horses galloped up to them! My jaw was on the ground — I’d never seen that with any person before. I never thought horses could want to be with humans that badly, with no lines, no lead ropes, no stunt shades, no nothing! The horses were actually choosing to be with humans. And then, Linda jumped on her big warm blood, bareback and bridle-less, and jumped over a picnic table! I was like, ‘Sold!’ I want to do this for the rest of my life! That was a life-changing moment for me.”
Invigorated and ready to get back in the saddle, Ashley immediately began the Parelli Natural Horsemanship Home-study Program. She shares, “I had always been fascinated by the equine mind. I wanted to know how they learned, how they perceived the world, and what they thought about things. Unfortunately, nobody talked to me about those things until I was interested in horsemanship.” As she moved through the program, Ashley was excited to learn everything she could about the equine mind. She explains, “Natural horsemanship focuses on learning how horses communicate with each other so that we can attempt to emulate that when we are communicating and teaching them. Everything we do is designed to make sense to a horse — as a horse — as an individualized species — and not expecting a horse to come to Humansville and understand what on earth we humans want to do with them. So, we first have to learn what is important to the horse, how a horse learns, and what their body language means and indicates. Then we need to work on ourselves to be effective enough for these horses to trust us and want to interact with us.”
Ashley soaked it all in, and five years later, at 19, she became one of the Parellis’ youngest instructors. And, The Savvy Equestrian was born. She expresses, “I’m very grateful for all my time spent with Pat. I still very much consider Linda my mentor – even now. I’m very grateful for all the amazing world-class horsemen that I was able to learn from. And, I’m so appreciative of the opportunities I had with them to travel around the country, teaching clinics and developing horses for the public. It was a lot of fun.” In 2020, after ten years working under the Parelli brand, it was time for The Savvy Equestrian to venture off and focus on building her brand.
Taking what she’d learned over the years and adding her distinctive abilities and talents, Ashley revamped The Savvy Equestrian. Instead of only offering in-person training and coaching, she created a membership platform. Ashley says, “With the platform, I can continue to help hundreds if not thousands of horse lovers around the world, and not be the burnt-out instructor. Because, for a while, I was the burnt-out instructor. I couldn’t keep up with all of the people and all of the horses that I wanted to help.” The platform allows people access to videos that take them through the basics of everything they need to understand for a successful and enjoyable partnership with their horse. Ashley explains what sets her apart from other competitors, “First, you have one-on-one support; you have access to me as your instructor at all times. I can talk to my members every day in our community forum; I get to know them and their horses. I know what their struggles are so that I can film things for the members specifically or jump online with them for a live video chat. I also continue to travel for in-person clinics, training, and coaching. There is always lots of back-and-forth, so we can stay connected. Second, we share things that people struggle with, and we are not afraid to show what it might look like. A lot of online learning programs show finished horses doing what they already understand. We purposefully leave in whenever a horse, or a human, is struggling with something. We show that to our students — we want them to know that they are not alone. And third, we use extremely high-quality video and audio footage of our horses and our training. You see all the details, and they are interesting and entertaining to watch.” She laughs as she continues, “I don’t want to be an instructor that puts people to sleep.” Ashley does want to be, and is, the instructor who helps people understand what their horses are going through. She explains, “I help to lay out the experience that horses have with us in the lives that we put them in. Whether you’re a horse lover or not, I feel it’s important to develop more empathy for our horses. My main focus as an instructor is to help people become not just good riders — not just proficient equestrians, but true horsemen; people who can understand their horses from the inside out, and help their horses when they are struggling or they are fearful. Human relationships are hard and take a lot of work — we have to work on ourselves for them to be that beautiful and magical thing. It’s the same thing with our relationships with horses. I feel that a lot of horses live their whole lives in confusion with people because nobody has taken the time to spell things out to the horse in a way that the horse can make sense of it. I want my horses, and the horses I train, to have a smile on their face when I ask them to do hard things. I want them to be like, ‘Okay, I’m doing it because I trust you; I’m doing this because I like doing these things with you.’ Not, ‘I’m doing these things because I’m terrified of you.’ I want to help horse and rider create true partnerships — true connections.”
It’s that connection, and helping others find it, that brought Ashley from Arizona to Heber Valley earlier this year. When Debra West, founder of Liberty Sanctuary, reached out to Ashley to see if she would be interested in coming out and hosting some clinics, Ashley thought, ‘Sure. Why not?’ She shares, “My fiancé and I came out here to Utah to see the horses and the sanctuary, to hear Debra’s heart about what she’s doing with the legislation, and what her focus is for saving America’s horses from the slaughter pipeline.” Everything clicked, and instead of heading to Montana, the couple decided to partner with Liberty Sanctuary and stay in the valley for a while. Now, in addition to The Savvy Equestrian, Ashley spends her days as the Director of Horsemanship and Training at Liberty Sanctuary. “I am focused on training, educating, rehabbing, and developing all the horses here. I am also training the volunteers and creating more horsemen. People can come and take a class, watch, or volunteer. I also teach private and group lessons here through The Savvy Equestrian.”
To understand the soul of a horse is the closest human beings can come to knowing perfection.
– Author unknown
Working with rescue horses has been incredibly rewarding for Ashley and right within her wheelhouse of expertise. And, yes, she falls in love with every horse she works with, past and present. “I used to try and guard my heart when taking on horses for training for the public. Now, I’m just like nope. I love them all, and I’m going to do what I can for each one. Horses are such emotional creatures — they may not understand our complex human emotions — but they feel them. It’s why they make such great therapy animals. Over the years, I’ve realized it’s best to just allow myself to let my heart be ripped open every time, especially when I’m having to undo things with more mishandled horses or having to restart and go back in their education to fill in holes in the foundation of their understanding.”
Understanding. It seems to be the keyword for Ashley, The Savvy Equestrian, Liberty Sanctuary, horsemen, and horse lovers. Don’t we all want to be understood, loved, and connected to something or someone? Ashley says it best, “There is so much more to these amazing creatures than the things that we can physically do together. When you get into a horse’s mind and heart in such a way that you don’t know where you end and your horse begins, when you feel like one unit together, whether you are riding or on the ground, I feel like that is so much more spiritual and so much more powerful than just saddling up, kicking them to go, pulling them to stop, doing what you can to get it done, that doesn’t feel beautiful to me. I’m striving to get horse lovers to be true horsemen and people who can get their horses to love the things that we are asking them to do. That connection is addictive.” That connection is way better than movies or our minds could ever imagine!
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