Testimonials

When I came to Cindi years ago, I was a fearful and unbalanced rider. I had been injured from riding, and had been attempting to get my courage back. I was afraid to trot and would not canter.

The first thing Cindi did was to teach me that my fear came from my lack of balance and position, which caused me to feel at all times that I was in danger of falling off. She started me on a program of complete body realignment, starting from the top down. Even with just my head in a balanced position, I could feel an immediate difference, and very soon, I was not falling forward or backward each time my horse abruptly stopped or started.

With Cindi's kindness, understanding, and extreme patience, I came to trust her implicitly. Her skills and knowledge of balance and body mechanics allowed me to change everything I had inappropriately learned over the many years of "regular" lessons.

Cindi is always concerned about the horse, and in her program of proper alignment for the rider, she teaches the effect that position---good or bad---has on the horse's own balance, muscle development, and well-being. A bonus is that she is an advanced dressage rider, so she is able to put a horse in more advanced training, as well as the rider.

I bought my own horse after I had been with Cindi for a few years. I still had some anxiety issues, but I soon realized that even if he was "spooky", I wasn't falling off! My confidence level soared! We are doing parades, breed demos, and trail rides. And I love to gallop in 2-point position! In perfect balance, of course! THANK YOU CINDI!

I was attending a Ray Hunt clinic watching the participants ride around the arena as he had asked them to do a series of exercises. I saw a lot of kicking, jerking and pulling to get the horses under control. At the end of the day one of the riders asked Mr. Hunt what they were going to be doing the next day and he responded by saying "the same thing that we did today, because if you don't have a foundation there isn't any point moving to the next step". The huge piece missing was that the rider's had no foundation, specifically balance.

I am primarily a western rider and I have been studying natural horsemanship for about five years. In my experience, natural horsemanship focuses on the connections between the horse and human, an important concept. The clinics, books, and videos were not improving my riding because I did not now what I was missing.

My very first lesson with Cindi I knew I had finally discovered the missing ingredient, which was to now improve my riding and ultimately my horsemanship- a balanced, independent seat and an unstuck, unlocked body.

Cindi teaches the rider to have balance and freedom within their bodies so they can help develop those qualities within their horses. I used to think that the relationship between the horse and rider was paramount, and that the riding was secondary, as most problems could be solved through doing ground work. After several lessons with Cindi I knew I was mistaken. Cindi had me doing a series of exercises which established balance and rhythm while mounted. I felt like I was flying! I was moving with the rhythm of the horse for the first time!-truly a connected riding experience.
The lesson opened my eyes to a level of horsemanship I had never considered. I feel sad now thinking about people that spend years riding and never get that experience or sensation of moving as one with their horse.

Cindi is an amazing instructor. She is clear, concise and truly an expert. She can help improve your seat and balance in the very first lesson. I recommend Cindi for people that want to improve their riding, their horsemanship and ultimately their “feel”. My only regret-I wish I had discovered her years ago!

Student for 9 year

As a 50 plus year old woman with various physical limitations, Cindi Leisure's Centered Riding and Connected Riding lessons have allowed me to safely and confidently pursue my riding dreams. Cindi is quite a skilled and responsible teacher who cares very much for her students.

Her teaching methods incorporate all of the senses. She uses vivid images, hands-on demonstrations and body work as well as body awareness corrections to create a wholeness between the horse and rider.

Cindi, through constant questions and interaction, has the rider think about what is happening with her body in relation to what the horse is doing and his movement. She trains the rider for future independence, by developing regular techniques of self-assessment.

Centered Riding is very kind to the body. This method has allowed me to continue riding much longer than I thought was possible, it has now been 9 years! It has also been very kind to my partner, the horse.
Then there are those magical moments, when my partner and I dance as one.

Cindi's lessons are very informative, hard work, packed with Centered Riding techniques, Connected Riding, ground work and loaded with opportunities for self-growth, and best of all just plain fun!

Geri Henry

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Student for 6 years

Even though I started taking riding lessons when I was nine and got my first horse when I was eleven, I began learning how to ride the first day I rode with Cindi. The horse industry is interesting. It seems that this is the one place where people claim to be "educators" that actually do not have the formal schooling necessary to teach a person how to ride a horse correctly. Being a teacher myself, I recognize that Cindi knows how to teach and has the knowledge to explain how the anatomy of the horse and rider work together. Unlike so many riding instructors that simply "tell" the rider what to do, she helps the individual recognize what is correct by having the rider identify for themselves what feels correct and incorrect. True knowledge is acquired through experience. If I could only have had Cindi for my first riding instructor, I would not be relearning the basics today. Nonetheless, it is better to relearn how to ride properly than to continue perfectling my bad habits. When it comes to recommending a riding teacher, I always refer people to Cindi Leisure.

Renee Lueckfeld