Notable Quotations

John Saint Ryan riding Spanish Equitation with the mountain range in the background.

"We can read about it, we can talk about it, we can sing about it and we can write about it.
Until we actually experience it...we don't have any real understanding." JSR

A herd of horses running across a prairie with sun shining through the clouds.

“The rider needs to recognize the horses’ need for self-preservation in Mind, Body and the third factor Spirit…….he needs to realize how the persons approach can assure the horse that he can have his self-preservation and still respond to what the person is asking him to do.” Tom Dorrance

"If we can take the time to develop our relationship with the horse, if we can set aside any finite ambition.
Then we can live and ride in THAT MOMENT." JSR

John Saint Ryan riding clinic attendee in the arena wearing a helmet.

"How wonderful it is to see the joy in the faces of the human and the expression of the horse when their movement becomes as one." JSR

John Saint Ryan working with a young horse in the round pen. John is crouched down.

"It is better to give a lighter aid earlier than a stronger aid later." JSR

“There’s a time in there; it’s just as well not to crowd the horse if he isn’t ready for it. You keep offering, trying to help as much as you can, without troubling him too much about it. Then, there will be a day when it will just clear right up.” Tom Dorrance

"Lets be perfectly frank and honest with ourselves regarding our relationship with any horse. When you finish your ride and you get down from the saddle it isn't the people who watched you ride, the officials at some event or exhibition who have a right to judge you. The real thing that matters, the true judge of your ability as a horseman is standing next to you. It is the horse who will tell you by his expression, his body and the look in his eye if you helped him, if showed him how he can be better and if you have a partner in this dance." JSR

John Saint Ryan in traditional Doma Vaquera styling with his horse.

John Saint Ryan working cattle at Red Rose Ranch on horseback.

"Sometimes our self-consciousness gets in the way of our learning, whether we are teaching or being taught. It is important to be concerned with what we are actually doing and not with the 'impression' we are making. If we have any hope of striving for the Art of Horsemanship we need to be free of this feeling of self-consciousness and lose ourselves in the moment." JSR

John Saint Ryan teaching lessons on horseback in round pen.

"Training a horse is above all feeling and trying, according to what you feel, to help the horse and not to force him." Oliveira

"A horse will never tire of a rider who possesses both tact and sensitivity because he will never be pushed beyond his possibilities." Oliveira

John Saint Ryan and Ray Hunt in the round pen.

"Technical knowledge is not enough. One must transcend techniques so that the art becomes an artless art, growing out of the unconscious." Daisetsu Suzuki

John Saint Ryan on a red horse riding Western style.

I’ve felt this in horses all my life, but I don’t think I realized how important it was to try to calm that inward part down. I was always working on the surface, both mentally and physically – not getting right down to the inside of the horse. No one is going to get this without it coming right out of the inside of themselves. The rest of it has to come from inside the horse. Mind, body and spirit is what we are talking about here.” Tom Dorrance

John Saint Ryan giving a lesson on a Pinto leading a student on a black horse.

The important thing is to think about riding the horse straight out – between your hands and your legs. Have the life come straight through his body.” Tom Dorrance

Tom Dorrance and John Saint Ryan in the golf cart talking.

"Young horses are like young children, they sometimes practice uncivilized behavior. Which if left unchecked may lead to serious dysfunction in later life." JSR

HORSEMANSHIP CLINICIAN | AUTHOR | ACTOR | MUSICIAN

Notable Quotations