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Instructors

Helen Gould

      "I can't remember a time when horses were not my passion. As a three year old, I would lead the family on Sunday drives as guests of my imaginary farm which had cows, chickens, green pigs, baby deer and lots and lots of horses."

      Helen's family finally got the picture and agreed to let her take riding lessons at the age of seven in New York. She learned the basics from Play Stable owned by Joe and Russel Stewart in Guilderland, NY. Helen then started commuting to Rochester, NY to ride with Jack Fromm. Helen rode occasionally with George Morris, who is a world-renowned hunter and jumper instructor and is considered to be one of the most influential trainers in the history of equestrian sports, and George Dawson from Michigan. Helen fox hunted with the Old Chatham Hunt, a very traditional hunt club founded in the early 1900's, and showed all around New York and surrounding areas.

      Helen then moved to Boulder, CO to go to college and immediately found a job training horses with Ruth and Dick Ayers at Blue Cloud Farms. At first, Helen was going to school and working on the side but soon, she was teaching lessons and going to school on the side. Finally, Helen came to realize her passion lay with teaching and she stopped pretending to go to class. One story that we love of Helen's is when she was training one of her jumper horses in the winter, she would almost hit her head on the beams of the indoor arena. If you have been inside Blue Cloud's indoor, you can see how high that must have been!

      Helen's philosophy in teaching and training is profound and quite simple. "When working with people and/or horses one must understand that they are all different. Horses should never be cast into roles that they don't like or don't have talent to do, nor should people for that matter. The trick is to cultivate each horse and rider so that they flourish not only as a team but as an individual."

      Many of Helen's past students have become passionate professional horse people and have established their own farms around Colorado, California, Illinois, Texas and New York. Helen has a gift to see every rider not as their faults but as their potential. After watching a rider ride and jump for a few minutes, she is able to correct subtle position errors that immediately change the balance for both horse and rider making a more harmonious pair. She is always very fair with horse and rider finding the right amount to push the pair without taking on more than either can handle. Helen is a woman of few words but what she says is profound and intriguing leaving many people in a sort of awe of riding. Every rider training at Blue Cloud is tough and knowledgeable and is expected to ride their best. Helen wouldn't allow anything less.

      In 2009, Helen accepted the Lifetime Achievement award from the Colorado Hunter-Jumper association which is given to one person a year who has furthered the hunter jumper sport over their lifetime. Helen "realized that this career choice had indeed been the right one. How lucky I am to be able to do my passion and have it be my livelihood."

For the Colorado Hunter Jumper association's article on Helen, please visit: http://www.chja.org/newsletters/2010/CHJA0210NL.pdf

Kaia Rose Kaercher

     Kaia is originally from Palo Alto, California and was passed the horse gene from her mother, who was an equestrian with a deep love for the horse. One time, Kaia and her mother were riding on the beach when Kaia's horse became nervous and took off at a full gallop going towards home. Kaia's mother frantically galloped to catch up to her daughter (whose feet didn't even reach the stirrups yet) only to find Kaia laughing and asking if they could do it again.

      Kaia has since learned Western riding, hunters, jumpers, dressage and now includes natural horsemanship into all her work with horses. She has worked with many kinds of horses from dangerous re-starts, to off-the-track thoroughbreds, to Prix. St George dressage horses. Kaia has worked with many trainers at many different types of barns. Some of them include Kelly Perry (equitation), Kathleen Raine (olympic dressage rider), occasion lessons from Pierre Begou (french classical dressage rider), Joanne Hart (dressage rider), Mary Risavi (natural horsemanship trainer) and Helen Gould (head trainer at Blue Cloud). Most of her years were spent studying intensely with Wendy Mattes (upper level classical dressage rider). In Kaia's first year of showing horses she won "Rookie of the year" and "High Point English horse" winning blankets, trophies and enough ribbons to look like wall paper. At her first dressage show she won Champion with a 10% lead above everyone else at any level. Kaia is currently working on getting her master's degree in Equine Assisted mental health and is enjoying the process of starting her young dressage/jumper horse, Apollo.

      Kaia's current training style is heavily based in achieving harmony in horse and rider whether it being a trail ride, jumper course or dressage ride. Her vision is to see less treatment of horses as beast of burden and more as partners in play together.

     One horse that deeply impacted Kaia was an Irish Sport horse named Limerick. He had been imported from Ireland as a fox hunt master's horse and for good reason. "He was about the most noble and beautiful horse you had ever met. We would gallop out through thousands of acres of land and jump any fence that happened to be in our way. We would go swim in lakes and when I was too tired to sit up, I would wrap my arms around his huge neck and he would quietly walk me home. He took me through the levels of dressage and taught me about how close the human and horse bond could be. When I moved to Colorado for school, I wasn't able to take him but I still visit him every time I am in California and he is just as handsome as the first day I saw him. He was what made me want to continue in the horse business."

A tip for the equestrian;
"It is not the destination that matters but the journey that you take. Ribbons mean nothing in the long run if you sacrificed your heart to get there. Find the harmony, make every ride count, have fun and make sure your horse has fun too. Enjoy the path you walk and always be honest with yourself."

Some books Kaia would recommend are:
Centered Riding by Sally Swift
A Good Horse is Never a Bad Color by Mark Rashid
Horse, Follow closely by GaWaNi Pony boy

Liz Certain

      Liz is from Canada and started riding when she was 14. Her first ride was at Fort Edmonton when she was a young girl. There was a small corral where children could pay to have a ride and one of the staff would lead them around on a horse. Liz was determined to do it by herself, not with someone leading her around, and somehow she convinced them she could do it. She did, and from that moment Liz was officially hooked!

      Since the majority of her early days learning to ride were at a camp, she has been exposed to a wide variety of horse sports from pleasure, barrels, musical rides, a very tiny bit of vaulting, and the Canadian hunters. She has done some dressage and cross country, and spent a glorious day in the hunt field back in Canada. After moving here  to Colorado, she began riding at Blue Cloud under the tutelage of Helen Gould, focusing on hunters and jumpers. She has mostly worked with thoroughbreds and quarter horses. Liz has worked with Lee Rembish (hunters), Rob Stevenson (eventing), and Hans Hollenbach (dressage), all in Canada, and Helen Gould (hunter/jumper) here in the US. Liz won "Outstanding Senior" at CSU in Equine Science.

      Liz's training style has mixed and varied aspects to it, taking the best of many traditions and styles. She chooses and uses the tools she find most effective with each particular horse. She favors the more classical methods and what has become popular as "natural horsemanship."

      Liz's vision when working with horses and people is a happy, quiet, obedient, team. Her goal with the horses she works with is to understand them, build a relationship and communication based upon trust, understanding, and boundaries/leadership, and through these things, build them up toward success in their acceptance of, and joy in, their potential and purpose. "The more difficult but more rewarding part of training a horse is helping the horse and his human become a team. When this communication and bond forms between them, the resulting joy it brings to both parties is a great reward. Through a relationship with a horse, a person can learn to understanding people; through showing patience and understanding to a dearly loved creature comes the realization that one is capable of loving a human and showing the same patience and understanding to them on a much higher level. To bring the human-horse bond back to the human-human world is to put the horse in his proper place of giving glory to God as he (the horse) gives his service to man."

      One horse that effected Liz was a Trakehner mare in Canada that Liz worked with. "She was a chestnut mare with an immediate opinion and attitude about everything, but loved to jump - once taught how! Because of my year with her I have many new tools in my toolbox, all well oiled and used. Despite first learning these tools to work with an 'always on high-alert' personality, they have proven to be useful and effective to varying degrees with all types of horses." Liz is in the horse business because of "a God-given love of horses and the joy they bring, and the fact that He has seen fit to bless this dream. Helen has given me much polishing the opportunity to pursue this dream in a professional setting."

      Liz's personal goals are to do the very best she can with whatever horse she puts her hands on, and to do right by he and his owner. Her ambitions for herself include riding to the best of her ability at the highest level she can achieve.

A tip for the equestrian; "Work hard. Trust your coach. Be faithful."

Some books Liz would recommend are;
Training Show Jumpers by Anthony Paalman
Designing Courses and Obstacles by Carruthers, Morris, Hogan, Thomson
Gymnastics; Systematic Training for Jumping Horses by James C. Wofford

Miranda Disney

      Miranda is a native of Boulder, CO and started riding when she was 7 years old. The first season she had her large pony, he spooked at a trailer making a very loud crashing noise and bucked her off. She landed on hard dirt and, in the process, she got a cut on her lip that became infected so for about a week her nick-name was bubba gump.

      Miranda has done mostly hunters and jumpers with a few western and dressage lessons here and there. She has mostly worked with thoroughbreds and warmbloods, as well as some rascally ponies. She has worked with Molly Rienndollar (Helicon Stables), Dion Dana (Rainbow Farms), Ken Hart, Cynthia Moore, and Helen Gould. She received Horse of the Year in zone 8 with her large pony and won the Mile High Grand Prix.

      Miranda describes her training style as being "patient, getting it done, and trying to get the best out of the horses." Her vision for horses and people is just for them to give their best and to not quit. Miranda is a lovely young equestrian with a heart of gold and nerves of steel. She rides multiple horses a day, dozens of rides a week and never tires from it. Riding is obviously her passion and her kindness and patience makes her a fabulous rider.

     A horse that has impacted Miranda is her current horse, Mucho. "He always gives 110% and he never quits. He has really shown me how to be a soft but effective rider and I really feel like this will be the horse that I will start off a great riding career in the Grand Prixs with. I am in the horse business because the same reason all horse lovers are, I love and have a true passion for the horses, I just can't get enough of them :)" Miranda's personal goal when it comes to the horses is to give them her best effort and really make the whole riding process an enjoyable one for both horse and rider.

A tip for the equestrian;
"Focus, never quit, be courageous and most of all HAVE FUN!" My favorite thing to see in an equestrian is someone that does this sport for the love of the horses and really wants to give it their all, and someone that can have fun in the process."

Some books Miranda would recommend are:
In and Out: Year One in Jumping For Gold Series By: Barbara Moss
The First Horse I See By: Sally M. Keehn
Seabiscuit: An American Legend By: Laura Hillenbrand