Somatic Rider
Where movement, energy, and horsemanship come together to support a deeper connection between horse and rider.
Partnership in Motion
Bringing Together Wellness, Movement & Connection
Develop a deeper connection with your horse by transforming the way you move, feel, and communicate.
Somatic Rider brings together Somatic Movement, Energy Work, and horse-centred training to support the well-being of both horse and rider.
By developing greater body awareness, releasing tension, supporting the nervous system, and learning to work with your horse's natural instincts, you can create a partnership built on balance, trust, communication, and ease.
What's Included:
Somatic Movement
Gentle movement practices help release habitual tension, improve balance and coordination, and develop greater awareness of your body.
Learn to move with less effort and greater ease, creating a quieter, more balanced seat and clearer communication with your horse.
Energy Work for Horse & Rider
Energy work supports calm, balance, vitality, and overall well-being for both horse and rider.
For the rider, it can help settle the nervous system, release physical and emotional tension, support recovery, improve focus and body awareness, and build confidence.
For the horse, energy work can support relaxation, balance, recovery, and a greater sense of safety and trust.
A balanced rider creates the opportunity for a more balanced horse.
Groundwork & Connection
Build a solid foundation by working with your horse's natural instincts. Groundwork develops communication, confidence, balance, coordination, and strength, while helping you understand how your horse learns and responds.
It can also be a valuable physiotherapeutic tool, supporting strength, balance, body awareness, and healthier movement patterns.
Learn how your body language, energy, timing, and presence influence your horse—and carry these skills into the saddle.
Bringing It Into the Saddle
The skills developed through groundwork prepare your horse physically and mentally for ridden work.
Somatics and Energy Work bring greater awareness to the rider, helping you recognize tension, balance, breathing, movement, and energy, and how these influence your horse.
Together, these elements create lighter communication, greater softness, and a deeper connection.
Groundwork builds trust and communication. Somatics develops body awareness.
Energy work deepens the connection between horse and rider.
What You'll Gain
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Greater balance, comfort, and body awareness
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Less tension and more freedom of movement
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Greater confidence and calm
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Clearer communication with your horse
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A stronger, more balanced horse
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Greater trust and connection
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Practical tools to support your own well-being and your horse's
A Deeper Partnership
I love working with riders who want to develop a deeper connection with their horse by becoming more aware of their own body, movement, energy, and communication.
When we develop our own awareness and skills, we can become clearer and more consistent partners for our horses. Small changes in the handler/rider can create meaningful changes in the horse, and over time, these changes can build greater trust, understanding, softness, and connection.
My goal is to help you become the best partner you can be for your horse, while creating greater ease, balance, and enjoyment for both of you.
Move with Ease. Ride with Awareness. Connect with Trust.
The Experience Behind
Somatic Rider
My approach has been shaped by decades of working with horses and riders, with one focus always at the centre: the well-being of the horse and the connection between horse and rider.
For more than 15 years, I had the opportunity to study and work with Chris Irwin, whose work taught me to recognize the subtle ways horses communicate and how our own body language, balance, and awareness influence them. His teachings became a foundation for my approach to connection, communication, and working with the horse's natural movement.
My training as a Level 2 Centered Riding Instructor added another important piece—helping riders develop greater body awareness, balance, and centering.
When I began my Somatics training, I started seeing these connections in an entirely new way. I became more aware of the places where riders hold tension or become disconnected from their movement, and how these patterns can influence the horse. I also began to see how similar patterns of tension and restriction can appear in the horse's body.
My background in Dressage and Western Dressage, along with years of teaching and training horses and riders, has given me a deep appreciation for the physical development of the horse and the harmony that can develop when horse and rider truly work together.
This is where Somatic Rider was born, bringing together horsemanship, rider awareness, Somatic Movement, and Energy Work to help both horse and rider move, feel, and connect with greater ease.
The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire.
- Sharon Ralls Lemon
Somatic Rider Components
Somatics Sessions
$120
Sessions take place at my home office in Brentwood Bay, with online sessions also available.
We'll assess your movement and muscle patterns, using photos when helpful to track changes as sessions progress. Sessions take place on a massage-style table, with personalized self-care exercises provided to support continued progress and maintenance.
Energy Sessions
$150
Energy Medicine Sessions take place at my home office in Brentwood Bay, with the option to work at your location in a safe area with your horse present, or with a horse I have access to. (Mileage rates may apply.)
We'll assess your body's energy systems and work to restore balance. Personalized self-care techniques will be provided to help you continue your progress and support ongoing balance and well-being.
Horse Sessions
$85 (plus mileage if applicable)
Sessions take place at your location or at the Elk/Beaver Lake Equestrian Society riding ring (membership required).
Sessions begin with groundwork to build communication, balance, and connection, then progress to riding when appropriate. Exercises and activities are tailored to the goals, experience, and needs of both horse and rider.
FEATURED SESSION
Somatic Rider Package
The Somatic Rider Package brings together Somatics, Energy Work, Groundwork, and Riding to create a partnership where both horse and rider can feel better, move better, and connect more deeply.
Each session is guided by what your body, nervous system, or horse needs most in the moment, creating a personalized approach that supports lasting balance, confidence, and connection.
The Somatic Rider Package is for those who wish to:
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Develop greater awareness of their body and movement
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Release physical and emotional tension
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Cultivate balance, clarity, and presence
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Improve body language and communication
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Build confidence and connection
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Explore a deeper relationship with their horse
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Support the well-being of both horse and rider
Introductory Package includes:
- 1 Somatics Session
- 1 Energy Session
- 3 Ground Work or Riding Sessions
Total Cost $500
If you would like to get in touch about setting up a program for you and your horse, contact me:
403-335-5993
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