Beth Bliss
I have owned and worked with horses for 27 years. My first was a wild 9-year old BLM mustang mare that I adopted. Wild Dream Lady is 37 years old now. Lady has been a wonderful equine teacher and partner. She is the dam of my ½ Arabian gelding, Corduroy Knickers. The sire was chosen for his endurance lines.
I have completed over 1750 miles of competitive trail ride miles in N.A.T.R.C., including the Championship Challenge ride in 2000. I won the Region 6 top novice horse of 1991 on Corduroy Knickers when he was 4 years old. After moving from Iowa to Oregon in 2000, I started endurance riding with “Roy”. In 2004, I accomplished the goal I had dreamed of when I picked his sire. Together we completed the TEVIS 100 mile/one day race coming in 84th of 129 finishers. We earned a buckle in this 50th anniversary ride. Roy was 17 years old. I was 52.
I started videoing Jan Norman’s work with her foal, Mirabs Miss America, in 2004 because the things Jan’s clicker trained horses could do amazed me. Behind the camera, clicker training began to “click” for me. Jan traded places with me in 2005, and began videoing my work with my foal, Mirabs Bay Ivy, when she was 12 hours old. Together we created DVDs and offered them for sale.
Jan and I submitted an abstract to the 2nd International Equine Science Symposium in 2006, and were accepted as poster presenters. We attended the Symposium in Milano, Italy that September, displayed our poster, and handed out an article Jan & I co-wrote titled, “DON’T SKIP KINDERGARTEN, Clicker Train Your Foals”.
Ivy and I began competing in endurance rides in 2010, as she had turned 5 and could go the 50-mile distance. She is also trained to be my packhorse, and all around trail horse. I hope to complete the Tevis ride one more time with Ivy as my partner when I am 62.
I can’t imagine a world without horses. They complete my universe.
Clicker Training is fun, anyone can do it, and you are limited only by your imagination.
Website
YouTube Channel
Inspiration