The Riders' Programme (2026)

09/08/2025

Another new exciting chapter in our Somerset life !

💡
The idea was that we wanted to stop topping the grass (we have too much for the horses) and instead offer it to other livestock.

💡💡
A few visits to sheep owning friends and in June three lambs arrived and they have totally stolen our hearts!

🐑Phoebe 🐑Rachel 🐑Monica

09/08/2025

A new chapter in Somerset is here -

💡
The idea was that we wanted to stop topping the grass (we have too much for the horses) and instead offer it to other livestock. Then I remembered how beneficial sheep can be alongside horses.

💡💡
A few visits to sheep owning friends and in June three lambs arrived and they have totally stolen our hearts!

🐑Phoebe 🐑Rachel 🐑Rachel
Sleeping adventures have begun!

15/07/2025

🍒Summer Supper Parties 🍒

Sensational F R I E N D S
Sensational F O O D
Sensational S U N S H I N E

Nothing else needed for an utterly fabulous evening

Happily easing myself into a new decade

PS so few photos taken but that seems like a good thing on reflection …… all too busy having pure fun and being in the moment

Hugest love and thanks to my husband for embracing my ideas and plans for this fun evening ( he’s not on Insta but needs an acknowledgment nonetheless ) and the Chefs extraordinaire Miranda and Carole excelled and never complained about cooking in 30+ degrees and with an Aga oven!

Happy happy happy and very thankful
Bella ###

20/05/2025

This was back in February when I first donned a bee suit ! A wonderful experienced Bee Lady is teaching me the ropes and those that know me well, will know this has been a dream of mine for about 20 years! It just never came together before - Blackdown Honey incoming. 🐝 did you know over winter the female worker bee’s ’throw out’ the male bees as they only want to eat and mate - only females are hive worthy ! 🐝

20/05/2025

Starts tomorrow 💫 come and join me and learn the basics so you can then feel comfortable in any group class. DM me here or get hold of me on my mobile number in the photo xx

19/01/2025

ANNOUCEMENT TIME!

We have been noticeably very quiet here on FB and you may have guessed or read elsewhere, that Taisie and I are no longer working with our only focus being The Riders Programme. We both have so many other amazing plates to spin, that we have decided to reduce the focus on horse riders alone and work independently.

This may change one day as we have so many courses and accompanying videos in the TRP archives, that need editing (!) and getting out there; but for now, they will lie dormant.
For 2025, I am www.yogainthehills.co.uk and very much making the most of my new surroundings here in West Somerset. It's too beautiful to not fully embrace. I have my home yoga studio, on our land, with views I had only previously dreamt of. Mostly I am teaching face to face and to my loyal clients in Surrey and Oxfordshire, I continue with Zoom too ( I do have space for one more on line client, during the week, anyone keen ?). I also teach weekly at a converted hay barn (with a heated floor !) in Ilminster. So, you can find me in a few places should you want to move your body intelligently and prolong your own mobility and overall health and wellbeing.

My Newsletters from the website ( please do subscirbe and join me ) will include a more varied share. Horses (all 3) remain a huge part of my daily life, along with our dogs and the bee's have just arrived (new learning curve alert!) and a small flock of coloured ryelands (more learning!!) will join us in late spring. I'm spending more time in my garden too - vegetable bed prep has started and sweet pea seeds are in! I'm also slightly obsessed with audio books and podcasts. Lots to share with you! Did I mention I also completed a 2 week long Vegan cookery course in France, last Autumn ......... could be ideal for Workshops perhaps ! So so so much to enjoy, more to learn and plenty to share.
Please do come and join me on my ever evolving journey as I enter my 6th decade ....... find me at www.yogainthehills.co.uk

Thank you for all your interest and questions so far, the journey continues ........ and I'm very grateful,

Annabel
x

09/07/2024

I've been very interested in how we breath and and why that's so important, since I read "a life worth breathing' Max Strom, during my first yoga teacher training back in 2017.

So finally, I booked myself onto a Breathwork Mastery course and loved it and want to know (and share) even more!

This was new to me:

I have been lead to believe that slow breathing will bring you into a relaxed state. But there is a caveat; the Polyvagal theory throws up a new dimension. In a simplified nutshell the theory highlights a distinction between flight/fright and freeze. If we try to downregulate our nervous system when we are already in freeze mode, it's not going to be helpful enough; it may even exacerbate the freeze mode. However, if we are In flight/fright it is helpful to calm our hyper state. Does that make sense ? it may come as a surprise, but when you take a moment to think about it I feel it makes sense.

Knowing what central nervous system state you are in, is step no 1 and then applying the most useful breathing technique thereafter. So, we all need to increase our self awareness, consider breathing practices to assist us and then expand our tolerance of coping with the inevitable highs and lows. This is what will keep us balanced in the longer term and makes sense for our wellbeing.

Fascinating I think ! we share this type of knowledge, and a whole lot more, in our classes.

DM us for more info

Bella & Taisie xx

21/06/2024

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY to all our friends here,

The word yoga means to unite or yoke.

I'm going to very simply sew the thought with you that not only is this a union of our own mind and body, but as riders it very much supports the notion of a union of horse (mind and body) and rider (mind and body) ............. moving together, breathing together and simply being together. For me this is the sweet spot; the bliss.

Seeking, finding and nurturing connection between ourselves and our horses. Isn't that what we are all seeking ? Practising the art of yoga helps us to feel and see the way.

Happy Yoga day to you all

Bella & Taisie xx

16/06/2024

I'm on a brilliant and completely absorbing 'Breathwork Mastery' course with and and I thought I'd share with you a few golden nuggets from my learning so far.

⚡did you know that the quality of your breathing will dictate the amount of oxygenated blood that your body receives (thereby influencing your metabolic processes) who knew ??

⚡did you know you can influence your mental state and corresponding nervous system by how you breathe (ever had that feeling of uncontrollable anxiety and feel unable to do anything about it?)

⚡did you know the quality of your breath can influence how connected you feel with yourself and those around you (people and animals alike)

The reason I mention the points above are that I think its amazing that this autonomic system in our body is apparently so simple, yet so complex and so powerful and we can influence it for our better health and wellbeing. I think it is such an important area that we could all do with knowing more about.

A foot note to this would be, imagine how our breathing affects the horse, be we next to them or on them. Here we are, a predator on a prey animal; you can imagine how our breathing is felt by them and is important to them. I've read somewhere that they can sense our heartbeat from 100 feet away - this is then another dimension to the importance of knowing how we are breathing and how we can then connect to our horses. The fact they let us happily ride them is still a fascination for me. Special creatures that they are.

More on this to come ............... hands up who finds this fascinating and wants to know more 🙋‍♀️

Thank you James and Jamie, I am trying to keep up with all the great info and then working out how to apply it to our rider/horse loving friends

Bella x

24/05/2024

HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED - HOW AM I STANDING AND HOW DO I HOLD MYSELF AS I MOVE ? has this even crossed your mind ? well the results of what you find out when you do look are very powerful for your riding and your own wellbeing.

Assessing how you hold your body when you stand and when you move, is critical and the reason why, is so that you can measure changes you make. Over time you will be able to feel it in your own body, as your self awareness develops, but to get you started, we can show you how to make visual assessments instead. This will likely be quite a revelation to you and a useful one.

As you know we always say it's all about what you do 'out of the saddle' so that's where the assessment starts. We can take you through a fairly simple process so that you can find out if you are lopsided/twisting/leaning/tipping etc. Most people have no idea whatsoever! and are gobsmacked!

Once you have this information about yourself, which by the way will only be exaggerated when you are in the saddle, you can then start working on yourself. It almost goes without saying, but we will say it anyway, that the effect of how a rider holds themselves and moves, is huge to the horse carrying us.

A few photos here to illustrate one example of how we naturally hold ourselves when standing still. The effect of this is multiple and we will explain more about that too. Anyone have any comments on these pics ? what do you think is going on and what effect might that have ?

So, if self assessment is something that interests you, sign up to the link to find out more very soon on our Foundation course https://subscribepage.io/rideforlifewaitlistsubscribe

Alternatively, we also offer a full postural assessment. It takes around 90 minutes and can be done in person or on line. More details about this on our website.

Always here for you and your horses,

Much love
Bella & Taisie xx

21/05/2024

⚡THE FOUNDATION COURSE⚡

Many of you have written to us not knowing how and when to start our classes so we have created an on line course, which you can follow in your own time, and we are here for any questions along the way.

So, in a nutshell what video content can you expect from this FOUNDATION COURSE:
How can you start with assessing yourself? - we will explain this in detail and show you how (also in detail)
What principles are likely to get in your way and how to address these
Which muscles and joints are key in relation to your riding and why
Practice and theory of breathing and how it can help you physically and mentally; in and out of the saddle
Breakdown of the key poses (explaining and showing optimal alignment) and movements within poses, that form the backbone of movement classes with us, in The Riders Programme (TRP)
Videos of practical tips showing how to encorporate this information into your daily yard life
Bite size videos (about 15 minutes) for you to regularly practice what you have learnt above
A workbook to complete alongside the video content, for those that enjoy extra reflection time and an element of accountability by writing it down.

There will be generous early bird offers for those that are on our mailing list so we've popped the link here https://www.theridersprogramme.com

Don't delay as release of this course is close !

Any questions whatsoever, drop us a message here
Much love
Bella & Taisie xx⚡⚡⚡

21/05/2024

So, the baby boy Lago Quizzical (Quizz to his friends) has arrived at The Horse Place in North Devon (sea views!) and it seems he is, so far, taking it all in his stride. He loaded well and travelled well ( lets not mention that I think I honed my reversing skills on this trip!) and since then he's had almost two weeks with David Zuend and I am delighted.

Davids reassuring young horse starting techniques are exactly why I chose him for Quizz. He works with terms like 'working with the horse so he sees us a friend and then a leader' and 'waiting for the horse to be ready for this'. In this way he is more likely to be confident and emotionally balanced. Importantly, he says, "I have a general plan but then adjust to each horse. So far so good.

More updates soon, when I take a visit to see him very soon.

Bella x

The Riders' Programme

09/08/2025

09/08/2025

15/07/2025

20/05/2025

20/05/2025

19/01/2025

09/07/2024

21/06/2024

16/06/2024

24/05/2024

21/05/2024

21/05/2024

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