Melanie’s Blog

A conversation with Melanie Smith Taylor

A conversation with Melanie Smith Taylor

Join Emily Kitching of The Eclectic Horseman for a visit with Melanie Smith Taylor about her book "Riding with Life - Lessons from the Horse" written with Jamie Caton. Melanie is a renowned horsewoman and Olympic gold medalist who still teaches others what she has...

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Horses Need Bodywork Too!

Horses Need Bodywork Too!

Wildwood Farm hosted another Ida Hammer equine hoof clinic but this time Ida collaborated with osteopath and bodyworker Deb Davies. Together they presented lots of information on the hoof/body connection and compensation effects on the horse when one or the other is...

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Clinic Collaborations

Clinic Collaborations

Noah and I are teaching together There’s nothing like working with the best in their field no matter what their particular interest is! I spent the first two weekends of November teaching horsemanship clinics with my friends Noah Cornish and Alicia Landman, who have...

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Wildwood’s Continuing Education (In a nutshell)

Wildwood’s Continuing Education (In a nutshell)

Wildwood hosted a second Ida Hammer equine hoof clinic this past weekend. Ida is a well known barefoot trimmer but also educates everyone on the whole horse. Following the success of the Gold Medal Swedish Show Jumping Team at the recent Tokyo Olympics where two of...

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Two Educational Weekends Back-to-Back

Two Educational Weekends Back-to-Back

Elena, Katrina, Buck, Noah, Melanie, Ricky and Jamie We recently experienced a road trip to Oklahoma for a Buck Brannaman clinic followed by an at home clinic with Ida Hammer. My dear friend and co-author Jamie Caton flew in from Sun Valley for two weeks to enjoy both...

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Wildwood Horsemanship Short Courses July through September

Wildwood Horsemanship Short Courses July through September

 Katrina and Dempsey under Steve’s watchful eye We are scheduling more dates this summer and fall for our Wildwood Horsemanship Short Courses. It has been rewarding and such fun to be able to give one-on-one coaching to just 2 to 4 students at a time.  Locals or out...

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Wildwood Horsemanship Short Courses in June

Wildwood Horsemanship Short Courses in June

Group Groundwork We know many of you are anxious to get back to horse shows and/or clinics so we are offering you an alternative.  We have enjoyed staying at home working with our own horses and would like to invite 2 - 4 people at a time to join us for a week of...

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Wildwood Horsemanship Short Courses in May

Announcing additional dates for our Wildwood Horsemanship Short Courses! We have had a nice response so have added two weeks in May to our 2020 schedule so far. Riders may come one or both weeks: May 11-16 and 18-23. In these short courses we will teach and help you...

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Making a Difference in Martin

Making a Difference in Martin

Robyn and Melanie as the clinic begins With frigid temperatures outside, the large heated indoor arena at University of Tennessee in Martin was a welcome surprise and made a huge difference to everyone’s comfort level. Robyn and I, along with friends Steve Thaemert...

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Soggy but Successful in Seattle

Soggy but Successful in Seattle

Robyn and Melanie sharing their thoughts with the riders Robyn Miller and I just returned from a three day clinic at the Rock Meadow Equestrian Center in Sammamish near Seattle, Washington. The clinic was organized by owner, Stephen DeRham, who has a wonderful...

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Wildwood Horsemanship Short Courses

Wildwood Horsemanship Short Courses

In an effort to expand our message of good horsemanship through correct groundwork and flatwork, we plan to offer one or two week sessions throughout the year in addition to Robyn Miller’s Wednesday workshops. These intense comprehensive programs will allow...

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Hello Horsemanship

Hello Horsemanship

Happy Thanksgiving holidays to everyone! I apologize for getting behind on my blogs but we  have been busy launching our Horsemanship program at Wildwood with Robyn Miller and Steve Thaemert.  Robyn and Steve have been teaching workshops once a week on the farm while...

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My Clinic in Tryon, North Carolina.

  The Chronicle of the Horse published a great review of my clinic in Tryon. Click https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/be-their-place-of-peace-a-clinic-with-melanie-smith-taylor        

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Finally… Gold on home soil!

Finally… Gold on home soil!

The USA had never won Gold at the World Equestrian Games since they began in 1990.  USA had won Silver in 2006 and Bronze in 2014, but the Gold Medal had eluded them until Friday.  McLain Ward, Laura Kraut, Devin Ryan, and Adrienne Sternlicht brought it home with...

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Toronto World Cup Qualifier – Color Commentary

Toronto World Cup Qualifier – Color Commentary

The Toronto Royal Winter Fair World Cup Qualifier held on November 8th with Melanie's color commentary will be aired on NBCSN on November 26th at 4 PM EST.  Kent Farrington of the United States claimed the $150,000 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Toronto riding...

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Radio Interview with Melanie

Radio Interview with Melanie

2018 WEG Show 20 by KPPUSA.com – The Voices of John Kyle and Melanie Smith Taylor Nov 17, 2017 The latest WEG news and we focus on the voices of WEG, that’s right, the announcers and broadcasters.  We have two of the world’s leading announcers with us today, show...

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