Sascha Watson is a full-time professional horsewoman.
As well as offering education she has also been inspirational in her many entertaining public performances.
She and her brother, Sam, have evolved into a professional training duo covering a wide range of horsemanship activities.
She is co-author of our continually evolving syllabus and is one of the founders of Horses and Horsemen.
Sascha helps clients with:
- Our comprehensive foundation training syllabus
- Better riding
- Horse starting
Difficult horse rehabilitation - Saddle fitting
- Saddle fitting – which she has been doing for 10 years in a variety of applications. Sascha recently topped up her own training and knowledge by attending a formal saddle fitting course in Melbourne under the tutelage of ChiroVet Ian Bidstrup. She spends hours and hours riding a variety of horses in a variety of saddles and scenarios, and so understands the importance of saddle fit and the need for a rider to be able to fit their own and make changes as needed.
- Hoof trimming information
- Dressage coaching as part of foundation training
- Trick Riding
- Vaulting
- Cattle management and roping from horseback
- Liberty horse training
- Aspects of Equine anthropology and history ie the various sources of equestrian activity through the ages
- Equestrian photography
Over the years she has offered and participated in many public performances with the aim of “allowing horses to present themselves as beautiful creatures, in the hope of arousing constant curiosity about how to better train and care for them”.
Sascha has served a long and rigorous apprenticeship in horsemanship and has accumulated vast experience in horse training and also in chaperoning hundreds of students through the Challenge syllabus.
Sascha is always trying to improve her delivery and continues to accumulate experience and good quality teaching aids.
For example, her teaching collection of herd interaction photographs helps to develop in people the eyes to see how they might meaningfully find ways to improve their own communication with horses.
Sascha follows in the footsteps of many great Australian horsewomen and has a personal heritage that includes four generations of horsemanship, including her mother, grandparents and great-grandparents.
She began riding as a school-girl and after graduating, she combined a diploma in photography (at the Central College of Technical and Further Education in Perth) with her horsemanship studies.
Sascha continues her academic studies, and is always exploring new boundaries of horsemanship as her knowledge and insight deepen.
Some of Sascha’s horses have begun to accumulate amazing experiences and their response to training just gets better and better.
This is something that money cannot buy. It takes real time and real dedication – which in many ways requires appropriate life choices so that the time and opportunity can become available;
and with opportunity comes opportunity cost – there are other
things you miss out on.
Some of Sascha’s Philosophy
Even with many years of learning and actually “doing” – rain, hail and shine (literally) – Sascha is aware that the subject of horsemanship is huge and it takes many years to gather the experience and insights needed to continually hone the art.
It also takes many years for a horse to learn about itself beyond its instincts and master the skills needed to make good use of its body and mind.
This only becomes evident as you continue to experience the development of one or two of your main horses. Hence why we say – “never give up”.
Life is a hard master, and negotiating with it for time and opportunity requires a determined mindset.
That mindset cannot be taught. Instead Sascha sets a dedicated, patient and process-driven example for those students who are able to see it.