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Show Horses and Expert Riders' . to " - -. .... .. -v. vS- ' ' 1 ' I'' ' ' '-WWWMKW'-tSaMSW I i 1 ; . f' I I , r ' " ' r- it - - C- .-"VWf - ill.., , , - Li L . I ton and then went on to join the faculty at the University of Utah in 1970. He'' only recently left the university in order to devote all of his attention to the ranch. It might be said also that Dr. Parma received his graduate training in horsemanship horse-manship from Ralph and Vivian Carter of Santa Maria, Calif. According to Parma, he had competed against some of their students stu-dents and decided, "If you can't beat them, join them. They were unique because they taught their riders how to train their horses." Horse Lover's Magazine calls Vivian Vi-vian Carter, with 25 years ol training experience, "the trainer's trainer." Parma uses many of the Carters' techniques with his students. The most common mistake rider's make, says Dr. Parma, is that they use toe much pressure on the reins. Dr. and Mrs. Parma train their horses to respond to subtle leg pressure and barely use the reins for balance. They work slowly with each horse, building their skill and their confidence confi-dence so that their associa- . tion with the ring is not a traumatic one. Mrs. Parma knows that a horse has an excellent memory and so she takes great pains to avoid overworking or frustrating a young horse. According to Dr. Parma, riding is something anyone can do but like skiing, in order to ride well and safely, some instruction is needed. An afternoon trail ride is much more enjoyable with a well-trained horse who res- ponds easily to gentle cues than one who must be pulled i and tugged or constantly spurred. Any time a rider gets on a horse, the horse is being trained added Parma. So a rider must be acutely aware of his effect on the horse. From the center of the ring he tells his students "now stop him" and as the horse v... . .-. i V :' ; ii3S68S!SAr . . Dr. Daid Parma comes to a halt Parma's eyes narrow in concentration. His ultimate object is to have the rider cueing the horse so that the horse moves as efficiently effi-ciently as possible. Both Dr. and Mrs. Parma are perfectionists. They only take on students who share their respect for the horses and who are willing to work toward the highest standards. stan-dards. From their homegrown home-grown grain to their immaculate immacu-late mangers to their treatment treat-ment in the show ring, the quarter horse is definitely king at the Parma Ranch. Glory's April and Mrs. Parma demonstrate the proper way to work a gate. A well trained horse will block a gate while davino rlosp enough to allow the rider to work it easily. |