Gina Serkasevich from the USA is a Scholar in the Basic ST Instructor Certification Program and most recently, Gina graduated from the Justice Training Academy in grade 1 in all five training pillars: Groundwork, Lungs, Handwork, Driving and Straightening in Freedom.
And thank you, Gina, for taking the time to share your STORY with us:
❝ I fell in love with horses when I was three years old. Whatever stage of life I was in, they have always been a part of my life in one way or another. When I moved to Texas after working abroad the first thing I did was look for a stable to ride and managed to get a few youngsters to train and eventually compete.
With the horses, work, family etc. I became so overwhelmed that I was ready to end my horse passion and just be responsible for my children. One day I had taken the last horse in my stable to the vet and met a man and his wife who were running a horse adoption. They even infiltrated certain places to save horses from destruction or harmful treatment. The man looked at my 17HH gelding in the stable while we waited for the vet and he said: We now have a filly with us who is getting the same size, come and have a look. ” I told him this was my last horse that I plan to sell and get out of training and competition horses. He handed me his card and said, I think you should just come and visit.”
As much as I wanted to decline, I eventually called him and arranged a time to visit. In the field a mare and a foal were grazing, and when I walked out with the woman to see them, the little filly came, sniffed at us and then started to run back and forth, a little happy, jumped over a fallen tree and ran back to us. The woman said ” She’s never done that for anyone, you know a horse chooses its rider. Whether she was honest or not, I didn’t care, the filly stole my heart and I adopted her on the spot.
So much for giving up the horses and thankful for her – she saved me, because without her there was no way I could have tackled the daily challenges.
As the year went on she gave me all her heart from the beginning and we competed in hunters, show jumpers with great success.
Unfortunately for a year we had an incident on a show that left her with constant pain in her right hindquarter.
This was a major concern and came back to my mind. At one point everything went so well, actually 6-7 years, and in the blink of an eye it was all gone. Then it took a while to get back to where we were versus accept the new situation and move on from there. Frustration, defeat and the relationship with my horse suffered as a result.
When I realized it was not my circumstance and my horse’s, I looked for all means to help her. She has given me so much and I had to repay her for it and make her healthy again whether she could complete it again or not. I swore I would help her regain her health and strength. She saved me, I had to save her.
I searched for many remedies without success.
While looking for ways to help her, I came across ST while searching for options online. I didn’t want to have surgery or her injections because in my mind it just masked pain. If it was bad and she was injected I couldn’t tell if she was in pain or not and I thought it might make her situation worse.
I believed ST might help because at that point her back was no longer round about her topline and her push-off from her left hind to front right was visibly larger than the other diagonal, causing further problems with her right forehead. While I was reading about ST on balance, shifting COM back and the exercises to get a horse more symmetrical I thought this might help her.
That’s how I came across Marijke’s ST-lessons and immediately started with Saphira. It was slow at first, but then I was lucky enough to have Carolin Moldenhauer run a clinic about 6 hours away. That clinic gave me a better understanding of the material and the boost to help my horse. I can proudly say that the significant asymmetrical issues I had to deal with have improved so much that I was not only able to jump Saphira again, but rode her up to 4th level dressage ready to move to the next level with a more balanced, supple and less tense horse.
I believed that this progression was the best way to properly build the horse’s muscles and neurological pathways to help her become more symmetrical and balanced – back to a healthy way of moving and doing this while she was rider carries. It was much more challenging than it looked 😎, but the resources available and Marijke’s years of research and knowledge helped me move forward.
I also bought two other horses in which I immediately started them with ST and are doing very well.
Today my 15 year old mare moves like a 3 year old in the field. I didn’t have to put her through surgeries or injections etc which were always recommended to me for her. I do believe she would retire, feel uncomfortable and, as Marijke puts it, “a grass-eating head”. The knowledge I gained from the ST program has certainly opened my eyes to looking at the whole horse, from anatomy, behaviour, natural asymmetry, communication, patience and development etc. There is still so much to learn and process. An exciting journey to see how far we can go as partners.
This process has also developed my young horses from the beginning of their journey.
When I first started riding my young horse Roman, she could barely bend to the left and go to the right, she was so bent that it was difficult for her to go straight. After spending time with her on ST, she bends to the left almost better and has pretty tight muscle development on both sides. She is smooth, more balanced and gets stronger and stronger every day, improving as she slides back the COM instead of falling on her forehand to find her balance.
Every day I seem to learn more and can fine-tune them to keep developing them in a healthy way and in their time. Sometimes it takes a week, sometimes it takes a year, but there is always improvement. Like a human diet or training program for body, mind and soul, so is the horse – it is a lifestyle, a daily exercise to be the best you can be.
I became more aware of each horse’s characteristics, behavior and communication and how I could help them reach their highest potential in a healthy way, rather than letting them do the work I wanted or expected. I am more attuned to their communication and patient to allow them to increase their strength as needed without forcing them to do things or do things for too long if they are not ready in mind or body.
I think the biggest item is “listening”. If I pay attention to their communication, we both develop a lot faster. I have learned that they are my best teacher. Everything they do tells me something – I have learned to listen, observe and feel. It’s so cool that they allow me to work with them in this almost magical way. The outside world almost disappears when we move together.
Horses have also been a good example for me in human relationships. The patience, understanding and calm that I continue to develop with the horses is also reflected in my human relationships. I hope I become a better person. Now this isn’t all due to ST, but I owe a lot of it in conjunction with my other practices – it all comes together.
