Jillian Simon - Riding Instructor - New Heights Equestrian

Jillian is the Riding Instructor at Academy Stables. She has been riding, assistant training, and teaching in Colorado since 1998. Jillian has ridden and trained with notable trainers such as Timothy Cleary (hunter/jumper), Fernando Muaded (jumpers), and Kris and Kendra Espinosa (jumpers). Jillian is currently working towards her own goal of competing in grand prix level jumping, and believes it is important to continue to further her own riding when she’s not teaching others.

Jillian predominantly trains English riders (hunters and jumpers) from beginner to advanced levels, but will also teach beginner-intermediate western riders. Her teaching emphasizes a straight, balanced posture and dressage-like seat on the flat and over fences, as opposed to the angled, stylized, and often incorrect hunter position often seen today. Jillian maintains a very safety oriented lesson program, and starts all beginner riders in a western saddle for safety purposes. This allows riders to develop a strong leg and seat while still having the safety and comfort of the horn if they become unbalanced. When a rider is confident and secure in a western saddle, they are moved to an English saddle where they further pursue their goals.

Jillian pushes her riders in every lesson to improve communication with the horse, posture, and their general understanding of horses and riding. She believes that thorough, balanced flat work is the key to successful jumping, and works with her riders to develop a correct posture and harmony with the horse while still holding some style of their own.

You will be seeing our students riding at various horse shows this summer in the Boulder area.

If you are interested in lessons, please call Jillian at 303-665-4637.
Thank you for your interest!

Jeff Seale - Barn Manager and Horse Trainer

Jeff has been working in the equine industry and training horses of various breeds since 1995. He uses a “Round Pen” training technique with “press and release” which allows him to gain the trust of the horse to then be able to “ask” the horses to move in various directions, to fully desensitize the horse, to teach the horse to follow all vocal and physical cues (whether the horse is under saddle or during ground work exercises) and finally, to saddle the horse and teach the horse to not only accept and trust a rider but to follow all leads, yields and cues. His techniques are used (and were learned) from such well-known horse trainers as Pat Parelli, Monty Roberts, Josh and John Lyons and Craig Cameron.

Jeff will train horses of any breed and any age. His techniques are valuable and widely used amongst thousands of horse trainers to train any level of horse from beginner/”green” horses to advanced horses that simply need a little work to overcome a “bad habit.”  Jeff uses a “hands-on” approach to gently earn the trust of the horse while never having to resort to harmful or aggressive tactics to reach his intended goal(s).

Jeff Seale can be reached directly at 303-828-2968 and will be more than happy to answer any questions regarding Academy Stables.