VANESSA BEE is the founder of the International Horse Agility Club (www.thehorseagilityclub.com). With a training facility in England and her own method known as Positive Horsemanship, she specializes in building relationships between the horse and the handler from the ground up.
Vanessa has been around horses most of her life, working in racing stables throughout her teens, then driving competitively into her early twenties when she was given an “unridable” racehorse as a wedding present. Very soon Vanessa realized that there had to be a better way than the “bigger stick, bigger bit method” of riding commonly offered, and in the late nineties Vanessa began to read, study, and work with some of the greatest horseman of the age. She soon discovered that there are as many ways of teaching horsemanship as there are horses and handlers in the world.
As a qualified teacher with a degree in education, Vanessa has used her skills to develop a series of courses that teach people of all abilities and experience-levels to achieve a positive relationship with their horse. By creating the International Horse Agility Club, she has provided a social and competitive outlet for those relationships to grow.

We caught up with Vanessa this month to talk about the release of her new book, as well as the online Horse Agility competitions on the International Horse Agility Club website, in which anyone, anywhere in the world, can compete. You can read the full interview with Vanessa on the Trafalgar Square Books blog (click HERE).

TSB: Can you tell us about how you came up with the idea for the International Horse Agility Club?

VB: I was teaching a frightened young girl and her big frightened horse and suddenly realized all they had to focus on was their fear. So I set up a little obstacle course and gave them a job to do. Very quickly not only were they too busy negotiating the obstacles to be afraid but ALSO they had gathered an audience!
A thought popped into my head: “I wonder if there’s a competitive sport like dog agility for horses?” I asked myself. I came home searched on the Internet and there was NOTHING! That was on the 13th of December in 2009—and the rest is history!

TSB: You have a fabulous website featuring an international online video competition. Can you tell us a little about the OLHA Video League, how it works, and how popular it is proving?

I had the idea for online Horse Agility competitions because we were getting a lot of interest from some quite remote places in the world. These people would never be able to ship their horses thousands of miles to the competitions that were already up and running, so I decided we’d run a video competition. I have been staggered by the popularity!
Every month I design a course for each of the four levels. People build the simple courses in their garden, backyard, field, or arena and practice until they are the best they can be. Then they get someone to video them going round the course. That video is then posted online for me to judge at the end of the month. It’s very simple and it means that anyone anywhere can join in the fun and be part of this wonderful global community.
I judge entries from the Outback deserts of Australia, the paddy fields of Taiwan, the grandeur of North America, and the snows of Scandinavia. It’s a great way to “see” the world!

Vanessa Bee’s new book THE HORSE AGILITY HANDBOOK is out this month! Order your copy today!