ABOUT OUR STORY

Tim and Lisa Haldane own Avalon Performance Horse and Rider Support.  Both professional engineers, Lisa has been competing with cutting horses since 2002, became a certified practitioner of Masterson Method™ Equine Performance Bodywork in 2009, and has been an Instructor in the Masterson Method™ since 2010.  Now, upon his retirement, Tim is taking an active role in the vision and support of the company. We alternate seasonally between Cave Creek, Arizona, and Beavercreek, Oregon.  In Oregon, we raise a limited number of cattle for cutting horse practice and grass-fed beef.

Avalon Performance Horse and Rider Support has offered online equine anatomy, biomechanics, and performance issues courses since 2012.

The goal of our company is to provide education and resources for people involved with horses so they can make better choices which will allow them to:

  • Spend less with a better outcome
  • Have confidence that the horses under their care are as comfortable as they can be
  • Be more comfortable as riders

ABOUT OUR CHOSEN EVENT

We ride and compete in the sport of cutting. The name cutting refers to the activity of separating a cow from the rest of a herd, “cutting” a cow from the herd. This is a critical skill on ranches so cattle can be sorted and doctored.

Some horses have exceptional abilities to read the motions and intentions of a cow, quicker than a rider. These horses have now been bred for this very specialized sport.

What’s unique about cutting is that during the most active part of the event, the rider is not using any reins to control the horse’s movements. It takes several years to train and season a horse to do this, it takes a truly exceptional equine athlete to compete successfully.

It is one of the most physically challenging of equine events, and because of this, great care is taken by competitors to ensure to the best of their ability and knowledge that the horses are comfortable. If a horse is uncomfortable, it will show up in the performance and will affect the outcome. The same is true for the riders.

Our approach to helping people enjoy their competition experience more fully is to lay out what we see as the fundamentals that need to be evaluated in both horse and rider logically so that the teaching and training of horse and rider can be more successful.

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