About Me
My name is Troy Griffith. My lovely wife Nancy and I have our home and facilities in Aumsville, near Salem, Oregon with a cat, a couple dogs and a few horses.
I am a lifelong student of historical European martial arts and, for the last few decades, have been working toward training myself and my horses in the skills of the medieval knight astride a warhorse.
As part of this training I have developed methods of preparing horse and rider for the challenges faced by warhorse and rider as they practice such medieval equestrian activities as jousting, mounted sword combat and archery from horseback.
Obviously these sorts of activities require a physically capable, mentally steady mount that a rider can count on to calmly face challenges the average horse might find overwhelming.
In the past several years I have begun teaching my methods to other horse owners. While some have an interest in training a warhorse of their own, most are simply interested in having this kind of relationship and level of confidence with their own horse. Much the way folks take their horses to Police Horse Workshops when they have no intention of ever being a mounted officer. After all, a horse that has no issue with charging another horse and rider in armor, is simply unlikely to have much of an issue with more common activities.
It may be counter-intuitive, but while the warhorse activities may seem aggressive in nature, the methods used to prepare horse and rider for them are anything but. The “Hands-On” method, as I call the techniques I teach, are based on using gentle, consistent repetition to acclimate the horse and create a relationship of respect and trust, while straightening and balancing the natural asymmetry of the horse to improve collection and agility. While many of these methods find their roots in Old World Horsemanship stretching back hundreds of years. It differs from a lot of modern horsemanship in that understanding the natural responses of the horse is key to systematically and gently condition and train the animal, not simply force it comply with the wishes of the rider. Add to this, an in-depth study of the biomechanics of horse and rider and you have a riding method based in Feel, Timing and Balance.
If you would like to discuss your horsemanship goals and how I might help you achieve them, feel free to contact me at 541-535-7974.