New Zealand's leading dressage rider is a busy woman.
On top of training and competing herself, Jody Hartstone trains New Zealand Paralympic riders and travels the world spreading her vast knowledge in equitation science.
Hartstone, who lives in Raglan, is in Dunedin for two days teaching riders how to deal with their horses using the method.
She has been riding horses for 35 years, and started teaching equitation science eight years ago.
''It all started because I had a really difficult horse which I couldn't get the best of,'' she said.
''I couldn't sell him, so I had to fix him. So I met up with a trainer in Australia, Andrew McLean. I took on his methods and really ran with them.
''Looking at it from a science perspective, rather than just trying to make a horse do as it's told, we're using science and learning theory to basically re-programme its brain.''
Before Hartstone returns to Dunedin to take more lessons in September, she will attend an equitation science conference in Canada.
She leaves for Vancouver next week, where she will take a lecture on breaking in horses.
Hartstone will compete in the first international competition of the season in Waikato in October, before heading to Sydney to compete in the Australian championships.
She will spend about two months competing and teaching across the ditch, before returning home in time for Christmas.
''My stallion is quite young, so it's more to wet his feet,'' she said.
''We're not really trying for Rio. It would be nice and it's a far-off dream, but for now this trip is about consolidating him and getting him out into some bigger atmospheres.''
Hartstone has also competed in France, Spain and the United States in the past, and qualified for the world championships in 2006 and 2010.
However, despite being the only rider in the country to qualify, New Zealand did not send her to the championships for ''political'' reasons.
Hartstone will take her final session at the Otago Equestrian Centre today.
