Nic Tassone, Author at Raising The Standards

How do I teach my standardbred to canter? – 5 Tips for Teaching a Standardbred to Canter

How do I teach my standardbred to canter? Teaching a standardbred to canter is one of the biggest topics in standardbred retraining and something we regularly have riders reach out to Raising the Standards for some support with (along with ‘how do I teach my stadardbred to stop pacing’) So if you’re struggling to get …

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The Marathon of Change, from Track to Hack.

By Nic Tassone

I want you to imagine for a minute that you are a professional marathon runner. “Professional” in the sense that this is your career: a paid role which commands the majority of your time. A craft which you have perfected steadily over years of careful training. Each day, you wake and set about your training …

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5 Trainer Tips to Conquer Your Next Competition

By Nic Tassone

Well, Spring has well and truly sprung! Coupled with the gorgeous weather comes the urge for riders to dust off the boots, get out there and start doing great things with their horses again! With competition season in full swing, I thought I’d jot down five simple, but highly effective, ways to get the most …

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Rider Reflection: The Secret to Retraining the Standardbred.

By Nic Tassone

Through the writing process as part of the development of our new Retraining the Standardbred: Track to Hack course, I’ve had the opportunity to really step back and think about what the key ingredients have been in successfully retraining so many ex-harness horses over the years. If I had to put it down to the …

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7 Habits of Successful Standardbred Retrainers

By Nic Tassone

As a standardbred retrainer with nearly a decade of professional experience under my belt (and many more years of personal retraining prior to this), I have been privileged to share ideas, seek guidance from and collaborate with some amazing standardbred aficionados over the years. I recently got to thinking about some of the habits …

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How long does it take to retrain a standardbred?

By Nic Tassone

As a standardbred professional, one of the most common questions I get asked is: ‘how long does it take to retrain a standardbred?’ To this, my answer is an age-old classic: “how long is a piece of string?” There are just so many different variables and possible answers. As discussed in our Retraining the Standardbred: …

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Retraining the Standardbred: Slow & Steady Wins the Pace

By Nic Tassone

As a Standardbred-specific trainer and coach, I speak to a lot of riders about common issues, such as how to stop a standardbred from pacing and how to teach the standardbred to canter. These would be ‘the big two’ issues, in terms of working with the retired harness racehorse. Back when I was coaching …

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Pony Club Standardbreds

By Nic Tassone

Looking back on my childhood, I entered the standardbred space long before ‘cart horses’ were considered a popular choice of riding partner. I’ll get into more detail about my own journey in an upcoming post, but let’s just say pony club was a polarising experience. Having recently caught up with a few inspiring young standardbred …

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5 Things To Love About Standardbreds

By Nic Tassone

5 Things to Love about Standardbreds (and yes, stopping at 5 was tough!!!) 1. Versatility Strutting around the dressage ring one day, bush bashing the next; such is the life of a champ with a stamp. There are standardbreds out kicking butt in a vast range of equestrian activities, such as dressage, jumping, …

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Buying a Horse: Tips for Finding the Right Mount.

By Nic Tassone

Buying a new horse can be quite a daunting process. In today’s age, buyers can access a plethora of platforms that promote horses looking for new homes: professional websites, horse traders, social media pages, magazines etc… As great as it is to have choices, it certainly can be confusing to cut through the noise …

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