Teaching

"I have a lot to be thankful about when it comes to have Ange Bean as my and my daughters' instructor.

My daughter Laura loves to jump. And thanks to Ange, she has become a very solid rider and jumper. Since Ange started teaching her, I watched her become a confident and winning rider. She has competed locally, stately and in class AA shows and ribboned in almost every class she competed. She has brought home champion and reserve champion ribbons.

She can jump a course without stirrups, she can jump a course without hands, I have seen her jump without either and this all comes from the teachings of Ange Bean. Ange taught her to ride with her seat, to secure herself with her seat and to stay with her horse. She taught her how to wait for her horse and how to teach her horse to wait for her.

I use to cringe when Laura would go out to jump, but now, although I realize there is always danger whenever you climb on top of a horse, I have a lot of confidence in both Laura and her horse and I can USUALLY watch her relaxed knowing she has a lot of knowledge and skill behind her and that is thanks to Ange Bean. Ange took care of my daughter, she took her time and she taught her right and I will be forever grateful to Ange for that.

Ange has taught my other daughter as well. Lisa doesn't jump, but she enjoys riding her horse but she has never been a very confident rider. Ange helped her to find confidence in herself as well as in her horse. I watched her change Lisa from a very timid rider, to one that has confidence. Lisa doesn't ride as much as her sister does, but I like to know that when she does go out to ride, she believe in herself and that she got from Ange. My only wish is that Ange was still here locally to continue to help Lisa. Lisa and I both miss her very much.

As far as I go, Ange helped me to get the horse that I have still today. A horse that I love with all my heart. A horse that everyone else said was un-trainable and unpredictable and that would hurt me. Ange saw something in the horse that I wanted so badly, and I remember her telling me, "he is not a bad horse, he has only been in the wrong hands".

I hadn’t been riding that long and looking back he probably was more horse than I needed, but Ange told me " I have watched you around horses, I see how you are with them. You are quiet and you take your time and that is all this horse needs, is someone that will be patient and quiet with him ". So I took him, and Ange worked with the two of us and although it has taken a long time, it was well worth it. Danny is one of the sweetest most loving horses you could ever want to meet. He doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He still doesn't trust easily, and if someone new gets on his back he still gets scared. But the bond we have built is one that I am so thankful that I have and I am thankful to Ange for getting the two of us there.

Ange taught me to ride correctly. She taught me the importance of my seat and position and how it dramatically affects what is going on underneath me. How my slightest movement is felt by my horse, and how that movement changes everything about him. I like to ride dressage and it has taken me a lot of years to get where I am, but it has been well worth the effort and time. I miss Ange's teaching too, but I was lucky in the aspect before she left Peoria, she set me up with another wonderful instructor, who also taught Ange.

I have seen Ange take horses that everyone else has given up on, and turned them around. Not with gimmicks or gadgets, but just plain simple riding, combined with a lot of patience, time, gentleness and understanding. I have seen her make riders out of kids or adults who thought they could never learn to ride.

Ange has a lot to offer anyone wanting to learn to ride, whatever kind of riding that might be. She excels in dressage, but she is an excellent jump/hunter teacher as well. She is excellent with horses as well. They seem to sense her thoughts of "I want to help you learn horse, I don't want to make you learn."

I would recommend Ange as anyone’s teacher or trainer."

– Linda Kemper