California Horsemanship with Jeff Sanders
A Living Tradition. An Invitation to Listen.
"The horses have always been the teachers. Every generation simply chooses whether it is willing to listen."
Why I'm Hosting Jeff Sanders
People often ask me why I continue to invite Jeff Sanders to New Zealand.
The answer has very little to do with his impressive family history or the fact that he is a sixth-generation California Horseman.
Those things are remarkable, but they are not the reason.
I first met Jeff in 2015 when he travelled to Canterbury for his first clinic in New Zealand.
I remember standing there watching him work.
Feeling something I had never quite experienced before.
It felt as though I had finally met someone who understood and spoke the same language.
Not a language of words.
A language of feel.
A language of softness.
A language of quiet communication between horse and rider.
It wasn't simply what Jeff was doing that resonated with me.
It was how he was doing it.
There was no urgency.
No force.
No need to prove anything.
Instead, there was patience, feel, balance, and a quiet confidence that allowed the horse to search, to understand, and to respond willingly.
For many years, I had been following my own path with horses, guided largely by what the horses themselves had been teaching me.
The horses have always been my greatest teachers.
Meeting Jeff didn't replace those lessons.
It simply gave me confidence that what the horses had been quietly showing me had also been recognised, respected, and carefully preserved through generations of thoughtful horsemanship.
In Jeff, I recognised a living tradition that honoured many of the same principles the horses had been revealing to me all along.
That is why I continue to invite Jeff to New Zealand.
Not because I believe there is only one way to work with horses.
But because I believe his teaching preserves something truly valuable, a tradition that honours both horse and rider while reminding us that good horsemanship is ultimately about awareness, feel, timing, balance, and relationship.
Meet Jeff Sanders
Raised within one of the world's oldest continuously practised horsemanship traditions.
Jeff Sanders is a sixth-generation Californian whose family's horsemanship lineage can be traced directly through generations of California Vaqueros to 1854.
Raised on California's Central Coast, in the heart of traditional Vaquero country, Jeff learned horsemanship the same way it had been passed down, from one generation to the next in his family for more than 160 years.
Rather than reconstructing historical methods from books or archives, he was raised within a living tradition, learning directly from those who had themselves inherited the knowledge from previous generations.
Today, Jeff continues to carry that tradition forward, teaching throughout the United States, Europe, Australia and beyond, while remaining connected to the practical ranch work from which the tradition was born.
A Living Tradition
The California Vaquero tradition is one of the few horsemanship traditions that has been passed continuously from one generation to the next through both family and working life.
Its roots reach back through the classical riding traditions of Europe before evolving into the stock horse culture of early California.
Over many generations, these principles were not invented so much as continually rediscovered by horsemen and horsewomen who listened deeply to their horses.
Passed from one generation to the next through both family and working life, they remain as relevant today as they have ever been.
At its heart, the tradition values patience, softness, balance, feel, and true partnership.
Rather than seeking quick results or mechanical techniques, it develops horses through understanding, timing, and clear communication, allowing confidence and self-carriage to emerge naturally.
Jeff's Approach
Jeff's teaching reflects these timeless principles.
His clinics welcome riders from all disciplines who wish to deepen their understanding of communication, rider position, softness, and self-carriage.
One phrase Jeff often uses is "quiet togetherness."
A state where horse and rider move together with calmness, understanding, and mutual trust.
For me, those two words beautifully describe what so many of us are searching for with our horses.
Not perfection.
Not performance.
But a relationship built on feel, understanding, and quiet partnership.
An Invitation
Whether you join as a rider or a ground participant, this clinic offers an opportunity to experience one of the world's enduring horsemanship traditions through the lens of someone raised within it.
More importantly, it offers an opportunity to slow down, observe more deeply, and continue developing the qualities that good horsemanship has always required: awareness, feel, patience, and respect.
Why this matters
Some wisdom cannot be invented.
It can only be rediscovered.
Across generations.
Across cultures.
Across horses.
This clinic is an opportunity to spend three days immersed in one of those traditions, and perhaps discover something your own horse has been quietly trying to teach you.
I'd love to share this experience with you.
Join Us At
Southstar Farm Cottage
76 Hawthornden Drive
Rotorua, New Zealand
February 5th ~ 7th 2027
8:00 a.m. start each day
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