Clinic Testimonials

Kind words about Angie and John

Angie is an extraordinary horsewoman who crosses so many different disciplines effortlessly. You may never really understand groundwork until you do a ground clinic with Angie, she does far, far more than just groundwork with horses. For riding, no matterthe discipline or the problem, she has a unique understanding of the horse and she intuitively knows how to approach any problem on the ground or in the saddle with extraordinary wisdom. She is a rock star trainer, don’t wonder if you will learn anything, just book into a clinic, you won’t be disappointed! Thanks for everything Angie Wicks, you are a force of nature, if only more horses and riders had a trainer like you!
Sharon Kolkka

Angie Wicks is a unique trainer and a true horsewoman. Under Angie’s guidance and teaching I’ve had a wonderful year improving my skill in the saddle and watched her impact on everyone else of all levels of ability. Angie is truly amazing and inspirational. So professional, so knowledgeable, so caring, so connected, so kind. She is one of a kind horsewoman and trainer! Thank you Angie for your time and energy that you give to us all. I can’t wait to be riding with you againsoon.
Jennifer Hirst

I learnt so much at John’s clinic on the weekend & most importantly how much more I really need to put into my groundwork to get to where I want to be with my horse.I really loved the way John tailored each individual session according to each horse & rider combination. There are many clinicians that can be a wealth of knowledge in their chosen discipline but very few can explain all the concepts and exercises to such a broad spectrum of riders, including children & have each & every single rider understand. John was beyond fantastic & every person took something away with them.

Lee Bishop

Wow, a 15 minute session with Angie is what I have tried to get with my horse for years!!! It was so satisfying to finally understand and feel that after all these years. Thank you so much Angie!
Cheryl Engel

My horse Doc and I were struggling to make a connection after a year of other training methods. I didn’t know how to work through his aggressive and quite dangerous behaviours before I attended your groundwork clinic. I was actually at a point where I felt I may need to move him onto another more experienced horse person. In my job I work very closely with youth who have suffered complex trauma and was very saddened to know I was not able to recognise this in my horse Doc, who Angie was able to diagnose and then over the clinic help me understand and work with all his complex behaviours in such a compassionate way. Doc was an orphan foal and had some very strange behaviours resulting in what can only now be described as trauma based behaviour. After Angie’s clinic he is so much calmer and now actually wants to be with me because I have changed how I interact with him. I can also see him standing relaxed in the paddock which he didn’t really do before. I am truly grateful for what you taught me Angie, not to mention Doc is the happiest hehas ever been after your clinic. I really wanted to express my gratitude from the bottom of my heart.

Kerri Holiday

Angie is the best! I’ve had lessons over the years with many high profile Dressage riders and now I’m Reining and Angie just gets it. The transformation between a Dressage rider and Reining is very similar but only if you’ve had experience in both disciplines and there’s not many trainers that have. I love my clinics with Angie, she just gets it right. And don’t even start me on her Horsemanship skills. She is just an amazing all-round horsewomen!
Kristen Hill

What I learnt over the weekend at John’s clinic has been incredible and given me much more to work on with my horse, we can only go forward from here. John was easy to understand and was very encouraging with every rider.

I’ve known Angie for over 6 years, I’ve attended her clinics, watched her start the breaking in of one of our little fillies, watched her compete, and listened to her ideas on how to enrich everyone’s horsemanship. There are many people who can ride well, can ‘make’ a horse do what needs to be done, and are great competitors. But Angie is able to establish a much higherlevel of engagement with horses and she develops a deep partnership with the horses she works with in a very short time frame, communicating with them on a different level than most. Angie has so much to offer anyone wanting to get the best from their horse. She truly understands their behaviour and can help us all to understand them better so the relationship between horse and rider gets stronger every day.
Tricia Searson

Angie is one of those rare people who has the ability to help horses and people of all levels and backgrounds, in all aspects of riding and groundwork.
Hayley Smith

Thank you for being understanding and patient. You speak ‘English’ and make complex concepts easy to understand and apply.
Julie Templeton

What a great clinic. Angie explains things in an uncomplicated way that helps your horse to become much more relaxed and soft. I gained a much deeper understanding of so many elements to improve my riding at the clinic. Thank you Angie!
Sandy Hammond

I attended John’s clinic on the weekend and he was an outstanding clinician. His clear and kind way, in particular with the horses was fantastic. I learnt more about Reining off John in the last 2 days than I ever have before. I can’t wait for the next clinic!

I was first made aware of Angie Wicks when a nearby horse facility hosted one of her 2 day clinics. I was encouraged to come along as I had been wanting to build my confidence with my new horse after many years of not being in the saddle. I had purchased a beautiful old boy who was hyper sensitive to my aids, and didn’t want to stop! We began that clinic nervous, disconnected, and feeling very much out of our comfort zone. Angie’s teaching style is so calm and encouraging. She focuses first on building aconnection with your horse, learning to communicate with our equine partners, teaching us to confidently apply pressure and release in a kind way in order to really strengthen the conversation we are having with our horse. At our first meeting, she asked us all what we wanted to achieve out of our clinic. The responses were so varied I couldn’t believe she would be able to meet all of our goals in just 2 days. By the end of the clinic, we had all exceeded our initial expectations. For me, I finished the clinic as a very different rider, and with a very different horse under me. My horse was softer, more connected, and more appropriately responsive to my aids, and I was a better rider than when I started. It was clear that this was just the tip of the iceberg of what Angie could teach us, given how much progress we made in such little time. With her experience in both Classical Dressage, Reining, Natural Horsemanship and Liberty Training she had the right approach for each rider and horse, and was able to showcase her skills no matter what the discipline or problem. After my second and third clinic, my horse was able to carry himself better, was softer and more relaxed, and instead of bolting off my leg, would yield to the pressure perfectly. As my confidence has improved, my riding position and skills have also. It was daunting attending that first clinic on a new horse, by myself, and with a real lack of confidence; but I met like-minded people and new friends, and found in Angie a fantastic teacher for both me and my horse. Her kind, gentle, knowledgeable approach created the perfect environment for us to grow and learn. I can’t wait for the next clinic!
Gina Umoren

Angie is by far one of my favourite clinicians. So passionate and kind in her teaching and riding. Angie truly has a gift and a beautiful way of communicating with horses and riders.
Shannon Palmer

I normally fence sit a clinic when a new instructor comes to Tassie but this is one in which I wish I had taken a leap of faith and ridden in. Within the first 15 minutes of listening to Angie Wicks I knew I had found an instructor that encompasses the whole teaching experience both technically and holistically. Angie’s passion for making the experience a positive one for not only the rider but the horse is admirable. Very rarely do you hear the words relaxation, mental engagement, or the student given the instruction to STOP and allow their horse some dwell time to reward the horse and allow it to absorb what is being taught, as opposed to pushing past the beginnings of correct behaviour in the chase for perfection. Angie’s attention to detail is amazing and as I have been told in the past, it’s the little things that make the big difference. Her ability to build rapport with the student quickly and give them permission to explore what they are being taught, focusing on relaxation first and foremost helps engage both the rider and the horse. From Angie’s point of view it’s way more than riding, with her previous 2 days spent helping riders gain a deeper insight to being effective and engaging their horses on the ground, with the view to working towards liberty. The feedback has been unanimous in the gains made in both horse and rider over the four days and I’m sure Angie’s teachings will be felt for quite some time. The added bonus Angie is planning regular visits back to Tassie to continue helping humans and horses on the journey. I would encourage anyone seeking a different learning experience for not only themselves but their horses to attend one of Angie’s upcoming clinics. See you
there. I think this quote sums things up for Angie’s teaching these last fewdays. “They may forget what you said, but they will not forget how you made them feel”. This goes for both the rider and the horse.
Lee Davis

Angie’s manner & methods have changed the relationship between me & my horse. I had been to Reining clinics before but none have given me the connection I had been missing with my horse. Angie inspires me, she is an amazing woman and incredible at what she does. Her clinics have given me the confidence toget back on track to competing again and actually enjoying my horse again.
Emma English

I cannot believe how much I got out of John’s clinic on the weekend. It was fantastic! He was patient, had great communication skills and explained all the concepts very clearly. I am very much looking forward to the next clinic.

I don’t think I’d have horses in my life right now if it wasn’t for meeting Angie and learning from her about horsemanship. Just before I met Angie I had just been kicked by my horse, struggled to catch my horse, and was bored with riding thinking that to go any further I needed a “better horse”. I didn’t have any understanding of horse behaviour -what my horse was thinking was a mystery to me. Since then my confidence and skills with groundwork has grown and now my horse and I enjoy playing at liberty. I feel safer and I have become a better problem solver. It’s really important to me that Angie uses and teaches techniques that are gentle, unlike some other trainers.
Katie Porteous

I have nothing but praise for Angie as a Trainer. Our son has had the pleasure of attending many of Angie’s clinics over the past 18 months, when Jy began he was a confident beginner at best. Angie gave him the tools to take away and practice and due to Angie’s training building blocks Jy is developing a strong partnership with his new horse both on the ground and on his back. Angie has the ability to give her undivided attention to each of her clinic participants and it’s easy to see why people keep improving and coming back. On top of this Angie is very humble and is genuinely interested in having a chat and a laugh over lunch. So blessed that our son has the opportunity to learn from Angie and would absolutely recommend her for any youth out there wanting to learn a kind and gentle but effective way of horsemanship.
Janelle Dawn

When I first met Angie I could immediately see from the way she talked about her relationship with her horses that she was very genuine, soft and empathetic in her training, but at the same time had clear & strategic goals. I asked her to help me by doing the groundwork to start off my KWPN warmblood, who is very special to me being the only offspring of his imported mother, who is now sadly no longer with us. I knew straight away I had made the best choice for him, as her communication with her horses is second to none. Since then I have had the opportunity to watch her at multiple clinics being invited to attend as a representative of Equissage, as Angie is one of our top VIP riders. She is a beautiful rider to watch and very clever with her foundation groundwork and clinics. Her horses always look a million dollars and you can see they really enjoy their work. It is a pleasure to be aligned with Angie & Team Wicks, she is a fantastic horsewoman and I have no doubt whether you are looking for assistance bringing on your young horse, or a mentor to help you learn her techniques for yourself at one of her clinics, you will come away from the experience thrilled with the results.
Lucie Swan

Wow, what can I say about the beautiful amazing trainer Angie Wicks. I love the clinics at BWPC that my horse Pinky & I have attended, Angie explains every training exercises or manoeuvre in a way that makes it easy to understand. I have learnt so much from attending all her clinics. Angie has given me and Pinky so much confidence to step out of my comfort zone. I can’t wait for more clinics
Sharon Birkbeck

We look forward to every clinic with Angie.She brings 110% to every clinic she presents, and each rider leaves with plenty to keep going on with when they get home. Her love of horses is apparent too. Angie’s ability to do both ground and ridden work ensures that everyone gets the best out of their horse. We only wish she lived closer so we could have more lessons!!!
Madeline Chery

I thought John’s clinic was fantastic as usual. I really love the way John has the ability to teach individually whilst being in a group environment. His knowledge was tailored to each specific horse and rider combination for the level they were at. It was very noticeable how much each & every horse and rider improved over the two days.

Angie is a passionate and confident trainer that has the skill of being able to explain and train riders on all levels. Some people are great riders and some are great trainers but Angie is blessed to be both. We have engaged Angie at our club as a trainer and many, many riders praise her ability to assist so many and she helps riders strive for excellence and confidence. Angie’s respect and care for the horse is an important part of her guidance and training which is also impressive and I am proud to use her at Burpengary Western Performance Club as a regular trainer.
Rayleen Williams

Thank you Ange for all your guidance and kind words, you are a wonderful person, let alone an incredible rider! Your passion and energy are motivating and encouraging to not only improve ourselveson a personal level but as well as on a Horsemanship level. Thank you for being you, Sophie
Sophie Laws-Thornton

I attended Angie’s clinic on the weekend and I would like to express my appreciation. She had to teach so many different levels of people and horses and so many different ages and she still managed to engage and help us all. I had several ‘aha’ moments and left with many new tools I have never had before. I am middle aged with no talent for horses and she was so understanding and patient with me and didn’t make me feel useless (which is often how I feel myself). I can definitely recommend attending an Angie Wick’s clinics
Penny Booth

I’ve spent all my life with horses, the undeniable love for them was deep in my blood. Over all this time, I’ve always fallen in love with the horse and did whatever the horse was good at, which opened me up to lots of different disciplines, including Dressage, Eventing, Mounted Games, Showing and Reining to name a few. These all have allowed me the opportunity to learn from some very knowledgeable people.Back in January last year, my local Quarter Horse association held a Western Dressage Clinic with Angie Wicks. I’d heard lots of great things about her and after recently retiring my mare from her lifetime career as a Reining horse and taken up Western Dressage, I was keen to experience Angie’s teaching first hand. The riders at the clinic where at all different levels of experience and knowledge, creating a challenge for any trainer but Angie just had a way about her that adapted to everyone and every horse. You could see every partnership went home with something new or better than they had before. For me, I went home with better communication with my horse. I got out of my head and in better sync. My only regret is that I didn’t find her sooner.
Sara Rossall

Angie Wicks not only are you the most amazing horse woman, you have the most genuine soul. I absolutely love our liberty lessons where you have taught me to become one with my horse. Teaching me your gift and so willing to share, I’ve got so much to learn!Thank you for being a beautiful woman to aspire to.
Cara Gifford