Method Ambassador Joni Small has her grandfather to thank for getting her involved with horses and introducing her to the Method. Her grandfather grew up riding, and when he found Clinton on RFD-TV, his interest in the Method was piqued. Knowing that Joni, 13 years old at the time, loved horses as much as he did, he decided to take her to Clinton’s 2012 Tulsa, Oklahoma Walkabout Tour. After the event, he surprised Joni with Miss Kitty, a welsh pony.
Joni had always loved horses, but until her grandfather took her to the tour and gave her Miss Kitty, she had never sat in a saddle. “I was just amazed by the whole experience. Watching Clinton work with the horses and seeing how he could fix problems and turn the horses around stood out to me,” Joni says. “Then to go home and be able to put everything I learned from the weekend into practice with a pony of my own was something else.”
Before long, she had Miss Kitty doing the Fundamentals groundwork with ease. “Even when I was 13, I found the Method easy to follow and to get results with. If you follow the steps Clinton has laid out, you’ll get results,” she says.
When she was 15, Joni took up endurance racing and graduated to riding an Arabian. Any chance she had, she studied the Method and focused on becoming a better horseman and chasing her dream. “When we were at the tour, Clinton talked about the Academy and I decided then and there that it was what I wanted to do,” Joni says. “Since then, God’s kept opening doors for me to fulfill my dream.”
As a Method Ambassador, Joni is passionate about helping people develop safe partnerships with their horses. “Even though the Method is easy to follow, from time to time, you will struggle with an exercise or an issue with a horse,” Joni says. “I want to help people better their horsemanship and learn how to communicate with their horses more effectively. Horsemanship should be and can be fun if you have the right knowledge.”
Joni is based in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, where she trains horses for the public and teaches private lessons and clinics that focus on the Fundamentals level of the Method. Learn all about Joni on her website and contact her directly 479-586-9625 at or [email protected].
