Tom Nagel

Tom Nagel, author of the book Zen and Horseback Riding, is an internationally recognized instructor and clinician. He has conducted clinics and trainings, given lectures, and done presentations throughout the United States and in Germany. His two-day Rider's Seat clinics are described in the Clinics section of this web site. Tom was the main speaker at the 10th Annual International Centered Riding© Symposium (www.centeredriding.org) in Brattleboro, Vermont. He was interviewed by Rick Lamb, of the national radio program, The Horse Show (www.thehorseshow.com) and has been invited to speak at the 2007 Certified Horsemanship Association International Conference in Orlando, Florida (www.cha-ahse.org/conferences.htm).

Tom's training background lies outside of horseback riding and his main expertise is in the basic biomechanics of how human bodies work. He has a third degree black belt in Aikido and is an instructor of Zen Bodytherapy®, a bodywork discipline that combines deep tissue and alignment work. Tom started training in Zen in 1977 and became a certified Zen meditation instructor in 1986. This background gives him a unique and unbiased perspective in how to help riders use their bodies efficiently first off and then on their horses. Where riders are locked, their horses will be braced in their complimentary part, proving that horses truly mirror their riders' bodies.