Reflections and Direction for 2026 – On Progress, Integration, and Readiness

A new year often invites us to look ahead — to set goals, make plans, and define direction.

Before doing so, I like to pause and ask a different question:

What actually creates meaningful progress?

Over the years, I’ve learned that progress in training is rarely about constant forward motion. It grows when we take the time to reflect, revisit what we already have, and allow the next layer to emerge when readiness is truly there — in the horse, and in ourselves.

The beauty lies in the basics. And progress happens when we dare to revisit them, refine them, and use them in more thoughtful and varied ways.

In the coming year, my focus will continue to be on exactly this process: deepening understanding, improving coordination, building surefootedness, and allowing quality to evolve step by step.

Exercises, challenges, and sequences are not goals in themselves — they are lenses through which we learn to see more clearly. They help reveal what is already well established and where refinement might open the door to the next layer.

One important shift for me personally is that riding will now take a clearer place as an additional pillar in my work.

Not as a fresh start or a shortcut — but as a space where everything we have already developed on the ground can come together and be polished further.

With Ola now reaching a point where this next step feels appropriate, the foundations we’ve built over time allow us to explore riding more deeply — carefully, thoughtfully, and without rushing.

Groundwork, Work in hand, Longeing, and Liberty have laid the foundation.

Riding allows us to refine new dimensions: balance under the rider, responsibility within movement, subtlety in dialogue, and the quiet emergence of self-carriage. It doesn’t replace the groundwork — it reveals its quality. And the other pillars will for sure stay part of the training approach.

Alongside the PIB Membership, I will also continue to develop standalone resources that offer orientation and inspiration beyond the monthly membership rhythm — for those who want to refresh their daily training, bring more variety into familiar exercises, or get a feel for the PIB approach at their own pace.

There are essentially two different routes to explore:

Within the PIB Membership, learning unfolds through ongoing formats — monthly challenges, theory snacks, review classes, and shared dialogue — allowing ideas to grow over time and adapt to the horses in front of us.

Alongside this, I’m developing standalone orientation and inspiration resources that live outside the membership. These are independent of the ongoing group rhythm and meant to offer fresh perspectives, useful exercise combinations, and clarity around how different elements of training can be connected — without requiring continuous participation.

Very soon, this will include an inspiration e-book with the working title“Training Patterns – Bringing Meaningful Variety into Daily Training”, showing how familiar exercises can be combined in thoughtful ways to polish the basics and quietly prepare the next layer. Looking further ahead, I’m also shaping an Entry Course with a clear, step-by-step approach for those who want to get properly started within the PIB framework.

If you’re curious to explore the foundations already, my free e-book“The Art of Shaping Balance – A Gentle Introduction to the PIB Approach” is a good place to begin.

Get yours here: https://www.pferdeinbalance.com/pib-free-e-book

There is a clear red thread — but no rigid path. Progress will continue to be guided by feel, readiness, and the individual horse.

Stay curious. Stay tuned. And let’s see what wants to grow in 2026. 💫

Have a great slide into a fabulous 2026! 🎉✨