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Kalley Krickeberg

Trainer. Innovator. Clinician. Author.

About Kalley

Kalley Krickeberg is a time-tested horseman and trainer with experience in dressage, reining, hunter/jumper, ranch work, and polo. Her Balanced Horse Training program and horsemanship philosophies reflect this rich foundation and her thoughtful, effective approach.

Like many trainers, Kalley started young, riding and competing in 4/H, Hunter/Jumper, Combined Training, and youth rodeo. But what accelerated and deepened her horsemanship and training skills was working a 640-acre cattle and row crop farm in Illinois using off-the-track-thoroughbreds for 15 years. Using the “real world” ranch work of managing 300+ head of cattle, Kalley has trained and transitioned over 200 retired thoroughbred racehorses for a future beyond the race track in Polo – her passion sport.

Her extensive horsemanship expertise extends further – from Foals and Young Horses to high level Liberty performances, and Kalley has trained more than 12 different breeds of horses. Kalley has one of the highest success rates in the industry for rehabilitating the Problem and Troubled Horse and also occasionally helping the high-level (Olympic or World Equestrian Games) destined horses. This success is attributed to her broad knowledge base and experience coupled with her common sense approach – a fair, deliberate, and graceful approach. This skill set and experience has culminated in the creation of her unique and groundbreaking Balanced Horse Training Program and in 2024, she launched the OTTB Transitional Training Program.

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Clinics, Events, Lessons & Coaching

BHT

Balanced Horse Training

OTTB

Off-Track Thoroughbred Program

About Balanced Horse Training - BHT

Kalley Krickeberg’s BHT provides comprehensive and integrative horse training and education that brings rider and horse in balance for achieving goals and creating a fulfilling horse partnership. We do this through helping the horse understand their work through clean and clear communication in training and through the development of innovative tools and illustrative instruction for the rider.

Kalley Krickeberg and BHT strives to respect the time, effort and investment made by its customers and students by being exacting in communications and training methods and by employing fresh and extraordinary instruction. BHT engages in next generation development of tools and instruction set on improving standardized elements already in use, making signals between horse and rider clean, clearer, developing a more balanced and succeessful relationship.

Why it Matters

Without a Balanced Horse Training foundation, many horses fail to achieve their full potential at their owner’s chosen discipline. Horses are highly capable and trainable, but they are flight and fear based animals which is where the clash of they prey/predator relationship begins. Developing a quiet mind and controlled emotions enables the horse to be able to work, perform and interact to its highest ability. A Balanced Equine Mind is required for Confidence, and Confidence is required for Excellence. To the rider/horse owner, The Balanced Horse Training program provides a path that meets you where you and your horse are at. The instruction breaks down into essential sessions, and the coaching is fresh, down to earth and simple to understand, allowing you to absorb and apply it more easily and more effectively.

Balanced Horse Training
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Keepin' It Fresh - The Book

Kalley Krickeberg is a world-class equestrian who developed her innovative Balanced Horse Training (BHT) curriculum through extensive study across multiple disciplines.
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OTTB Program – Phase I

Ground Manners

Building Safety, Respect, and Trust

Overview
Before a horse can relax under saddle, it must feel safe and understood on the ground.These lessons are about teaching the OTTB to think instead of react, and to respect personal space without fear or tension.
Why It Matters
Good ground manners create safety and peace of mind for everyone. These skills build mutual respect and help the OTTB learn that being handled is something to look forward to — not something to brace against. The horse begins to replace “flight” with “focus.”
What you’ll Work On
  • Moving quietly around people during stall cleaning instead of pinning ears, evading, or kicking
  • Lowering the head and helping to be haltered, rather than needing to be cornered or avoiding capture
  • Leading and backing calmly on a loose line, staying light on the lead beside the handler
  • Ground tying — standing still while the lead rope rests on the ground
  • Standing quietly for grooming, clipping, and cleaning feet
  • Ground tying for saddling — no helpers, no resistance, no avoidance
  • Tying patiently in various settings (stall, tie rail, trailer, patience pole) and learning to relax while waiting
OTTB Program – Phase II

Basic Groundwork

Building Body Control and Mental Connection

Overview

Once the horse is calm and manageable on the ground, it’s time to start communication through movement. These stages teach the OTTB how to yield to pressure, follow the handler’s focus, and develop confidence through purposeful work.

Stages
What You’ll Work On
  • Forequarter and hindquarter yields at the standstill and in motion
  • Backing up lightly with the lead rope or training tooll
  • Circling (lunging) on a loose line at all three gaits
  • Stopping on a circle using cones or obstacles as visual focus points
  • Pressure and drive-line control — moving the horse’s feet with clarity and timing
  • Direction changes with lightness, encouraging the horse to turn toward the handler
  • Gait transitions: walk, trot, canter — up and down through feel and handler position
  • Backward spirals that end with the horse turning and waiting calmly to be caught
Why It Matters
This stage replaces racing instinct with responsiveness. The horse begins to understand how to read the handler’s intent, find comfort in stillness, and accept direction without anxiety. It’s the foundation of self-control.
This is where the OTTB learns curiosity instead of fear. We use obstacles to teach the horse to think and move through challenges calmly.
What You’ll Work On
  • Approaching, touching, or stepping on/over obstacles like tarps, bridges, and poles
  • Navigating figure-8 barrels, hanging tarps, and roping dummies
  • Building confidence to go over, under, around, and through new things
  • Accepting a Western saddle, breast collar, and back cinch without reaction
  • Repeating groundwork drills while saddled to confirm acceptance
Why It Matters

Horses coming off the track can often be desensitized to a soft feel, but hypersensitive to noise and motion. This stage rebuilds emotional balance — teaching them to pause, assess, and relax in motion.

OTTB Program – Phase III

Basic Riding Skills

From Track Horse to Riding Partner

Overview
When Groundwork is solid, the OTTB is ready to transition under saddle. These lessons help the horse understand how to respond correctly to pressure from the rider’s seat, legs, and reins — not act like they are continuously charging out of the starting gate of life.
Stages
What You’ll Work On
  • Mounting quietly from the ground
  • Bending to a stop at walk, trot, and canter in both directions
  • Yielding the hindquarters lightly and willingly
  • Rein to front foot at all gaits for balance and lightness
  • Backing up without pulling — one step at a time
  • Developing the “stall-to-a-stop” and relaxed standstill
Why It Matters

This stage establishes safety and control under saddle. It replaces reaction with response and teaches the OTTB to stay light or slow down/stop when asked to move out.

What You’ll Work On
  • The Rest-Area Cloverleaf Pattern: teaching calm rest points within work
  • Using circles, direction changes, and pauses to manage energy
  • Returning to calm after anxiety by revisiting earlier exercises
  • Building trust through repetition and predictable structure
Why It Matters

Thoroughbreds are forward thinkers. This stage teaches them that forward motion doesn’t mean racing — it means thinking. The horse learns rhythm, control, and patience.

What You’ll Work On
  • Riding in wide open spaces and staying mentally connected
  • Trail rides (ideally with a buddy horse)
  • Trail obstacle courses and trot pole patterns
  • Stick-n-ball, roping dummy, cutting flag, or light stock work
  • Advanced exposure like following a live cow or small group work
Why It Matters

This stage transitions the OTTB from “tolerating” to “trusting.” The horse learns to carry the same confidence outside the arena that was built inside it. Each new experience is approached with calm curiosity instead of tension, resistance or panic.

“You can’t rush trust and respect. You build it one experience at a time.” — Kalley Krickeberg

Working with Kalley Krickeberg has completely changed the way my OTTB and I work together. When I first started, my horse had all the raw talent in the world but not a lot of direction. He was forward, sensitive, and athletic, but still very much a racehorse in his mind. Kalley helped us turn that energy into something focused and productive.

Her training has improved every part of our program. In show jumping, she taught us how to balance, stay rhythmic, and ride each fence with confidence instead of just “getting to the other side.” She explains things in a way that actually makes sense, and she always pays attention to what both horse and rider need. Because of that, my OTTB has gone from unpredictable distances and inconsistent form to jumping around with power, straightness, and relaxation.

But what I appreciate most is that Kalley doesn’t just help create a competitive horse. she builds a complete, well-rounded partner. She helped us develop softness on the flat, better lateral work, and the kind of adjustability that makes everything else easier. My horse is more responsive, more confident, and honestly happier in his job.

Thanks to Kalley’s guidance, I feel like I finally have a horse who can do it all, and I’ve grown a ton as a rider along the way. I’m so grateful for the foundation she’s helped us build and the progress we continue to make because of her.

Augie Staudacher & Lewis Cielo