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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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Foaling Season is Here!

Don’t get caught without the essentials. Kalley will help set you and your new arrival up for success, whether that’s with high quality tools or helpful tips for safe and proven steps for a smooth halter breaking process.
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Memberships Details

Groundwork Program Membership

On-line, Off-line/Liberty

Overview

When you build a foundation of understanding and respect with feel, everything else comes easy. That’s the goal — balance from the ground up.

BHT Groundwork Program builds communication through the horse’s natural responses to pressure and release, body language, and the drive-line — that invisible line that influences direction, speed, and focus. The goal: Develop a calm, connected, and confident partner who moves off your feel — not your strength.

Member Benefits
  • Groundwork video lessons - Essentials, Intermediate, & Advanced
  • Members Newsletter with news, program updates, and special promotions
  • Member-only discounts on tools & gear, educational books and guides, clinics, and events.
  • New lessons and troubleshooting videos, added regularly, to keep your training fresh and progressive.
Course Details
BHT Essentials starts with foundational basics of clarity and connection: establish space, boundaries, and lightness through purposeful movement.
What You’ll Work On:
  • Building confidence through sight exposure, touch, and a rhythmic flow between circles and obstacles like bridges, tarps, ground poles and more.
  • Establishing “driveline control” — using your natural focus and path of travel, to guide and direct the motion of the horse in regards to their natural tendencies surrounding the Driveline
  • Teaching lightness through forequarter and hindquarter yields, back-ups, and smooth circles.
  • Developing light communication — where two fingers on the line can move your horse’s whole body.
Add precision and flow: using patterns for developing a responsive, balanced horse who stays mentally connected through every turn, transition, and task.This is where precision meets feel — where groundwork turns into partnership in motion.
What You’ll Work On:
  • Patterns like the Tear Drop, Leapfrog, and Slice-n-Dice to control and coordinate the forehand and hindquarters.
  • Pivots and slack-line circles to improve rhythm and lightness.
  • Liberty transitions that test trust, respect and timing.
  • Advanced steering through Sternum Steering and Convex Circles.
  • Introducing advanced groundwork skills like using the “knot lariat” in a safe, controlled way.
Freedom through focus: perform obstacles and liberty maneuvers with timing and feel. The Advanced Groundwork module transforms into artistry. This is where horse and human move together in self-carriage — at liberty, at distance, and in complete understanding. Every cue becomes intention, and every movement flows from trust and respect.
What You’ll Work On:
  • Mastering maneuvers and obstacles at distance with accuracy and lightness.
  • Refining circles, pivots, and transitions for advanced balance and rhythm.
  • Liberty exercises like Lead Changes, Mirroring and Sternum Steering.
  • Engaging multiple obstacles and changing patterns without losing connection.
  • Cultivating self-carriage — where your horse takes responsibility for balance and rhythm.
Memberships Details

Riding Program Membership

Balance, Feel & Body Control

Overview

When you ride with feel you start to realize how little you actually need to do.

Ride with intention, not reaction. BHT Riding Program builds on the Groundwork, helping riders connect through seat position, timing, and balance. It’s about riding with clarity , precision and control. You’ll learn to use your seat, feet, “comma, comma” hands, and focus in ways that make sense to your horse. Every cue has a meaning, and every balanced ride builds trust, respect, and understanding.

Each level—Essentials, Intermediate, and Advanced—gives you a step-by-step framework for developing a horse that moves freely, willingly, and with purpose.

Member Benefits
  • Riding video lessons - Essentials, Intermediate, & Advanced
  • Members Newsletter with news, program updates, and special promotions
  • Member-only discounts on tools & gear, educational books and guides, clinics, and events.
  • New lessons and troubleshooting videos, added regularly, to keep your training fresh and progressive.
Course Details
Essentials — Build Connection and Confidence in Motion
This is where we put the foundation in place. You’ll learn to guide all four feet with your reins, move the horse’s body with your body – sternum riding, seat, feet, & hands with accurate intent. The Essentials lessons help you and your horse find balance and communication through simple, meaningful exercises. You’ll start to see how your horse mirrors your position and follows your light feel when you ride with clarity.
What You’ll Work On:
  • Rein to all four feet—understanding how each rein connects to movement.
  • One-rein backups, light bends, and easy transitions.
  • Forward rhythm and straightness through all gaits.
  • Relaxed stops and balanced turns without tension.
  • Using physics, your body and focus to guide direction instead of relying on direct pressure.
Intermediate — Shape, Balance, and Refinement
Now that your horse understands the basics, it’s time to refine how you accomplish transitions, collection, and suppleness through balance and feel. The Intermediate lessons focus on shaping movement and building control through rhythm, posture, and flow. This level bridges everyday riding with higher-level responsiveness—without losing lightness or connection. Collection isn’t about pulling or shoving a horse together. It’s about helping them find their own balance so they want to carry themselves.
What You’ll Work On:
  • Lateral work like half-passes, counter-bends, and correct turns.
  • Timing and rhythm through transitions and lateral movements.
  • Collection through body balance and holding a frame, but not pulling on the reins.
  • Introducing simple patterns to improve precision and flow.
  • Maintaining feel and focus at different speeds and energy levels.
Advanced — Refine the Feel: Connection Through Precision
The Advanced Riding Program is where the smallest details make the biggest difference. You’ll learn to ride with invisible cues—using your seat, physics, and intent to guide movement instead of relying on direct pressure. The horse learns to stay relaxed and balanced even in challenging maneuvers.
What You’ll Work On:
  • Lead changes, pirouettes, and advanced transitions.
  • Strengthening collection and self-carriage.
  • Straightness and balance through higher-energy/higher effort work.
  • Light stops, precise turns, and smooth rollbacks.
  • Riding through energy, not effort—refining truly following a feel.
Memberships Details

All-Access — All Inclusive BHT Membership

BHT Groundwork + Riding Programs

Overview

When you connect the groundwork to the riding, you don’t just train a horse — you build a relationship that works anywhere.

The All-Access Anytime Membership is designed to meet you wherever you are — from the first touch of a lead rope to the lightest cue under saddle. It’s about teaching your horse to think, not react. And it’s about helping you ride and work with balance, clarity, and purpose — every day, in every interaction.

All-Access Member Benefits
  • All lessons in both Ground/Liberty and Riding programs — all levels, all topics.
  • BHT Members Newsletter with news, program updates, special promotions, and more
  • Step-by-step videos that connect groundwork, liberty, and riding - all levels - in a single system.
  • Exclusive discounts on BHT gear and training tools.
  • New lessons, added monthly, so your training never stops growing.
Course Details

BHT All-Access is for the horseman or horsewoman who wants it all — the full program from groundwork through to advanced riding, combining both the BHT Ground/Liberty and BHT Riding Programs.

This membership is designed for people who want a complete understanding of Kalley’s balanced approach of understanding how the horse thinks, moves, and learns — and how to carry that same feel from the ground into the saddle. You’ll learn not only what to do, but why it matters.

  • Establishing communication and boundaries through groundwork and liberty.
  • Understanding the horse’s natural response to pressure and the drive-line.
  • Developing body control, focus, and timing for true connection.
  • Translating groundwork skills directly into the saddle for light, balanced movement.
  • Building feel through positioning, seat, and rhythm — so your cues make sense to the horse.
  • Refining transitions, collection, and advanced maneuvers through understanding and respect, not force.

When you train with balance and clarity, the horse learns to trust your leadership — on the ground and under saddle. The AAA Membership connects every piece of the puzzle: how the horse thinks, how they move, and how your body language, timing, and feel shape the conversation between you.

You’ll start to see how groundwork and riding aren’t two separate worlds — they’re the same language, spoken in different places. By combining both programs, you’ll develop timing that feels effortless, movement that flows naturally, and a partnership built on mutual understanding.