Parelli Savvy Levels program
I'd already met many interesting horse trainers when I met Pat and Linda Parelli in 2002. But the Parelli demonstrations I saw in Paris made a huge impression on me: all those students riding bareback or bridle-less, playing with horses at liberty… it seemed incredibly cool. And when Pat said, "If I can do it, you can too, and I have a program to teach you step by step," I thought, "Okay, let's give it a try and see how far we get." And indeed, Pat was right. My Fjord Kenzo and I became true partners , and Parelli Natural Horsemanship became a true passion.
To know where you want to go, it's also important to know where you are now. Parelli "auditions" are therefore an ideal way to measure your progress. It often happens that someone starts a program full of enthusiasm, but then feels like they're not making any progress; inspiration, and therefore motivation, disappears. The Parelli Levels program is so well-designed that you have a choice of countless different tasks and exercises to do with your horse. Even if you only have 5 minutes, there's always something you can do and learn. This primarily ensures that you continue to improve your horsemanship. Both on the ground and on horseback, there are four different learning domains, the so-called "Savvys," for which you can audition as a Parelli student.
The auditions will be judged by an international team of Parelli instructors. In addition to an assessment, you will receive helpful feedback and, where appropriate, tips for further practice.
Just like in martial arts, the colored Savvy Strings symbolize the level you and your horse have achieved after submitting one or more auditions.
Level 1 to Level 4
We begin Level 1 with "On Line" groundwork on a rope about 4 meters long. You'll film a few mandatory tasks, and the rest of the 10-minute video is yours to fill with what you're good at and enjoy doing with your horse.
To reach Level 2 you need to film two auditions: On Line (at the 22-foot line , so at a greater distance from your horse) and FreeStyle (riding without using your reins to stop and/or steer).
Level 3 adds Liberty (playing with your horse in freedom). Finally, Level 4 requires four auditions, including On Line, Liberty, and FreeStyle, as well as Finesse (dressage riding with rein contact).
Parelli Savvy Levels
Level 1: On Line – Red Savvy String
Level 2: On Line + FreeStyle – Blue Savvy String
Level 3: On Line + FreeStyle + Liberty – Green Savvy String
Level 4: On Line + FreeStyle + Liberty + Finesse – Black Savvy String
Auditions are open to all members of the Parelli Savvy Club . On the Parelli members' website, you'll find a wealth of knowledge, including video lessons, articles, podcasts, magazines, blogs, documentaries, and more, all systematically showcasing Pat Parelli's 30+ years of experience. To help students progress, the complete "Levels Pathway" lesson plans have been available online for several years now. Besides the wealth of information and inspiration, the website also offers Q&A sessions, forums, and more.
Self Assessments (assess your own skills)
To give you an idea of what the different Parelli levels actually entail, you can take a look at the "self-assessments." This is a step-by-step overview of several exercises you'll learn to perform together with your horse. Perhaps the overview includes some tasks you can already do, even if you've never taken a Parelli lesson—so much the better! But if you want to continue to improve yourself and your horse, it's truly worth following the Levels program. It's the best order to teach your horse (and yourself) something. Through small successes, you'll continue to make progress, and your horse will feel like the best student in the class. As you notice your bond with your horse strengthening, as you progress together and have fun, the levels will naturally follow.
Even if you don't have the ambition to reach an official Parelli level, it's still worth filming an audition. You can be convinced that you can "do" all the tasks of a certain level, but can you also demonstrate them within a limited timeframe, and without the popular cut-and-paste that's fashionable on the internet these days? ;-) Especially in levels 1 and 2, you don't have to cut the less successful parts at all: if a task doesn't work out in your video, it's much more important to see how you try to solve the communication problem with your horse than to have everything look perfect.
From level tests to auditions
By the way, did you know how auditions actually came about? Long ago, in the early years of the Parelli self-study system, there was exactly one videotape for Level 1, and if I'm not mistaken, two for Level 2 and Level 3. YouTube didn't exist yet, so we actually had to make a video ourselves, transfer it to tape, and deliver it to a Parelli instructor who would then assess it. The tasks we had to demonstrate were clearly defined and in a specific order, just like on an exam. Given the required standard, it was virtually impossible to pass on the first attempt, resulting in many non-performance-oriented students dropping out disappointed. And the ambitious, often linear-minded person sometimes started "drilling" the horse on certain exercises. While Parelli Natural Horsemanship is actually about the relationship with your horse...
Pat's idea for the levels was good, but the execution could have been better. And as is often the case, the balance shifted too much the other way with the second wave of lesson packages. Parelli became "softer" and was often labeled by the traditional horse world as a floater who doesn't ride but merely walks alongside their horse or wiggles ropes. On the other hand, the rise of the internet also led to considerable criticism of certain video clips, however well-intentioned. It also became clear that the difference between the various levels was enormous—and difficult for recreational riders to bridge.
So a fourth level was added, and from then on, new videos were judged based on savvy. From then on, the tests became "auditions," allowing for much more creativity. Besides a few mandatory tasks, there was still time to show what you enjoyed (and were therefore good at). Some auditions are a feast for the eyes and a source of inspiration for other horse lovers.
And what after Level 4?
Level 4 isn't a final goal; quite the opposite! For Pat, it's a good foundation for specializing in a discipline of his choice, either on the ground or on horseback.
Parelli Natural Horsemanship is for every horse and every horse lover! Click here for information about taking lessons .
Bonus: Pat Parelli tells the history of the string here:
