Aria Desert Rain

Positive Reinforcement Equine Trainer and Coach

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Meet Aria

My life mission is to improve the connection between equines and their humans. I am passionate about equine behavior, positive reinforcement training, equine care practices, and teaching. I strive to help my students build strong, trusting partnerships with their equine companions.

Official Connection Training Coach

As an official Connection Training Coach, I specialize in fostering trust and understanding between you and your equine partner. Connection Training emphasizes positive reinforcement and emotional balance, creating a compassionate approach that strengthens bonds and achieves lasting results. Whether you’re addressing specific behavioral challenges or aiming to deepen your connection, I offer personalized guidance tailored to your unique journey.

What would you like to achieve with your equine?

Coaching Tailored to Meet Your Specific Needs

Connection and Confidence Building

Foster a deep connection with your equine while helping them build confidence in new environments and around novelty objects. Strengthen your partnership by enhancing trust and understanding.

Daily Handling and Trailer Loading

Teach your equine to enjoy daily handling tasks like catching, haltering, leading, and standing tied, as well as grooming, trailer loading, and traveling with ease.

Emotional Balance and Regulation

Help your equine manage stress and remain emotionally balanced during training sessions, reducing anxiety for a smoother learning experience.

Gymnastic Groundwork

Enhance your equine’s balance, rhythm, and flexibility with pole work, lateral flexions, and liberty lunging, while improving their feet awareness and overall agility.

Games

Have fun with your equine by teaching them to play games like noseball, colors, fetch, smile, spin, and stand on pedestals.

Behavior Modification

Address behavioral challenges rooted in long-term stress or trauma. Through compassionate training, help your equine reconnect with their senses, expand their window of tolerance, and thrive in a safe, supportive environment.

Starting Under Saddle

Prepare your equine for riding by teaching them to willingly line up at the mounting block, accept saddling and bridling, and transfer ground cues to the saddle.

Healthcare Cooperation

Ensure your equine actively participates in routine care by using start buttons, introducing new sensations at their pace, and creating a calm, cooperative environment.

Explore each coaching topic in detail and uncover insights that can support you and your equine’s journey. See how positive reinforcement techniques can bring you closer to your goals and build a stronger partnership with your equine.

Services to Support Your Equine Journey

I’ve created a personalized onboarding process for every new student, designed to build a customized training plan for you and your equine partner. This process includes a detailed questionnaire and video assessment, allowing me to understand your specific goals and needs before our first coaching session.

Virtual Coaching

Personalized, one-on-one virtual sessions to help you and your equine achieve specific training goals. We’ll work together on both foundational theory and practical skills to support you and your equine in reaching your goals.

Video Reviews

Receive feedback on your training sessions by submitting videos for review. Each review includes personalized tips, theoretical insights, and guidance to help refine your approach.

In-Person Coaching

These on-site sessions are tailored to meet your and your equine partner’s unique needs at your own location, whether that’s building confidence, developing skills, or enhancing your connection.”

Clinics

Clinics offer a flexible learning environment with demonstrations, live seminars, and hands-on guidance when possible. Whether you’re interested in participating in a scheduled clinic or hosting one in your area, feel free to reach out to discuss options.

What Students Are Saying

Every equine and human partnership is unique, and it’s been an honor to support my students as they connect, learn, and grow with their equine partners. Here are some of the experiences shared by students who have worked with me, showing the progress they’ve achieved and the bonds they’ve strengthened.

"Coaching with Aria has given my daughter and I the motivation and accountability to regularly work with our mare, Fifi, and get past our moments of self-doubt and discouragement. We have made observable progress in a short amount of time. Aria is a very knowledgeable & patient teacher. She’s highly observant and thoroughly explains training steps to us so that there isn’t confusion when we’re working with our mare. Her coaching recap emails are detailed and we have clarity when working with Fifi. didn’t realize how much online 1:1 coaching would help my teen daughter & I to make progress with our mare. Aria has built our confidence in our R+ skills. We should have done this sooner!"

“Aria is a keen observer! She communicates well what she sees and what she would like her student to try next. She asks wonderful questions. She can see where human and animal are on a learning path and can offer comments that help the learner modify the level of “ask” for the mule. I really need context for what to expect, and Aria did a great job providing it. I absolutely love the video review that she does with voice over or her own little box on the screen with my training video. Having the comments right there with the training moment is SO valuable. I have worked with quite a few teachers and Aria stacks up with the best of them!”

“My horse made huge changes with the tips Aria gave me. It also gave me more clarity and direction in my training techniques. Aria was always positive, she would always give me positive feedback even if she was suggesting I change something. She was very kind in her remarks about my horse. I loved everything about the whole experience and I’m so glad I did it. She even taught me how to film myself. A huge bonus!!!!”

“Aria is a font of information and is eager to share it with her students, her warm, caring and friendly manner makes her very approachable. Having Aria review my footage was incredibly helpful. Not only did she point out areas of improvement she gave suggestions for alternative ways to accomplish our goals. Aria has made it easy to work with her via distance, she is always prepared, has great suggestions and encourages the slightest try (in the horse AND the owner!). I highly encourage anyone that feels a little lost about reward based training to connect with Aria!”

I had never worked personally with a CT Coach, and thought it would be fun for me and my mare, Madison, to give it a whirl. Madison was getting frustrated with her stationary cones outside of training sessions and biting on the cones. We visited, talked about Madison and myself, and decided on a plan and our next visit. Madison is now doing well with her cones! Aria is such a lovely person, very committed to her career with Connection Training, has a keen sense of people and horses, a great troubleshooter, creative, and a friend.”

"I needed one-on-one support to guide me in finding emotional balance with my rescue mare, who had a history of biting and overreacting to traditional training methods. From the get-go, I could feel Aria's genuine interest in improving the relationship between horses and their humans. Now, six months later, I feel so grateful to be her student. Through Aria's unwavering encouragement, compassionate philosophy, and detailed training plan, my mare and I are on a new path. During our coaching calls, we discuss equine learning theory, practical approaches to challenges, and next steps on our journey. Aria's video reviews are rewarding to watch—she is an astute observer, and they have helped me become a better observer of myself and my horse, which has made all the difference."

Stay Connected: Training Tips, Insights & Free Guide

Sign up to receive training tips and a free Mini Guide, Achieving Emotional Balance and Connection, as a thank-you gift! This guide, along with regular tips and insights, is designed to support you and your equine in building a compassionate, trusting bond. You’ll also receive updates on content and resources tailored to help you on your journey together.

Take Your Training Further with Exclusive Membership Access

Gain exclusive access to real, unedited training sessions with my three unique equines—Crockett, Padopani, and Tukanon. Each horse brings a different personality, background, and level of experience, allowing you to see a variety of Positive Reinforcement techniques in action. Whether it’s teaching foundational behaviors to a beginner or refining advanced skills with a seasoned partner, each video captures genuine progress, setbacks, and breakthroughs. Accompanying each session is an in-depth training plan, detailing the goals, adjustments, and reflections, giving you a complete, behind-the-scenes look at the journey. Watch as I adapt my approach to meet each horse’s unique needs, showcasing diverse methods and behavior-building techniques that you can apply with your own equine partner.

Our Premium Content Membership is coming soon. Join the waitlist below to be the first to know when it launches!

Key Features

Full Access to the Training Video Library
Subscribers will have unlimited access to the entire library of training videos, allowing them to watch sessions as many times as needed. This unrestricted access enables a deeper understanding of techniques through repeated viewing and analysis.
Detailed Training Plans & Reflections
Each video is paired with a comprehensive training plan that outlines session goals, adjustments made, and reflections on the process. This written guide provides context for each session, helping subscribers follow the thinking behind each step.
Personalized Training Insights
Gain insights tailored to the unique stages and personalities of Crockett, Padopani, and Tukanon. See how different techniques are applied based on each horse’s personality and training needs, expanding your toolkit with diverse approaches.
Bonus Resources & Reading Material (When Relevant)
Subscribers will occasionally receive links to recommended resources, articles, or readings that enhance understanding of specific training topics and concepts featured in certain sessions.
Training Progress Highlights
Stay engaged with periodic progress highlights for each horse, summarizing major milestones and improvements. This overview allows subscribers to see the long-term impact of training sessions on behaviors and emotional growth.

Our Premium Content Membership is coming soon!

Join the waitlist to be notified as soon as our Premium Content Membership launches, and be among the first to explore real, unedited training sessions, tailored plans, and valuable resources—all designed to support your journey with Positive Reinforcement.

We respect your privacy and will only use your information to keep you updated about the membership launch.

Learn, Connect, and Grow: Desert Rain Chronicles

Where Stories and Insights Meet the Science of R+ Training

Discover a world of inspiring stories, actionable training tips, and heartfelt insights in ‘Desert Rain Chronicles.’ From transformative student success stories to practical advice on building trust with your equine, each entry is crafted to support your journey with Positive Reinforcement.

Expand Your Knowledge with Guided Learning

Comprehensive E-Courses and Webinars Tailored to Your Journey

Exciting opportunities are on the horizon! Our upcoming Courses Page will offer expertly crafted e-courses and interactive webinars to help you deepen your understanding of Positive Reinforcement training. From foundational skills to advanced techniques, these resources are designed to provide practical insights and empower you on your equine journey. Sign up for the newsletter to stay informed about new courses—and receive a free mini guide, Achieving Emotional Balance and Connection, to kickstart your learning!

Reach Out to Aria

Ready to take the next step in your Positive Reinforcement training journey? Whether you have questions, need more information about services, or want to discuss your equine’s unique needs, feel free to reach out. Simply fill out the form below, and I’ll be in touch soon!