Marijke de Jong at a glance
Known for: Straightness Training
Profession: Horse trainer, instructor, coach, educator, author
Founder of: The Straightness Training Academy
Focus: Natural asymmetry of horses and riders
Students: Riders in 65+ countries, 100+ horse breeds
ST Instructors: 125+ worldwide
Founded: Straightness Training in 2004, Straightness Training Academy in 2013
I'm Marijke de Jong, founder of Straightness Training, a horse-friendly training method that helps riders rebalance their horse by addressing the horse's natural asymmetry.
For more than two decades, I've studied the natural asymmetry of horses and translated the wisdom of the classical masters into a logical and practical system that riders can apply today.
Through the Straightness Training Academy, thousands of riders in more than 65 countries are learning how to train a horse with clarity and confidence and get an easy-going horse that is a pleasure to ride.
The Question That Started It All
Like many riders, my journey began with a simple but frustrating question.
Why is training a horse sometimes so difficult, even when you try your best?
I was taking lessons, reading books, and practicing for years.
Yet my horse was still stiff, crooked, resistant, or difficult to ride.
Something was missing.
And I became determined to find out what that missing piece was.
The Horse Who Changed Everything
The reason that Straightness Training exists is a very special horse.
His name was Maestro.
Maestro was not an easy horse.
He was stiff, resistant, and difficult to train.
But instead of seeing him as the problem, I started asking a different question:
What if the problem was not the horse, but the way we understand the horse?
Working with Maestro forced me to look deeper and question everything I thought I knew about horse training.
This journey with Maestro became the foundation of Straightness Training.
Discovering Natural Asymmetry
I discovered that many problems in horse training have the same underlying cause:
The natural asymmetry of the horse.
Just like humans are left- or right-handed, horses are also naturally crooked.
This natural asymmetry influences:
When this asymmetry is not addressed in training, riders may experience problems such as stiffness, resistance, uneven gaits, or lack of balance.
Understanding this insight changed everything.
Suddenly many training problems started to make sense.
Studying the Classical Masters
To find answers, I began studying the writings of the classical masters of horsemanship.
And there I discovered something remarkable.
The great masters had already described the natural asymmetry of the horse centuries ago.
Their writings contained valuable insights about balance, straightness, and the gymnastic development of the horse.
But their teachings were often complex and difficult to translate into modern training practice.
So I began translating these classical principles into a clear and practical system that riders can apply step by step.
The Birth of Straightness Training
Over the years this work evolved into a structured training approach with five training pillars that I called:
Straightness Training.
Straightness Training helps riders gymnasticize their horse so they can become:
more balanced
more supple
stronger and healthier
easier to ride
Many riders discover that once they understand their horse’s natural asymmetry, training suddenly becomes much clearer.
Groundwork
Longeing
Work in Hand
Riding
Liberty
Sharing the Method with the World
In 2004, I started teaching Straightness Training through private lessons, workshops, and clinics in the Netherlands.
Soon riders from other countries also wanted to learn the method. At first I traveled internationally to teach clinics in North and South America, Russia, South Africa, and several countries across Europe.
To make the method accessible to even more riders, in 2013 I founded the Straightness Training Academy, where students can study the methodology step by step.
Today the ST Academy has grown into a worldwide learning community of riders and instructors who share a passion for developing horses in a balanced and respectful way.
My Mission
My mission is simple.
To end unnecessary suffering by helping riders understand their horse better.
Because when we understand the horse’s body, movement, and natural asymmetry, training becomes:
clearer
kinder
more effective.
And that is where true harmony between horse and rider begins.
I've put together this FREE eBook so you can find out how you can overcome your horse's natural asymmetry with Straightness Training (ST).
Receive the three 'Straightness Training Secrets' so you, too, can make it possible for you and your horse.
