ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Janet Jones is a cognitive scientist who applies brain research to the training of horses and riders. She began riding at age 7 and qualified for the United States Olympic jumping program at 17. She has schooled hundreds of young horses, competing in hunter, jumper, halter, reining, and Western Pleasure events. A strong advocate of true horsemanship, Jones believes every rider should know horses from the ground up. Using basic principles of dressage and groundwork as a foundation for each horse, she encourages cross-training among equestrian disciplines.

Jones earned her PhD in cognitive science at UCLA with original research on the human brain’s ability to resolve ambiguity in language. That project won UCLA’s Gengerelli Distinguished Dissertation Award in 1989. She taught the neuroscience of perception, language, memory and thought to college students for 23 years. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Association for Psychological Science, the United States Equestrian Federation, the United States Hunter/Jumper Association, and the Society for Neuroscience.