Like many, I have been fascinated by animals, particularly horses, for as long as I can remember. However, as my involvement with horses grew, I began to feel unhappy with what I saw and experienced in the modern horse world, often seeing many (not all) horses trained and handled with too much coercion, pressure and fear. I had a feeling that horses were not put on this planet to solely do our bidding. I was determined to seek out other methods which put the horse first and required our ego to be left at the door!
In the summer of 2005, shortly after finishing my degree in Humanities, I left for the divine and majestic New Zealand. I spent 2 years living and working with a very special almost wild herd of horses. It was fascinating to spend the time observing the herd structure and how they worked together as a family. Their connection with each other and their human herd was very profound and set me off on a journey to learn more.
Powered by the complete fascination of the horse I spent the next 15 years travelling the world training with some inspirational trainers and horses. A large part was spent working on a ranch in the Rocky Mountains, in Canada. With access to over 100 horses my hours spent in the saddle went up considerably and I subsequently became a young horse development specialist.
Using the principles of Natural Horsemanship, I gained the skills to understand and work with many types of horse behaviour. I realised how important it was to have a good relationship based on trust, friendship and understanding. I later moved on to The U.S.A and spent time at the Parelli Ranch in Colorado with Pat Parelli, a truly talented horseman. I was completely smitten with his style of training and I eventually became a Parelli professional in 2013.
Teaching the Art of Horsemanship became my full time profession. I became busy very quickly which highlighted the need for such a specialised training method.
As my studies developed I increasingly became inspired by classical dressage, in particular the works of Francois Baucher, Nuno Oliviera and Bent Banderup (Academic Art of Riding). I took regular trips to Spain and took part in a series of clinics based on this art of riding. It taught me how important a horse’s balance was to his movement. How we can improve a horse’s strength, power and carriage depends greatly on the detail. This element to my training and work is a large part of my focus and is evident at my work in liberty dressage.
Working at Liberty has always been the dream. To have a horse fully engage and connect with you through all the elements of training is feeling like no other. I want the horse to seek out this feeling too. Trust, understanding and clear communication are the key pillars of my training with horses.
Working at liberty is a good way to test the truth in your education. It’s through this element of training we can clearly see how much he knows and how well he can move and carry himself.
I dedicate the majority of my time now to my students and sharing the knowledge I have, and I am always learning so much from the horse and my students.