I was a typical horse mad child and horses have been my passion ever since.  I was a horse owner until I started work in the City of London at the age of 18.  When I married I decided that a career as a stockbroker was no longer for me.  Horses had been absent from my life for too long and I embarked on an Equine Science degree at Writtle Agricultural College and become a horse owner once more.   After obtaining a BSc, I went on to become a qualified saddler at Capel Manor College.  During this time I encountered the same old problems with my horses and witnessed countless other people struggling with similar issues.  However, the advice that I got from experts was the same as it had been when I was a child and it still didn’t help me.   

I discovered Parelli Natural Horse.Man.Ship at the UK Savvy Conference in October 2002 and immediately realised that the levels programme was exactly what I was looking for.  By that time I was desperate for answers and I attended courses taught by Dave Stuart, Ingela Sainsbury, Jackie Chant and Fiona Darling.  Things started to improve immediately and once into Level 2 all of the ‘problems’ that I had experienced with my horses since I was a child, started to disappear.   This stuff actually worked……for me.  My Irish Draught, aka The Horse from Hell, became an easy loader and a safe hack.  My Loony Lusitano was calm and athletic.  I was making progress and enjoying it but best of all; so were my horses.     

I wanted even more information and at the end of 2004 I attended the 10-week School module at the International Study Centre (ISC) in Florida.  My Savvy level and enthusiasm increased so much that I took the decision to become a Parelli Professional and returned to the ISC in Colorado for 20 weeks in the summer of 2005.  During this time I received horsemanship instruction from Pat and Linda Parelli, Bruce Logan, Katja Taureg and Kaffa Martinger.  I also received teacher training with Stephanie Burns and assisted short courses taught by Carol Coppinger, Sharon Lindy, Alain Martinger and Helen Topp.  I graduated in late September 2005 as a 2 star instructor.  Since then I have returned to the Florida ISC for 2 two months further training, including a Colt Start led by Rob McAuliffe. 

My life with horses has changed so much since 2002 that I wonder how I lived through the previous 25 years of horse ownership without the Parelli method.  There are no magic answers or quick fixes and it isn’t easy.  However, it is simple and it can help you attain the same Respect, Harmony and Refinement that I now enjoy with my horses.        

I own two beautiful Lusitanos and an amazing Irish Draught and together we are playing with Level 4.