“From a very young age, I had always had a burning desire to be involved with horses, and especially to ride them. This desire evolved into a training career driven by a monumental ambition to prove myself. Although this resulted in success and accomplishment with countless horses, I was unknowingly digging myself into a deep rut of the pressure (self-imposed and otherwise) to produce and perform. The very purpose that I had once loved more than anything and put my entire existence into, had almost imperceptibly become an unbearable burden and source of fatigue and monotony. Hence my retirement after more than thirty years. In an attempt to change my path, but not give up horses entirely, I decided to raise and train a couple of horses to sell, at which point I would consider myself to have had my fill of training horses. I would have gotten what I wished for. 

However, during the course of my efforts at market research for the eventual sale of my two horses, I crossed paths with Hannah. I had never even heard of liberty training before, and the title alone intrigued me. I audited a clinic and was amazed and excited to see the things that horses were so willingly and cheerfully doing with people in a large arena, wearing no tack whatsoever! I had to know more! The following year I was fortunate enough to enroll with my two horses into Hannah's clinic series.

The days were long and the summer was hot. There were copious amounts of information to absorb. But I was experiencing and exploring a world of horsemanship entirely new to me that I had never even imagined before. I had to have more! The second summer we began to team my two horses together for some of the work, and the three of us began an entirely new relationship. Both had literally been born into my hands, and I loved them very much and felt that I was close to them. But this was so much deeper than even that.

I was pulled out of my previous rut of laborious monotony into a world of freedom, excitement and satisfaction. I experienced genuine fun and enjoyment with my horses; something that had been pushed back and buried for decades of my life. It was at this point that I made a monumental decision. The two horses that I had bred, raised and trained to be sold, were no longer for sale! We became a team til death do us part. 

Learning the art of liberty with two horses is not an easy undertaking. It is not a series of effortless magical moments. I've always felt that anything worthwhile requires a lot of hard work and dedication. Liberty certainly does. Maybe even more so when it is a "second language". But the transformation of my relationship with my horses makes every drop of blood, sweat and tears worth it one hundred fold. It has been life-changing in all the best ways. 

Over the past five years that I have spent learning liberty training with Hannah, I have found it to be very practical in application to daily life with horses. I have also realized the opportunity it provides for a horse’s fitness without necessarily needing to ride them. As I become older, this becomes ever more valuable to me. 

As a talented teacher and horsewoman,  Hannah has proven to be extremely knowledgeable, patient, understanding and devoted. Her support for her students is unwavering.  I have seen her kindness and wisdom with both students and horses lead to much improved and deeper more meaningful relationships. Her passion for teaching liberty has re-ignited the flame in me, and I am once again experiencing the joy and wonder that first drew me to horses so very long ago.”

~ Annie