I’ve always been a highly sensitive human, led by my intuition. Even as a small boy I would internalize the smallest shifts of emotions, changes of intentions, behavioral incongruences with words spoken around me. This was how I learned how to make decisions and orient to my world and often felt most at peace with animals because of their radical honesty. With animals there was nothing to figure out; they just told me the truth. This hyper-sensitivity as a child, paired with my severe hearing impairment and social struggles, led to my introduction to horses. Over the course of my life, I have always found my way back to the equines.   

Fast forward 20 or so years, I met my first wild mustang: Barnum. I attended a Mark Rashid clinic in Utah and came home to Vermont with a mustang. It was not planned, nor was I prepared for what lay ahead. Barnum would become my greatest challenge, most insightful teacher, and my guide as I progressed into my equine career. He is also responsible for a few un-paid medical bills. Ultimately, Barnum forced me to witness my own deep hurt, of which I had been avoiding or minimizing my entire life. Thru my connection to Barnum, I realized that working with mustangs was a calling, offering me a deep sense of purpose and spiritual connection. But still, I was lost on how to move forward with the work. Being an avid follower, my mother introduced me to Monty Robert’s literature and immediately I was hooked. I have since spent a combined total of 8 months on his ranch, in a series of 1–4-month internships and later teaching courses, all the while working towards becoming a Monty Roberts Certified Instructor.

My time at the ranch was like a dual equine trainer and self-introspection Boot Camp. I had a very short amount of time to witness myself with radical acceptance and honesty or I would not have been able to move forward with his methods. “You have to get right with yourself, before you can be right for you horse” – Monty Roberts. This quote is branded into my psyche as if I were ranch cattle. 

It is safe to say about 75% of my time there was spent with wild mustangs and feral horses. Their corner of the ranch became my solace and “happy place” - so to speak. As the horses came and went, bits and pieces of my hurt and anger appeared and then left too. This is where I learned the deep and powerful transformative potential mustangs and feral horses can have on a human’s growth and life experience. While I was there, inspired by my own transformation, I began developing programming for, what would become, my own “mustang heaven”. With immense gratitude, I can now say that this heaven is currently emerging. My vision has transpired in two organizations, a nonprofit named “Unbridled Horizons” and a for-profit named “Hollister Hunt Horsemanship”.