✨ "I have an idea, but I don't have an agenda, because they build their own agenda." – Sinya Nicol Sinya Nicol runs Ngara Bush and Life Learning in New South Wales, Australia, an equine assisted practice built on one principle: come with an idea, not an agenda. Ngara is a Worimi word meaning "listening to one another," and the practice works that way. Sinya works from two campuses: a 240-acre farm deep in the bush, about 50 minutes from the town of Foster, and a smaller site about 20 minutes from town with an art space beside the horses. She learns each client's sensory triggers before they arrive and sets up a "yes environment" where she rarely has to say no. She works with children and adults, and her horses are trained as colleagues, not equipment. Rupert Isaacson and Sinya cover her path from a stable near Frankfurt to a Kentucky horse farm, a social pedagogy degree, overland guiding across Africa and South America, and a life in Australia. They talk through how she trains her horses, why she involves clients and whole families, what healing means compared with cure, how reframing a person's story can ease shame, and her plans for donations and paid work opportunities for clients. If you want to support the show, you can do so at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LongRideHome 🔍 What You'll Learn in This Episode What "an idea, not an agenda" means in practice, and how Sinya lets clients build their own path How Sinya prepares for each client, learning sensory triggers beforehand and arranging shade, water, and a way out Why she runs a "yes environment" and what happens to behavior when there is little to say no to How a social pedagogy degree (psychology, sociology, social work, and educational science) shapes a person-centered, not deficit-centered, approach How she trains her horses as colleagues, from jaw flexion and lateral work to lunging with an "anarchy phase" and ridden work Why she uses a long 19-inch Western saddle so a child can ride in front of her and receive the rocking hip movement How she involves clients in lunging and free jumping, and how horse personalities lead to conversations about clients' own stories Why working with whole families, including siblings and games like tag and Red Light, Green Light, shifts the focus from problems to fun How "yarning time" in the forest let her meet a client in his stories and then step back into daily life together What the difference between healing and cure means for the work How helping clients see what they did as what kept them safe at the time can change their story around shame How she funds her work through NDIS, DCJ, and private payment, and her plans for donations and paid work for clients How a partnership with a surfing organization, Fresh Tracks, widens what the practice can offer 🎤 Memorable Moments from the Episode [00:03:55] Growing up near Frankfurt without a horse of her own, Sinya starts at a local stable, grooming, getting horses ready for other riders, and riding them in walk to dry off, until she is trusted with horses while owners are away. [00:10:10] After finishing school she works for a year at Dixiana Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, watering around 30 horses twice a day and handling stallions, and learns what it means to be unable to communicate in a new language. [00:17:46] She and her husband guide overland tours from Quito, Ecuador to Ushuaia and back up to Rio in an 18-ton truck with 32 seats, planning meals and emergencies while keeping travelers safe and comforted. [00:31:15] In Namibia she works as a social worker in a school hostel in Swakopmund, where some children as young as six are away from their farm homes for the first time. [00:35:03] She explains how she found the name: she was looking for a word for the black cockatoos on her farm and instead found Ngara, a Worimi word meaning "listening to one another." [00:40:00] The yes environment: she asks about sensory triggers before clients arrive and sets things up so she rarely has to say no. She says she reads about behaviors but doesn't see many. [00:56:24] A stuffed giraffe named Geraldine helps desensitize her horses before a child rides in front of her in the long 19-inch Western saddle, receiving the movement while she handles the horse. [01:06:01] During a conversation with a client kneeling in the sand, the free horses come over and lie down to roll beside them while one pony watches. The client is struck by the trust the horses showed. [01:25:28] Sinya shares her grandmother's story of a childhood in wartime Germany, a chewing gum from an Allied soldier, and the lesson her grandmother drew about talking openly about what happened. [01:54:18] Her youngest son teaches her "the power of yet," which she brings into her work: we are not there yet, but maybe we get there. 📚 Contact, Projects, and Resources Mentioned Sinya Nicol – Ngara Bush and Life Learning, New South Wales, Australia https://ngaralearning.com.au info@ngaralearning.com.au  New Trails  🌍 Follow Us Long Ride Home  https://longridehome.com  https://facebook.com/longridehome.lrh  https://instagram.com/longridehome_lrh  https://youtube.com/@longridehome  New Trails Learning Systems  https://ntls.co  https://facebook.com/horseboyworld  https://instagram.com/horseboyworld  https://youtube.com/newtrailslearningsystems 📊 Affiliate Disclosure Links to books and products may include affiliate tracking. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the show.

✨ "I don't believe it's possible to ride with lightness if you're heavy of heart." – Rupert Isaacson ✨ "It's in the break where you get the effect of the exercise." – Charlotte Wittbom Charlotte Wittbom grew up in Sweden riding ponies through the forests and competing in eventing, then found her way through a UK riding school to Portugal, where she spent years with the Valença family and went on to run Quinta do Brejo, Nuno Oliveira's old yard. She now teaches classical riding and in-hand work in England, working alongside physios and with a growing number of competition riders. Rupert and Charlotte talk about the Valença method as a living system rather than a rigid one, and how groundwork patterns such as quarter turns around the cones build posture, muscle and understanding in the horse. They also cover compensation patterns, stress and sustainability in competition, curiosity and lightness in teaching, and Charlotte's recent work on the horse's diaphragm and deep breathing. A rich, wide-ranging conversation that closes with plans for deeper dives on the diaphragm work and a demo at Tribe Day in July 2027. FREE Helios Harmony Intro Course: https://longridehome.com/onoutpout What You'll Learn in This Episode 00:02:26 – How riding ponies in the Swedish forests without rules shaped Charlotte's feel for balance and freedom with horses. 00:23:23 – Why the Valença method gives you a system that becomes part of your DNA while leaving you free to develop your own path. 00:34:08 – Why groundwork became Charlotte's focus in the UK, and how it helps riders understand feel versus how things look. 00:49:49 – How small movements, such as a quarter turn around the cones, teach the horse the same pattern as a half halt. 00:59:03 – Why a horse's stiffness is there for a reason, and how resistance and release build muscle without force. 01:14:00 – How to ask whether a movement is sustainable for the horse, and not just whether it scores well. 01:31:53 – Why Rupert believes you cannot ride with lightness if you are heavy of heart. 01:54:58 – Why Charlotte says that from the ground you create the horse you want to ride. 01:56:55 – How Charlotte uses groundwork to help horses release the ribcage and diaphragm and take a deep breath. 02:04:30 – Why the effect of an exercise shows up in the break, and not during the exercise itself. Memorable Moments from the Episode 00:02:40 – Charlotte describes riding Shetland ponies as a child with flat saddles and an ice hockey helmet. 00:18:34 – At Quinta do Brejo, Charlotte answers complaints about uncomfortable saddles by pointing out that Nuno Oliveira sat in them. 00:40:04 – Charlotte recalls guests at Morgado Lusitano being disappointed to get her as an instructor instead of the Portuguese instructor they had hoped for. 01:58:11 – Charlotte keeps her deep-breathing method a secret for now, and Rupert asks to make the check payable. 02:05:07 – Rupert recalls Nuno Oliveira's advice to dismount and smoke a cigarette, and Charlotte suggests he try deep breathing instead. Guest Contact & Links Charlotte Wittbom Website: charlottewittbom.com YouTube: Charlotte Wittbom Podcast on Spotify: Charlotte Wittbom Classical Mastery About Charlotte Wittbom Charlotte Wittbom is a Swedish-born classical riding instructor based in England. She started in eventing with ponies, trained and worked in Portugal with the Valença family, and ran Quinta do Brejo, Nuno Oliveira's old yard. Her approach builds on the Valença system and puts groundwork first, working with physios to help horses develop posture, muscle and calm before and alongside ridden work. She teaches across the UK, gives clinics in Sweden, and hosts a podcast of portraits of classical masters in their own words. Find her at charlottewittbom.com. See All of Rupert's Programs and Shows: Website: https://rupertisaacson.com Follow Us:  Long Ride Home Website: https://longridehome.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/longridehome.lrh Instagram: https://instagram.com/longridehome_lrh YouTube: https://youtube.com/@longridehome New Trails Learning Systems Website: https://ntls.co Facebook: https://facebook.com/horseboyworld Instagram: https://instagram.com/horseboyworld YouTube: https://youtube.com/newtrailslearningsystems Affiliate Disclosure: Links to books and products may include affiliate tracking. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the show.

 ✨ "It's not the breed, it's the brain." – Nik Lewis  Rupert Isaacson speaks with Nik Lewis of Horses R Us NZ, an equine facilitated learning program near Taupo in the Central North Island of New Zealand. For about eight years, Horses R Us has worked with young people and adults, including neurodiverse clients and clients working on social-emotional goals or riding, with no set parameters. As Nik puts it, if they don't know something, they go and find out. What makes the program distinctive is how little of the session is fixed. Nik describes working with whoever "rocks in on the day," keeping an end goal while letting the route change. Clients stay matched with one horse, each with a plan B horse, and in one story a 29-year-old non-verbal client walks and talks a jumpy Thoroughbred calm, reversing the usual roles of helper and helped. Her horses live in herds outdoors around the clock, and they get their own outlet: Nik and her horses also hunt and jump wire fences. The conversation covers Nik's bareback childhood in rural New Zealand, her path from teacher aide and classroom teacher to burnout in 2015, her EAGALA training, her mentorship with a social worker, and the 2018 leap into running the program full time. It also looks at how Māori tikanga, language, Matariki and Māori stories find their way into sessions, and where story and sense of place could take the work next. If you want to support the show, you can do so at Patreon. If you want to support the show, you can do so at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LongRideHome 🔍 What You'll Learn in This Episode How Nik's "if we don't know, we go and find out" approach shapes a program with no set parameters Why Nik links the Kiwi "number eight wire" mentality to a flexible, can-do way of working What Nik sees as the difference between outcome-focused and client-focused work, based on her understanding of RDA How a client and a horse can swap roles, with the client becoming the horse's regulator Why clients stay matched with one horse, and how a plan B horse and horse care days keep the relationship going What takiwatanga, the Māori word for autistic, means: in their own time and space How Nik moved from teaching burnout through EAGALA training and a social worker mentorship to leaving a secure income in 2018 What Nik found limiting about the EAGALA triangle when she trained, and how she says the model has since evolved How hunting and jumping wire fences shaped Nik's riding, and why she says it is the brain, not the breed, that counts in the hunt field Why Nik's horses get hunting weekends as an outlet, and how Rupert describes rotating therapy horses through varied work How Nik keeps her horses in outdoor herds around the clock and lets them "be horses" How Nik uses volcano language to help younger children notice what their bodies feel before an outburst How Māori tikanga, language, Matariki and stories such as Tangaroa show up in Nik's sessions Why Rupert suggests story and sense of place could be a next step for the work  ✨ "It's not the breed, it's the brain." – Nik Lewis  04:34 Nik reaches for "number eight wire," the Kiwi habit of fixing things with whatever is at hand, and Rupert answers with the Afrikaans saying "Ons sal 'n plan maak" (we'll make a plan). 11:17 Nik explains takiwatanga, the Māori word for autistic, which translates as "in their own time and space," and Rupert asks her to say it again so he can write it down. 18:10 A 29-year-old non-verbal client takes a jumpy Thoroughbred into the round pen while a farmer moves cows nearby, and walks and talks with him until he settles. 21:45 Nik explains that each client stays matched with one horse, that most have a plan B horse, and that a horse with an abscess turns the session into a horse care day. 54:13 Nik describes growing up jumping eight-wire dry stock fences with battens, and at 1:05:05 explains why she was taught that wire is safer than solid fences. 1:06:55 Rupert recalls the Horse Boy trail ride challenge with a big teddy bear in front of the rider, and how Nik took it a step further and hunted over wire fences with the teddy bear. 1:09:18 Asked what makes a good hunt horse, Nik says it is the brain, not the breed, and that you can't train for the atmosphere of the hunt field at home. 1:44:30 Nik talks about the volcanoes she uses with younger children to name what happens in the belly, the toes and the head before the mouth starts. 2:01:45 Nik links a "rompy stompy" child to the god Tangaroa and to nearby Ruapehu, which spits out every now and then. 2:15:49 Nik shares how her program celebrates weirdness, including the young client who first looked at rope reins for a week and then wouldn't let go of them. 📚 Contact, Projects, and Resources Mentioned Nik Lewis – Horses R Us NZ Website: https://horsesrusnz.com New Trails Learning Systems – Horse Boy Method, Movement Method & Takhin Equine Integration https://ntls.co Patreon Support https://www.patreon.com/LongRideHome 🌍 Follow Us Long Ride Home https://longridehome.com https://facebook.com/longridehome.lrh https://instagram.com/longridehome_lrh https://youtube.com/@longridehome New Trails Learning Systems https://ntls.co https://facebook.com/horseboyworld https://instagram.com/horseboyworld https://youtube.com/newtrailslearningsystems 📊 Affiliate Disclosure Links to books and products may include affiliate tracking. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the show.

✨  “The principal thing is love, passion, love, passion and passion and love.” – Luis Valença ✨ “The first thing is to communicate with the horse, and for the horse to accept you.” – Luis Valença  ✨ “It’s not gymnastics.” / “Our work is like music. It’s the same as listening to Chopin or Beethoven.” – Luis Valença ✨ “I have the same enthusiasm because I love life, I love the horses, I love the family.” – Luis Valença  ✨ “Never take the personality from the horse.” – Luis Valença Rupert Isaacson welcomes Mestre Luis Valença of Lisbon, whom he calls a living legend, a national treasure and the greatest living exponent of equestrian art, together with his daughter Sofia. Luis describes his method as a connection between human and horse built on love, comparable to the way we communicate with our children, and traces it back through his three masters: his godfather Fernando Ralão, Cunha Menezes (a Baucherist), and Nuno Oliveira. The conversation explores what the word dressage truly means (to dress the horse so he feels soft and good in his own body), the comparison of the work to music like Chopin and Beethoven, and how older, arthritic or traumatized horses are given back their trust and often rejuvenated. Sofia and Rupert also discuss the simplicity and flexibility of the method, learning to read the student in front of you, the contrast with competition dressage, and why the Valença family's inclusive, tribal approach sends people home with real tools. A rich, story-filled conversation with a family at the heart of classical equestrian tradition. FREE Helios Harmony Intro Course: https://longridehome.com/onoutpout What You'll Learn in This Episode 00:02:37 – Luis describes his method as a connection between human and horse, built on love and the same communication we use with children. 00:07:47 – How the method works for young horses and old ones alike, clearing negative memories and rebuilding trust before any work begins. 00:11:08 – Luis introduces his three masters and what each gave him, from his godfather's farm to Cunha Menezes and Nuno Oliveira. 00:25:10 – Rupert asks what dressage really means, and Luis explains "to dress" the horse as something soft, like music. 00:29:31 – Sofia explains dressage as helping the horse feel good in his own skin, and why the joy should begin the moment he enters the arena. 00:32:16 – Luis shares how he adapted a session for a horse showing back pain, staying with what worked without force. 00:48:15 – Sofia describes what a method really is and why the most important skill is learning to read the student in front of you. 00:50:12 – Rupert recalls Luis's sequence of lunging, in-hand work and the laterals that grow into piaffe and passage. 01:02:48 – Luis explains why you must never take away a horse's personality and how each horse has its own specialty. 01:35:38 – Luis and Sofia share their parting thoughts: love and passion, and learning to listen to what your horse is saying. Memorable Moments from the Episode 00:18:17 – Luis recalls receiving lessons from the ailing Cunha Menezes, who taught him from a chair with two reins and a spoon in his hand. 00:20:30 – Nuno Oliveira phones Luis's mother after watching him ride and invites him to begin working with him. 00:38:31 – Nuno chooses the "worst" horse from a group of Russian youngsters, Bunker, to prove his method could solve it. 01:16:47 – The story of a polo player's horse that fought its strong-handed owner and then opened up for a rider it trusted. 01:37:21 – Luis explains his habit of giving a carrot or sugar at the start and end of each lesson as discipline without force. Guest Contact & Links Valença Equestrian Academy: https://valencaequestrianacademy.com Social media: Valença Classical Riding and Sofia Valença https://www.facebook.com/ValencaEquestrianTours/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069242888414 About Luis & Sofia Valença Mestre Luis Valença, introduced by Rupert as the living master of equestrian art, lives in Lisbon, where he has practiced and taught equestrian art for decades, keeping a stable of school master horses that he and his family have prepared themselves. His approach centers on love, passion and a soft, communicative way of working that respects each horse's personality, drawing on the old masters, including Baucher and Nuno Oliveira. His daughter Sofia teaches the method in around 40 countries and helps people learn to read their horse and apply it with a simple language. Their work is relevant to anyone who wants joy and softness in their riding, and you can find them at valencaequestrianacademy.com. See All of Rupert's Programs and Shows: Website: https://rupertisaacson.com Follow Us: Long Ride Home Website: https://longridehome.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/longridehome.lrh Instagram: https://instagram.com/longridehome_lrh YouTube: https://youtube.com/@longridehome New Trails Learning Systems Website: https://ntls.co Facebook: https://facebook.com/horseboyworld Instagram: https://instagram.com/horseboyworld YouTube: https://youtube.com/newtrailslearningsystems Affiliate Disclosure: Links to books and products may include affiliate tracking. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the show.

Rupert Isaacson speaks with Dr. Amanda Minervini, founder of  EGLHE (Equine Guided Learning And Healing Experience), a nonprofit equine program in Colorado Springs, and professor at Colorado College.  EGLHE began taking shape during the pandemic, in response to a worsening mental health crisis. It was built around the preferences of one horse: Jimmy, an off-the-track Thoroughbred who raced as a stallion, was not gelded until after age nine, and was labeled dangerous. Originally intended for Amanda's college students, the program is now open to everyone. It brings together consent-based horsemanship, classical in-hand work, liberty, scent work, and good management, with a core belief that horses have a voice and that humans don't have to be in charge. The conversation walks through how Amanda layers a session so that a horse can safely run free through the woods with people who have never been near a horse, how scent work for horses can build confidence in a spooky horse, and why a horse must always be regulated enough to learn. Amanda also shares what she observed with the medicine paint horses at a Lakota Sun Dance, and she and Rupert explore the sacred in equine-assisted work, consciousness, Saint Francis of Assisi, and how zooanthropology helps her bridge methods rather than choose just one. ✨ "I'm trying to show humans that they don't have to be in charge with horses, that it can be a shared enterprise." – Dr. Amanda Minervini If you want to support the show, you can do so at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LongRideHome 🔍 What You'll Learn in This Episode What  EGLHE is, and why Amanda started it in response to the mental health crisis during the pandemic How Jimmy, an off-the-track Thoroughbred labeled "dangerous," became the horse  EGLHE was built around Why good management (herd life, a big pasture, free-choice hay) was the foundation of Jimmy's change How Amanda layers a session, from herd observation to arena liberty work to free movement in the woods Why she never assumes, and works with the horse she has on that day What scent work for horses is, and how to progress from visible treats in an arena to open searching on the trail Why olfactory seeking work may build curiosity and confidence in spooky horses Why a horse must be regulated enough to learn, and what to do when fear is too big How novel movement and BDNF connect horse wellbeing, human focus, and Amanda's own 17 years of kung fu What Amanda observed about the medicine paint horses and their caretakers at a Lakota Sun Dance How Saint Francis of Assisi and the idea of humans as "holobiomes" shape Amanda's view of connection How a zooanthropology lens helps Amanda act as a bridge between methods, disciplines, and cultures Why Rupert believes the synthesis of many methods is the next generation of equine-assisted work 🎤 Memorable Moments from the Episode 07:38 Amanda describes Jimmy's past: a stallion on the track, gelded after age nine, labeled dangerous, yet the only one he ever hurt was himself. 11:15 A grieving paint mare in her late 20s, who had lost her best friend days earlier, crosses the ranch uninvited and canters alongside the group. 13:39 Amanda breaks down the two-and-a-half-hour session: herd observation, arena liberty with a ball and tarp, a lead-line walk, then liberty in the woods. 22:14 Amanda credits 17 years of kung fu with giving her the focus to succeed in graduate school. 36:00 From treats on barrel tops to hidden scents to scattered finds on the trail, Amanda outlines how scent work progresses. 37:32 Riding Jimmy with a rein keeper, Amanda lets him search freely, and he chooses to go over poles without being asked. 44:39 Amanda's golden rule: there is no learning in fear, and she has promised her horses she will never put them in a freak-out situation. 53:37 Amanda describes students repeating in post-session questionnaires that they felt more balanced, more focused, and even more willing to do homework. 1:19:40 Amanda spends two days with the Sun Dance's medicine paint horses and sees them grow eager when it's time for their role. 1:23:37 Rupert recalls his horse Clue leaving the herd to sniff and lick a child in a wheelchair who had drowned and seemed unresponsive, and the child becoming responsive. 1:40:54 Rupert tells how his uncle, a pathologist, explained why most people misunderstand the placebo effect. 1:59:28 Rupert shares that a new Horse Boy center is opening in County Cork, Ireland, with the prime minister turning the sod. 📚 Contact, Projects, and Resources Mentioned Dr. Amanda Minervini – Professor, Colorado College; Founder,  EGLHE (Equine Guided Learning And Healing Experience) https://amandaminervini.weebly.com New Trails Learning Systems – Horse Boy Method, Movement Method & Takhin Equine Integration https://ntls.co Rupert Isaacson / Long Ride Home https://rupertisaacson.com Patreon Support https://www.patreon.com/LongRideHome 🌍 Follow Us Long Ride Home https://longridehome.com https://facebook.com/longridehome.lrh https://instagram.com/longridehome_lrh https://youtube.com/@longridehome New Trails Learning Systems https://ntls.co https://facebook.com/horseboyworld https://instagram.com/horseboyworld https://youtube.com/newtrailslearningsystems 📊 Affiliate Disclosure Links to books and products may include affiliate tracking. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the show.