FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Debbie Loucks
Monty and Pat Roberts, Inc.
(949) 632-1856
[email protected]
June 11, 2021 Solvang, California: How do they do it?! Monty Roberts and his Certified Instructors continually get breathtaking results, gentling and re-starting horses from mustangs to OTTB’s (off-the-track-Thoroughbreds). These horses are going on to become wonderful partners for their adopters all over the country.
Opportunities are growing for people to see for themselves what the concepts and methods are all about. The month of June has been an amazing schedule of activities affording a horse lover the chance to watch, listen and even participate in the learning. The training is often more about keeping it all simple and quiet, rather than fast and fancy.
Monty will be demonstrating Join-Up and trailer loading Saturday June 12 at the Western States Horse Expo in Murieta, California in the northern part of the state. Then he will be front and center at The Movement 2021, the 4th annual, on June 18-20, 2021. The Movement is a transformational experience with humans and horses featuring Monty Roberts and outstanding presenters, held for three days at Flag Is Up Farms in Solvang, California. This year’s theme is Transitions, Transformations, Trailblazers.
Trailblazers Ashley Avis, Marty Irby, Jamie Jennings, Simon d’Unienville and Monty will be working with feral horses as well as horses up for adoption in Monty’s Mustang & Transition Horse Program. Participants will be able to observe and experience the transformation of two different groups of horses over the course of all three days. From the gentling of feral horses to the fascinating re-training of off the track Thoroughbreds and other horses, these horses are being given the chance to transition to new vocations. Lunch is included on all three days and for any questions people can contact [email protected] or at 1-805-688-6288.
Last week Certified Monty Roberts Instructor Jamie Jennings was at the North Dakota Horse Expo and spent three days, four demonstrations daily, re-training OTTB’s from the Bowman Second Chance Thoroughbred Adoption organization. She gave clinics and also demonstrated the re-starting process and the first steps of training over poles and de-sensitizing to new environments. Jamie will next be in California with Monty at The Movement 2021 to recreate the magic of working with feral horses and transition horses as she has done at the past The Movement events. Students of the horse can also watch Jamie on her Facebook page as she chronicles her adventures all summer long with the Horse & Hound Rescue for off-the-track-Thoroughbreds up for adoption.
Next week at The Movement 2021 Simon d’Unienville and Monty will be working with feral horses as well as horses up for adoption in Monty’s Mustang & Transition Horse Program. Simon has been managing the program from Flag Is Up Farms since he arrived from South Africa in the autumn of 2020, working closely with the team at The Right Horse Initiative a program of the ASPCA. This puts him in the center of activities at The Movement 2021, imparting gentling concepts for the feral horses but also demonstrating the skill sets which Monty considers imperative for a horse to be reasonable to ride.
Simon Marrier d’Unienville is one of Monty’s newest protégés. Simon spent more than four years studying under the world-renowned Monty Roberts and his team of Certified Instructors from across the globe. Simon made the decision to pursue becoming a Monty Roberts Instructor in 2016 and was determined to be the fastest qualifying instructor. Simon was certified in August 2018, received an award of recognition from Her Majesty the Queen of England in 2020, and has dedicated his new career to making a difference in the lives of people through the healing power of horses.
“Many people call it horse whispering or ‘natural horsemanship’ but we don’t use the term. As Mr. Roberts says, ‘What is natural about saddling and riding a horse?’ so we rather say non-violent horsemanship or gentle, effective horsemanship. We use an understanding of psychology and Equus, the horse’s natural communication system, to build a willing, trusting partnership with the horse, allowing us to work through any remedial issues they may have,” he said.
June is a busy month for d’Unienville, starting with the Gentling Wild Horse course which wrapped up June 11, gentling five feral horses from the Santa Ynez Valley and a grade mustang. There will be another August 2-6.
And after The Movement, Simon will be an esteemed judge for the popular Extreme Mustang Makeover held virtually in Lexington, Kentucky June 23-26. The adult trainers and horses will compete with their new skills in three classes, handling, conditioning, trail, and maneuvers. A freestyle showdown of the top 10 competitors will decide who is crowned champion, wining $40,000 in cash and prizes. Simon is being tapped to judge the Youth Divisions ages 8 to 17 . The youthful trainers have had 100 days to gentle and train their horses and will be judged for their work in-hand rather than in the saddle. All horses will be available for adoption or purchase through auction at the end of the event.
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Beautiful photos available upon request
MONTY ROBERTS AVAILABLE FOR SELECT INTERVIEWS:
The New York Times bestselling author and world-renowned horse trainer Monty Roberts is available for interviews.
MONTY ROBERTS first gained widespread fame with the release of his New York Times Best Selling book, The Man Who Listens To Horses; a chronicle of his life and development of his non-violent horse training methods called Join-Up®. Monty grew up on a working horse farm as a firsthand witness to traditional, often violent methods of horse training and breaking the spirit with an abusive hand. Rejecting that, he went on to win nine world’s championships in the show ring. Today, Monty’s goal is to share his message that “Violence is never the answer.” Roberts has been encouraged by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with the award of the Membership in The Royal Victorian Order, as well as becoming Patron of Join-Up International. Other honors received were the ASPCA “Founders” award and the MSPCA George T. Angell Humanitarian Award and FEI’s Man of the Year. Monty was recently included as Horse and Hound Magazine’s Top 50 Horsemen of All Time. Monty is credited with launching the first of its kind Equus Online University; an interactive online lesson site that is the definitive learning tool for violence-free training.
JOIN-UP philosophies can be seen at work with both humans and horses across the world, from farms to major corporations. To learn more about Monty Roberts or the many applications of his Join-Up training methods, visit www.montyroberts.com. Horse Sense and Soldiers aired on Discovery Military in 2010 highlighting the therapeutic effect horses and Monty Roberts’ Join-Up® have on PTSD. Soon after Monty and his team developed the Horse Sense & Healing program for veterans and first responders. Lead-Up International was officially launched worldwide at the Monty Roberts International Learning Center in Solvang, California, in February 2017. The purpose of Lead-Up International is to reduce violence in the community by creating peaceful leaders from vulnerable youth utilizing equine-assisted therapy and non-verbal communication, building trust-based relationships.
The Movement is an annual event first launched in 2018 which aims to create a one of a kind experience, uniting outstanding speakers and live demonstrations with horses to show the unprecedented difference horses can make across all aspects of life.
