The Monty Roberts
International Learning Center

“My greatest accomplishment was learning to be gentle; without that I feel I would have achieved nothing.” ~ Monty Roberts

Monty Roberts International Learning Center (MRILC) is dedicated to promoting gentle, more effective alternatives to violence and force through educational courses ranging from beginner to advanced levels of horsemanship.

Monty Roberts, Dean of Students, leads a team of exceptional Certified Instructors who have dedicated themselves to sharing Monty’s training philosophies by completing an extensive training and certification process.

The Monty Roberts International Learning Center is unique from other training facilities because the primary focus of our training curriculum is on equine psychology and behavior rather than riding skills. Students develop a solid understanding of what motivates and influences equine behavior in order to increase their effectiveness in the application of their choice, virtually any discipline of riding, veterinary assisting, farriery, racehorse training and more.

The Monty Roberts International Learning Center is located at Flag Is Up Farms in the Santa Ynez Valley, California at the heart of the Central Coast’s wine country just 40 miles north of Santa Barbara. We welcome visitors between 9 am and 5 pm daily, free of charge.

Monty Roberts International Learning Center - Join-Up with a horse

Available Courses

Monty Roberts and his team of Certified Instructors at the Monty Roberts International Learning Center have spent the past two decades changing horse and human lives for the better with his globally acclaimed non-violent methods.

With a range of courses suitable for novice to advanced students – graduates of the MRILC programs have increased their effectiveness with both equine and human clients – bringing gentleness and trust to any partnership. So whether you’d like to improve the relationship with your horses at home, or go all the way to becoming a Monty Roberts Certified Instructor – we have a course for you.

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Monty Roberts International Learning Center - Gentling Wild Horses

Calendar of Courses

The Monty Roberts International Learning Center offers year-round courses for students of all levels – from novices just starting out or those returning after a prolonged absence or injury; to advanced courses for those wishing to become future Monty Roberts Certified Instructors.

Visiting California? Or planning your courses timetable?

For a quick overview you can view our calendar of courses for the upcoming year.

Please contact us for further information or learn more on our individual courses pages and FAQs.

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Monty Roberts International Learning Center - Monty Roberts Certified Instructors

Monty Roberts Certified Instructors

Monty Roberts Certified Instructors are qualified to teach Join-Up® and Long-Lining classes worldwide as well as the Monty Roberts Introductory Course and Horsemanship 101 classes. Monty Roberts Certified Instructors have gone on to work at some of the world’s top equestrian centers in their field – from Racehorse Training to Polo to Dressage and more …

Other instructors have focused on the field of teaching – expanding the Monty Roberts global brand in equine-assisted therapy programs, in addition to teaching the Monty Roberts horsemanship courses.

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Monty Roberts International Learning Center - Monty Roberts Join-Up with a horse

Online University

Not sure where to start? Why not visit the Monty Roberts Online University to start your learning today.

The Monty Roberts Online University has over 550 quick and easy training and instructional videoslesson notes, and supportive learning tools  – and its growing with a new lesson added every week.

Learn at your own pace with Monty Roberts, at just $10 per month. See for yourself why Horse & Hound magazine named Monty one of the Top 50 greatest horsemen of all time. Monty is recognized by our international equestrian community for his gentle and effective horse training.

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Animal Welfare

Monty Roberts famously said “My goal is to leave the world a better place than I found it, for horses and people too.” And part of our mission is to assist horses in transition find new homes. Over the past 2 decades, through our Monty Roberts International Learning Center, we have been working with mustangs from the BLM (Bureau of Land Management), mustang rescue centers and horse rehabilitation networks to gentle and start horses in transition, to greatly improve their chances of being adopted or re-homed.

And we have recently partnered with the Right Horse Initiative to help realize their goals of “creating a national partner network of equine professionals that create unity for the horse industry” and “fostering a more compassionate, pragmatic support system for those doing right by people and by horses”.