Hi I’m Scarlet, a Veterinary Nurse living in Devon with my family and numerous animals, including my horse, Lady.

I have owned Lady for 4 years; she is a beautiful skewbald and sometimes I pretend she’s Rain from the film Spirit. We’ve worked really hard on building a good relationship, although sometimes I’ve found it very frustrating. The relationship I had with my last horse was like no other, I’d describe her as my heart horse. This is something I’ve been desperate to have again. On occasions I have found myself rushing things, so Lady has taught me to slow down and quieten down. Most of the time I only have to whisper to connect and direct her.

Before working with Kim my mindset was suffering. It became apparent to me that I was suffering from burnout, something very common unfortunately within my profession. This was beginning to have a negative effect on my relationship with my horse. I was struggling with where I wanted to go and where I wanted to be – not just with my horse but in my life too. Although I had most of the skills already, I lacked the motivation to use them and build on them.

I had created my own mental block with riding in open spaces, something I have never struggled with. And Lady’s fear revolved around small spaces, so wasn’t something horse induced. I was also struggling with trailer loading. Both blocks were making me feel trapped and affecting my mindset further.

Joining the Enlightened Equestrian Programme has not only reignited my passion and drive for natural horsemanship and the desire to develop my relationship with my horse. It has helped everything fall in to place. Mares are mares after all, but 90% of the time she chooses me. 10% of the time – like me – she wants her alone time. So, I accept that.

Emotionally I am stronger and feel I have more tools to prevent me from burning out again. So, Kim has managed to help me immensely in continuing my career as a Veterinary Nurse.

Confidence-wise, I have plans for fun rides and really getting to grips with trailering. The Fear Thresholds has really turned things around. Throughout the course Kim has helped me develop a more positive attitude, removing negative energy and thoughts. For example that I’m not good enough… this feeling now feels so out of reach I rarely have to remind myself that this is wrong. Not only have the tools she has given me helped me, I have started introducing them to my students. We regularly stack positive thoughts and set tangible goals.

For anyone considering this course I say just take the leap. The time Kim gives to you and the resources available are well worth it. I didn’t realise how much of an effect this course would have on me. I think it’s benefitted me more than my horse at the moment. Each module is achievable at your own pace, and Kim doesn’t pressure you to progress faster than you can. Lady is sensitive and we have lots of work to-do with stressors both on the ground and ridden. The weekly video calls have been something I’ve looked forward to most, as well as the action items. This course is not just horse focused; it focuses on you. Everything starts with YOU; it makes so much sense to get your mindset right before trying to help the horse. I can’t thank you enough Kim. I can’t wait to keep building on what I have learnt. I promise I will take more care of myself and fulfil my basic needs even after the course.

My name is Claire Hunsley, I’m 54 and have been pony-mad from birth! For the past 20 years I’ve been into American Stock horses and I am the current President of the UK Paint Horse Association. My current pony is a 4-year-old American Paint Horse mare called Wyanet Rozene and known to many as Rosie. I bought her as a yearling and we’re growing together. Sadly, late 2019 I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and, between that and Covid19, our development over the past two years has not gone as planned and we have arrived unprepared to her young adult stage in life… which can be fun with a sassy, strong-minded young lady!

What was your mindset and relationship with your horse like before you started working with me?

I had found the trials of dealing with Cancer and Covid19 too much for my mental health. Rosie and I also had to spend quite a lot of time apart and, not surprisingly, my mental health plummeted. In April 2022 I hit an all-time low mentally and quit my job with a broken brain.

What were tangible things you were stuck with?

Primarily my own mental health; dealing with Cancer and Covid19 had left me depressed and anxious. Also my relationship with Rosie was not where it should be after 3 years together. I was left believing I was crap at this horse lark.

What were the emotional effects of being stuck?

I felt totally inadequate. I couldn’t believe the person who trained Tagged In A Blizzard to a fairly high level couldn’t manage this little mare! It made my depression worse as I would constantly question my own ability and tell myself I was useless.

What did working with me inside of EEP do for you?

Kim’s course started with work on your mental health. A perfect place for me to start. Kim has helped me to remember what I had learnt before AND, more importantly, she helped me to learn how to put it into practice, something I had never achieved after many CBT courses. Kim then threw in a few things I was new to, which was awesome. Kim has helped me to learn to feel good about myself again.

How did it help you?

I now feel ready to tackle life again!

How is your mindset/confidence/horsemanship/relationship with your horse now?

My relationship with Rosie is 10x better than it was and it gets better every day. She’s still a sassy, stroppy teenage girl, but I love her so very much.

What are the tangible things you’re able to do differently now?

My confidence climbs daily, I may be 2 or 3 weeks behind the program but we’re getting there. Our groundwork improves daily and I’ve just got back on board to
restart her after an 8-month lay off.

What are the emotional effects of being free from the burden you were under?

I’m feeling much more confident, not just with Rosie but in life in general. I’m regaining control of me. I walk tall with my shoulders back and I’m even losing some of the weight I gained over the past two years!

What would you tell someone who is considering signing up for EEP?

Don’t think about it, just do it. It is worth every single penny.

LISTEN to Maxine’s experience of The Enlightened Equestrian Program in this podcast interview, and hear first-hand the incredible progress she and her horse Ted have made together since completing the course!

My name is Maxine, I am a 51-year-old full-time mum to four children and home educator of one! I live in the beautiful hills of County Donegal in Ireland. Ted is a 16.3h dark bay Irish Sport Horse, who I met 3 years ago in May 2019, when I was looking to buy a new horse that I could take part in low level riding club activities with. He was rising 13 and had been used as a student horse for the last 12 months at an Equestrian college.

I bought him and 6 weeks after bringing him home, during a lesson, he did a massive lateral spook, resulting in me sustaining a permanent hip injury. He has since spooked in this manner several times, which unfortunately, has resulted in a couple more unauthorised dismounts. The last accident left me with a dislocated jaw!

Ted is an absolute gentleman of a horse, who really tries his absolute best, however, he is very anxious and a real worrier. Unfortunately, I am not a brave, bold rider, and I wanted a horse that would look after me… and Ted is the opposite of that!

With the spooking and subsequent falls, at the time the EEP came along, my confidence was non-existent, and I was starting to question whether Ted and I should just part company. I wasn’t what he needed, and he certainly wasn’t what I needed!

I had investigated other horsemanship programmes to try and understand why Ted was so anxious and why these spooks seem to come out of nowhere and be so explosive.
Sadly, this just resulted in me just becoming obsessive about Ted and meeting his needs, whilst my own were becoming completely sidelined! I was becoming so despondent and again, started questioning whether Ted and I were suited to one another!

Ted and I became stuck. I wasn’t riding and wasn’t even sure I could get back to riding him, which is what I wanted more than anything. My confidence was destroyed, and I just felt emotionally drained. Constantly worrying about being able to justify having a horse that I couldn’t do anything with. It got to the stage that I was even worrying about handling him on the ground! He was clearly very shut down when I bought him and I’ve always been the type of person that feels that any relationship, whether it be with people or animals, should be about balance. Working in partnership with understanding and meeting each other’s needs. I had allowed him to awaken from that closed off state but had no clue how to then help him deal with all those emotions and feelings. Add to that, my own anxiety and worry, and we were a complete disaster! I wanted him to look after me and he wanted me to look after him! So, I decided that if we were going to succeed, then I needed to be the one to do something about it!!!

The EEP couldn’t have come at a better time! Working with Kim has been amazing!! I always knew that horses could read our emotions, but I never really appreciated just what a huge impact that had! I’ve come to fully understand just how much my own mindset affects Ted’s! I would go as far to say that Ted is me, but in horse form!!!

Through this programme, I am so much more self-aware. I realise how vital it is that, mentally, I am in the right headspace, when I see Ted. I can’t have any baggage, stress, etc. with me because if I do, he will feel it and mirror it!

I have so many tools to help me prepare and to ensure that my sessions with Ted are successful. What I genuinely loved about this programme is addressing the balance of both my needs and those of Ted’s. It’s not all about me nor is it all about Ted. That was such pivotal moment for me and gave me such a huge sense of relief!

Kim’s natural passion and enthusiasm is contagious. She is honest, genuine, and so incredibly supportive. I was sceptical about how much I would truly benefit from this programme, but I am beyond delighted that I decided to sign up. I love the fact that I have all the modules forever, at my fingertips, especially the mindset ones!

My relationship with Ted is in a completely different place now. I no longer get that pang of anxiety in the pit of my stomach when I see him. I love spending time with him, and I can’t wait to see what we will have achieved by the end of the year!!!

For anyone considering signing up for this programme, don’t hesitate! You will gain more from it than you could ever imagine.

Hi, I’m Patsy George and with my QH Jose, I enjoy Western clinics and training to improve my horsemanship skills.

I did not understand Jose’s mindset and was experiencing a behavioural issue that was beginning to escalate. The information I had on how to “fix” it was not working and I was feeling stuck and demoralised. My confidence in my ability was fading and I felt I had let my horse down…

Fortunately, I decided to turn to Kim for help. Within the EEP program she provided me with a plan and framework which enabled me to start from scratch with Jose rebuilding his trust and confidence and completely changing my perception of him. The EEP program also uses Kim’s considerable knowledge on how to reframe your own mindset. I found this invaluable not only in working with my horse, but life in general.

The whole EEP program has enabled me to let go of the anxiety I was feeling and regain confidence in my ability, and it gave me the knowledge to go forward with a happy, relaxed horse.

The program is detailed and thorough, Kim is friendly, positive and easy to work with and provides support throughout.

I can highly recommend her.

I’m Aimee and I’m a groom at the Donkey Sanctuary. I have a 14hh cob mare that I’ve owned for just over 18 months.

After losing my previous mare after a 13yr partnership, I was finding it hard to adjust and get used to my new horse. I found trying to get used to her different mannerisms quite difficult and her constant spooking at the tiniest of things made me seriously consider not keeping her, but I persevered.

Thankfully, I came across Kim and the incredible EEP just at the right time.

To say that I’m a different person is an understatement! Our partnership has improved massively, I still get the odd wobble but I now have the tools to help me through. We have been out to a clinic completely on our own which I would never have done before, and doing that has only boosted my confidence more.

If you’re thinking of working with Kim I couldn’t recommend it enough it’s such a great investment, the improvements on yourself are amazing.

Your horse will thank you!

I am Bee, and I am a South African/British Western rider living on the beautiful sunny Garden Route of SA. I have a demanding career in Tech Marketing for a European company, am the proud mother of 2 young kids and 2.5 horses, a SA Boerperd named Pandan August, an American Quarter Horse named BH CC’s Ruf Lil Rascal (“Diego”) and Nougat Kisses, my miniature.

I’ll simply talk about my QH here as my Boerperd is retired and I obviously don’t ride my miniature 😂

My mindset and relationship with my horse, Diego, felt light years away from where it is now. We are still on our journey to getting to know each other (life circumstances mean currently he is in livery far away from me being treated like a King by a very good friend, so the relationship will deepen more with time when we can live closer together again soon).

Prior to the course, I felt distant from Diego. I’ve always bonded well and quickly with my horses so it felt disconcerting for me 😞 I wondered if we were right for each other. Kim helped me to see how I was putting so much on the two of us and how, when we removed all that baggage, it was simpler, easier, and we had so much fun to have together.

I was also in an incredibly stressful place at work. Unfortunately, it meant that with this intense pressure and with my horse being away from me, I couldn’t practice all the video work with my own horse. I luckily ride a friend’s horses regularly and could work with them (I ride in the African bush weekly and it’s amazing!) however I believe this was not the core value for me — it is amazing to have the videos to hand when I need them but for me, personally, the real value was the weekly 1:1s with Kim, the mindset work and tools we used and learnt, and the support Kim gave me in a very very difficult and tough time in my life.

I started the course thinking it was about horses…

…and of course, it never is. The horses just lead you to the real transformative shift – which is 100% within yourself! They are the divine angels that guide us there!

The tangible things I was stuck with were – self limiting beliefs, being constantly in fight or flight mode. So when I started, I believed I was learning how to help my horses when they were in fight or flight – but really I learnt to recognise that it was me who was in fight or flight mode!

The emotional effects of being stuck were apparent across my whole life. My husband, my kids, my friends, my colleagues, and my horses. I was tense and scared and I believed I was coping and thriving. I wasn’t!

The 1:1s with Kim, weekly, were a God-send. I struggled because my time was so limited however I never once regretted making those meetings! I always left feeling better and stronger and calmer, which helped me to cope with my anxiety-levels & what was going on in my life at the time.

I enjoyed the practical actions we did in the calls – often courses are filled with on-demand content and aren’t personalised 1:1, I loved that this course held me accountable for completing each module and it was adaptable for what I needed at the time.

My mindset and confidence was improved as I learned things about myself, and I started to believe I COULD. I was able to make big goals happen! This for me was the most important and rewarding thing!

I’m now free from the burden I was  under. I left the job I loved, and had loved for nearly 5 yrs, but was causing me a lot of stress. I started pursuing my passions (I find Kim’s goal setting exercises really helpful for keeping focused!)

I took my first ever outride and canter with my special young Diego, and had the mental tools to help me out when needed.

To anyone thinking of investing in the program- I’d tell them – Go for it! You won’t regret it!

The Enlightened Equestrian Program came at just the right time for my horse Sally and I.

Sally is an ex racer and has been difficult in the past. I started delving into natural horsemanship and learning kinder ways of being with horses. I figured out all the things I didn’t want to do with my horse; such as force her or ignore/punish her when she used her voice. But I was stuck moving forward from there.

There are so many ways and methods out there that it is so overwhelming. Kim’s Program is clear, detailed and accommodating to people of all abilities, disciplines and backgrounds. The way she shares her knowledge is fathomable for everyone. The tools Kim has added to my toolbox from the program and the video calls are invaluable to my daily life with my horse.

Kim has taught me how to ask things of my horse without fear of me ruining our relationship and how to take the next steps in our journey with confidence in myself and Sally.

To anyone looking to join the course I would say 1000% go for it. It gave me the clarity I needed in order to take steps forward In my relationship with my horse.

I am a new mom, working full time as a farrier (which I absolutely love!) and trying to learn to balance all facets of my life and just be happy in my life! Some days though, working with everyone else’s horses can often lead to me feeling burned out and not wanting to do much with my own. Having a daughter has really helped me reconnect with my joy and passion, introducing her to our herd at home.

At the point I started the program, I was trying really hard to reconnect with any horse… but especially Wendell.

Wendell is a big silly boy that knows he’s big and sometimes likes to use his size to get his way. While not mean by nature, Wendell likes to push his boundaries and see what sort of trouble he can get himself, his herd mates, and me into!

I knew a conventional training program would not be suited to him and his unique quirkiness, and I myself was looking for a much deeper type of connection. I was having a hard time expressing my wants and needs to trainers and most of them thought I was being unrealistic in my expectations.

I had not ridden consistently in years and had a lot of anxiety around working and riding any horse, let alone a big goofy baby warmblood. I had a bad fall 7 years ago that completely broke my trust and confidence with horses, and over the years it got worse and worse.

I was at the point every time I tried to ride, I would break down and cry, completely filled with anxiety… I just kept saying I think it’s time to sell all the horses. It broke my heart, I grew up competing on the AA Hunter jumper circuit; I was a good strong rider, and now I just hated it.

I felt with all my interactions with horses, that I was always expecting the worst to happen. I was becoming quick to anger any time one of them did something. I was burned out shoeing horses all day, and then had to come home and deal with my own. So I just started ignoring them, doing the bare minimum to get by. If I did pull Wendell out to ride, when I got to the mount block I was just a wreck, and I knew I was doing him no favours and we were never going to progress. The few times I did manage to get on, I was so tense for the whole ride and just waiting for him to explode and dump me (even though this is a horse that has never done anything like that!)

Emotionally I felt exhausted, embarrassed, frustrated, scared, and even some hopelessness that I was never going to just be able to enjoy my horses again. I also felt as though I was letting them go to waste since we weren’t progressing through training and getting into the show ring.

Working with the Enlighten Equestrian Program has really helped in all aspects of my life. A lot of the journaling I had to do made me look at my life through a different lens. I became more grateful, focusing more on the positive things: my marriage and relationship with my husband. It helped me work with some of my more difficult clients, and with how I approach work generally. For me, it was a trickle-down effect of how it helped with the horses. Since the “big” things in my life were improving I felt less tension when I went to go grab Wendell out of the pasture; I was more grounded and present which then led to more empathy, emotional regulation and overall softness. 

Today, I approach each interaction with an open dialogue. I don’t feel this overall pressure to make huge gigantic strides in our training – if we just trail ride the next 6 months at a walk and trot, who cares!? If I want to take a day and just sit out in the pasture and drink my coffee that’s ok. I feel like my horsemanship/relationship with Wendell has a lot more flow and feel to it. We tend to not nitpick each other as much and I have really learned to trust in him. 

Very rarely do I get to the mounting block with anxiety any more, and if I do, some of the tools you have given me have made it so I can continue on, regulate, and manage my emotions to finish up the session on a wonderful positive note. I utilise fear thresholds much more on me than on Wendell, and that was one of the biggest things – as well as changing my relationship and expectations with riding. I felt like it gave me permission to be OK with feeling uncomfortable and stopping and taking smaller baby steps to overcome the problem instead of trying to force it and make the situation become out of control.

Another tool I use is imaging a stop sign and counting backwards from 5 to 1 when Wendell himself feels a little keyed up; that just helps me come back into my own body and mind, and be able to help him get through a situation that he is uncomfortable in.

Emotionally, I feel much more comfortable in my own skin after doing the EEP. I have learned to give myself more grace and acceptance. I have also learned how to be more empathetic with my horses and understand that they have their own personalities, their own needs, their own desires, and that they can have good days and bad days just like we can. I feel like I have given my horses more autonomy, and since then, they have felt free to be more expressive and more open because there’s not going to be a backlash like there was before.

I recommend your program to a lot of people that I encounter with my job and just being out in the horse community every day. I told them that it is something that has truly changed my life and all aspects of it – not just horses – and that it is giving me so much freedom back with my horses that I never thought I was going to get again. I tell them that I was at the point where I never rode, and now I am cantering and galloping Wendell, and we are working on liberty work. We are schooling cross country jumps. We are getting ready to start showing this summer and I have no anxiety with it anymore. I am very honest with the people that, before the program, I could barely get on my horse, and I often cried for the duration of my rides… and now I have such a wonderful time getting the opportunity to get back on my horses and just enjoy spending time with them again.

Thank you so much Kim, I look forward to working with you again.

I am Amanda, a 53-year-old lady with chronic illnesses. I came back into riding after having a 10 year break, and I bought Mango to have a go at dressage competitions and to generally have fun with him going forwards. I needed something in my life to drive me forwards and to keep me living, basically, having had a really tough time with medical issues and ongoing treatment which was getting harder by the day.

Mango is a 14.2hh Arab Cross, Liver Chestnut coloured British Eventing Pony, who has done a lot of winning in the past at 90cm, and I thought a perfect companion to get me going again – maybe even jumping!

Well… my mindset was awful before coming to Kim. I was lower than low mood-wise and couldn’t even face going to the yard to see my beloved boy Mango. It was a mixture of things; I didn’t feel comfortable at the yard, didn’t seem to gel with people at the yard, and didn’t want to leave the house, so I thought I had made the biggest mistake of my life in actually buying Mango.

It wasn’t Mango’s fault at all that I felt like this and he had done nothing wrong at all with me or around me; it was me just feeling so low and out of control. When I did manage to get to the yard to ride Mango, I had all these fears of him taking off with me down the road and me not being able to stop him, (which has not happened – but me being me, I was an over-thinker and believed it would happen at any given moment; it never did!) Mango is a very sensitive boy and he doesn’t like loud noises, and things that make him uncomfortable can lead to him putting his tail between his legs and scooting off forwards.

This left me stuck with getting out of the house and to the yard; not being able to ride out on my own; not feeling comfortable being at the yard; not wanting to go to dressage competitions without physically feeling sick and thinking that Mango would take off with me at every given opportunity. I couldn’t possibly ride out on my own for a hack, even though that was my dream.

I felt so out of control with all my emotions, and not wanting to own Mango anymore – I was going to sell him more than once. I didn’t feel I was good enough to own Mango or even capable enough to ride him, and felt like Mango deserved to be with someone better than me… I felt I was just an awful person.

Since working with Kim inside the Enlightened Equestrian Program, I have completely recovered from all the crap that was in my head and heart, and changed everything around.

I have learnt that I can go to the yard and ignore everything going on around me and consider my own feelings and not bother what people say about me; it is their problem not mine.

I know now that I am more than enough for my Mango, I am doing my best for him and I am more than capable of riding and looking after him.

I can go to competitions and win on Mango – this weekend just gone we did two competitions and entered two classes in each, and got placed 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th… WOW is all I can say to that!

I have hacked out on my own solo with Mango – one of my dream moments! I have started to learn more about how Mango reacts to certain situations and how to deal with it to bring him down quicker than before – I never realised that how we breathe can affect them so much. Box breathing and breathing out aloud is just part of it.

I cannot truly put into words how Kim has changed my life – everything is just coming so naturally to me now and Ken, my husband, will say or point out something to me and I will go ‘WOW! I never realised how it has changed!’

I am a truly different person to who I was when I started 12 weeks ago. I have learnt that I am capable of doing what I dream of doing without questioning myself, I can do everything I want to do now with Mango, I just have to start doing it.

It is not my mindset currently holding me back but my body (chronic illnesses that are all part and parcel of my life, sadly) but I know now I can just jump on Mango and go out for my solo hack. I can and will try jumping soon. I have my goals that I will keep going though with Kim’s tools in my head and on my laptop – I can keep building and moving forwards. I can do whatever I set my mind to; whether it be hacking or competing, I am very capable of doing it (I’ve done it!)

So many things were holding me back in life that I didn’t even know existed in my mind before chatting with Kim, but we got them to the forefront of my mind and worked on getting rid of them. I was always open and honest with myself and Kim and I believe if you can truly do that, then this program will change your life for the better. It is hard work mentally, but what you get out of it will change how you feel about yourself and your pony for sure.

I cannot remember the old me now, thankfully, and would definitely do it all over again and also encourage anyone else feeling like I did to make contact.

Kim has been totally amazing and understanding even when I was a complete nightmare at times – the most amazing person and mentor!