Testimonials from our clinicians

"Wow. Haley and I had a great time this past weekend at Join-Up. Thank you so very much for the time, thoughtfulness, clarity, and hospitality you extended to us. Your horses are all bright + nice + it's a pure pleasure to be around them. Even a beginner like me can see the difference from one barn to the next. I'm learning a lot every time I come, not just Join-Up. Thank you, thank you.....Linda

Mrs. Hannah, thank you so so so so SO much for doing the Join up clinic this weekend.

It was just amazing learning to speak the horses’ language and learning to be their leader.

It was truly a wonderful experience and I hope I can do it many more times!

Thanks so much.

Brooke

Hello, I just wanted to drop you a line and let you guys know that we made it home safely and we are in one piece! Thank you very much for the class it was AWESOME! You and Bobby are some fantastic people and just to let you know we miss you all, already! I felt as we left a piece of me is in Georgia now so we will definitely keep in touch and hopefully we can come down by you guys at least once a year or something like that and if you guys are ever up this way feel free to come on by and we will set you up and show you what we do for fun around here! Tell everyone Hi and we will be sending down the videos of the class. Talk at ya later!

"Hannah and Bobby are very extraordinary horse trainers. As a team, they offer excellent demonstrations, guidance, and advice. They possess extremely superb "people skills" which allows for effective communication and optimization of transfer of the knowledge. I expected the personnel representing the Monty Roberts organization to be people of the highest integrity and found the Campbell's to be terrific representatives. I would highly recommend this program to anyone interested in learning horse training techniques or understanding horse behavior.

My horse had been to 2 different trainers, and he had basically been pushed too fast and he "exploded". The trainers recommended that he be euthanized as he was too 'dangerous' to work with." Here at the farm we worked on taking things slowly with him thru the Join UpTM process and he was happily being saddled, bridled, long lined, Slim (the riding dummy) riding him around at all gaits, and walking confidently with a Hannah bellying over his back before he went home 6 days later.. The last day he was here Debra was tacked and long lined Colonel with Slim.

This next one is a long one, but needs to be read. The ones after it are much shorter.

"When I arrived at your farm for the join-up clinics I had booked all the way from the Netherlands, I was so nervous! I had only recently started horse riding again, after a 10 year period of not riding. I simply did not have the courage anymore, after a serious accident on horseback. So, to have the audacious plan to learn Monty's method, in my darker moments felt like I might had been biting off more than I could chew? But, there I was, in muggy Georgia, and there was no way back. I decided to dive right in when we were through with theory and practicing on each other, and volunteered to go first. I blamed muggy Georgia for the sweat pouring into my eyes from the very first second to the last, but of course it was my nerves.

I got a wonderful horse though, that had done join-up many times and of course was proud because I did so well? Yeah right! The horse should have gotten that praise? As I have always had a natural understanding with most horses, I anticipated that 'sending' them would be a problem. Even before knowing about join-up. And I was right! As the clinic sessions progressed, I got to work with less willing horses. Or should I say: more savvy horses, who showed every error on my part quite clearly by simply obeying, even if what I asked was wrong.

Hannah, you taught me so much about the fine line between respect and discipline and trusting my own instincts. Playing the 'wild voodoo woman' to show me how much pure and raw power and genuine determination it takes to get through to the horse, in order for it to respect me enough to 'go' when I want it to go, without that being a forceful act. Faking determination doesn't work with these four-legged creatures! They are so smart! You have to really mean it! I have it all on video and I have watched it so many times already. No matter how painful it is to watch my own first baby steps in join-up, I can only urge people who take part in your clinics to keep those cameras rolling! There is no better way to learn. And IF that one time where things go smoothly and perfectly is on tape as well, how beautiful is that? Still, it is difficult and quite different, too, to do it when you're back home and are on your own. I hate to be all the way in the Netherlands, because otherwise I would hop into the car and drive over for some advise.

I am actually writing this on 'the morning after' my very first successful 'solo join-up' with my very first own horse and I am still floating! I did not write this letter before, because after all, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. And in my particular situation the pudding didn't arrive until the end of September. The pudding, of course, being my 3 year old Tinker horse Abaigeál nan Tòrr na Lair Brice. Or Abby, as I like to call her. Let me tell you what happened, so you can see how I went after finishing the clinics.

I am 43 and this is the first time for me to own a horse. I was attracted to Tinker horses because of their friendliness and good nature and original 'horsenality'. Part of the reason I did Monty's clinics was that Abby was so young and had never worked with anyone before. I have a personal trainer who is helping me with her, but I was also keen to try and do things on my own. And I wanted to do it right. Just in case the Irish Cob, another name for this breed, is new to you? Tinkers (are called Gypsy Vanna horses here in the US), who are predominantly colored (piebald or skewbald), used to be bred and kept mainly by the traveling people (gypsies). Their nickname was Tinkers, because they traded in scrap metals, including tin. The durability, adaptability, and temperament of this horse breed made it ideal for the lifestyle of the nomadic people. By the way, to a lot of people the nickname Tinker was not exactly a compliment, and there still are those that do not consider this horse breed to be a full member of the noble horse family. Well, breed? it is actually a mix of all sorts of horses. Therefore, there are Tinkers that are cool customers, don't spook easily and are ideal in front of a carriage. But there are also Tinkers that definitely have "warm blood" in their veins and can be more temperamental.

I guess Abby is somewhere in the middle. She is a little stockier than a Quarter horse, but not nearly as heavy as the original Irish cob that the Tinkers are said to be derived from. The Tinker breed is becoming more and more popular in the Netherlands and unfortunately this has resulted in a lot of trading and not all horses that come straight from Ireland and England are sweeties. They very often suffered severe abuse and neglect and arrive either in total apathy, or react frantically to the presence of humans. Sad, very sad, especially since a lot of people do not seem to want to take the time to get them back on track!

It took me close to a year to find a Tinker that I truly 'clicked' with AND trusted not to be a mean machine, a nervous wreck or untouchable cold blood. Abby was born from an imported mother, father unknown, but of the Tinker breed, and raised by lovely people who did not destroy her sweet nature. She is by far the sweetest horse I have ever met. I know that all parents say this about their children, but truly, she attracts a lot of admiration from owners of nervous and over-anxious Thoroughbreds! On the other hand, some of them are also sniggering about her, as if she were not a "proper" horse? Wait until they see me ride her in a couple of years!

Abby is a smart little thing, who loves new experiences and as long as she gets a minute to get acquainted with new situations, she is okay with it and quite eager to learn and to please me. Also, she has bonded with me fairly quickly and is happiest when close to me. Whenever we are starting something new, she is 'into pressure' and draws security from me. So, getting back to the join-up experiment, 'sending' her at the very first attempt was extremely difficult as she wanted to come to me all the time, meanwhile flopping her white eyelashes to charm me into accepting her naughty behavior. She is not impressed by a whip cracking behind her, she is not impressed by my definitely determined attempts at 'voodoo movements' and when I tried to do join-up the first time, the square pen (all I had at that point) also worked against me. Abby was not happy about me chasing her out of the corners, when she stopped there, looking both confused and stubborn. And in the end, she decided things had gone on long enough and she escaped! I should have seen it coming of course. We had squared off a section of the outside pen and we forgot to close the main entrance. Fortunately, it faces the stable-complex. Abby had been checking out all corners, which were merely 'fenced off' by electrical wire - without the electricity switched on. Her nose had figured that out quickly and there she went, ducking underneath the wire and trotting off to her stable box, looking very proud of herself!

My next attempt at join-up was equally messy, even though I had put some ribbons in the corners, so that the pen was at least a little bit rounder. But it was quite clear to me that this would never work. And I was completely out of breath because I had to chase her half the time.

So, yesterday we built a truly round pen! And this, as it turned out, was the magic charm. We used wooden posts, some 10 of them. And we wrapped that white-red ribbon they use at road works around three times. As Abby is not a wild and dangerous horse, she would not try and break out of this, was my guess. A piece of that ribbon I used to tie to my whip, because I figured that might impress her a little bit more than just the whip. The ribbon makes sort of a loud rustling noise when you wave it around.

When she entered the circle, you could see her assess the situation. I gave her some time and then started join-up. It took no longer than 5 to 10 minutes. She shot away from me when I used the whip-and-tape and off she went! When I started to look for language, the ear was right there, so was the licking and chewing, and although she did not lower her head much, I thought it was time to bring her in. And then comes the moment when you need to trust that she will follow you. And she did! My husband was watching me do this for the very first time and he told me it was the sweetest moment, seeing Abby come towards me and stand still at my shoulder. He was moved to tears to see it happen right in front of him. It was terrific!

All of the time that has gone by since I completed the clinics, I never really trusted myself to make it work in the real world. But now that I have really done it, it feels so good! Everything comes flooding back into my memory. So, tonight I will give it another try and see how it goes. All in all I am very, very happy and content having applied what I have learned at your farm. I already remembered my stay with warmth and fondness, but now I also realize how much I have learned. How much more secure I feel in dealing with Abby and other horses. Knowing that the things I do instinctively are in sync with what is actually good for her. Well, except for when she is naughty, like ducking under the wire. I know I should punish her, but the look on her face is so conceited that I just have to laugh. But then I get on with it and make her do a series of extra exercises, because after all, I am training her to be the best Tinker the world has ever seen! With Monty's method and my own free-style horse riding it has to be feasible, right?

Thanks Hannah and Bobby, for the many lessons you taught me. And I am not just talking about horses. So, would I encourage people to do these clinics? O yeah! Definitely!

There is just one flipside, at least to me personally. Once you are familiar with training horses in this determined but gentle way, and see it at work with even the most difficult horses, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep a straight face when seeing people 'break' horses the old-fashioned way. I am not sure how I will cope with that in future, to be honest. Each time I see a young thoroughbred get chased in a square pen, I see all the language and body posture signs, but the trainers do not. The ear, the licking and chewing, the lowering of the head, it escapes them totally. They simply are not looking for it and chase the exhausted youngster even further. And afterwards I see a total mess of a horse standing tied to a post in a stable, to exhaust it even further, so that it will 'be obedient' the next time and 'learn who is the boss'. When asked why a horse should not have at least one quiet spot where it can rest, sleep, eat and feel well, they answer: oh, it WILL be in future, but now it has to learn to be good. And I am wondering: how can it ever be good, how can it ever trust people and work with them joyfully and enjoy itself? I know that equality does not exist in the horse world: working with these creatures means YOU have to assume leadership or else be prepared to be bullied yourself. But there is leadership and leadership? I am afraid I will never fully understand how people who claim to love their horses can justify putting them in stables on their own. Pure punishment for these social beings. Isolate them from their families, put them in stables for 23 hours a day, hit them with a whip or even their bare hands, 'to make the horse obedient'. Yeah right! I have seen horses being chased into being as ugly and aggressive as their trainers, who, on the other hand, think of themselves as real horse people! And there will be many a time where I will rather open my big mouth and try to make them see 'the other way', than turn away and be silent. Even then, my tears will tell their own tale. For those who can truly see. And there will be many a time where people will think: yeah well, look who is talking, this draft-horse woman, what does SHE know about it? Life can be hard sometimes. But never as hard as for the misunderstood horse.

Hannah, Bobby and all of the other folks that are involved in these join-up clinics: let's keep at it, maybe some day the understanding WILL come! Better to keep feeling it, then to become indifferent to these beautiful creatures.

"I first met Hannah when she came to my children's 4H Horse Club meeting to speak. That night after hearing how much knowledge this lady had about horses I got so excited, I just had to learn more. I immediately went out and bought the Monty Roberts book, "The Man Who Listens to Horses". After reading the book I wanted to learn even more. I wanted to put this knowledge I had learned from reading into action, but how would I know if I was doing it right? I then signed up for one of the Join-up/Follow-up Clinics Hannah offers. I learned more than I ever realized I would. That week we worked with all types of horses. There were those that were stubborn, those with baggage, those that had never seen a saddle, and one was even blind in one eye. It was very rewarding to be able to see and/or experience each horse and learn the way to handle work one. Hannah was very proficient to kindly critique our work and that I very much appreciated. I learned from every horse, every person, and every comment. It has opened my eyes to areas of improvement in working with horses. Ground work is such a confidence builder. I came away with a better understanding of my horse and most important how to communicate with him and other horses. Thank you Hannah and Bobby for such an enjoyable and learning experience.

"I cannot recommend Hannah’s clinic highly enough! I have played around with the join-up techniques with my own horses, but I am not what anyone would consider an expert horsewoman From Day 1, though, Hannah made me feel that I was welcome at WildeWood Farm, and that I would be able to succeed. By the end of the session I had worked with seven very different horses, from a stubborn Quarter Horse to a hot young Arabian, and I can’t tell you how much confidence I left with! Hannah is a master not just at handling horses but at educating people -- she leads you through the process every step of the way without ever making you feel inadequate. Everyone can benefit from Hannah’s training, no matter what their level of experience or competence with horses. I can honestly say that my time at WildeWood Farm was the most difficult and challenging six days of my life, both physically and mentally, but I truly hated having to leave; in fact, I have already told Hannah to save a spot for me in the next level course! Believe me, you will never regret a penny of the money you spend on this session — it is truly worth every cent!" Inga Fricke from OH

"The sun was starting to go down as I got off of my exit, and the closer I got to home the more eager I became to show everyone my new filly (Lindsey purchased one of our fillies). She was nervous, but everyone loved her. I was talking everyone's head off when my Grandmother asked me, "Are you happy to be home?" I stopped for a second, and realized that in the past week I had experienced the most fun I ever had with you and Bobby, and I wasn't really sure if I was happy to be home. My knowledge of horses took a giant leap and I feel as if it opened my heart even more than I thought possible. I want to truly thank you for taking the time to guide and teach me the way that you did. And for being someone I can look up to when in doubt. I am looking forward to coming down there for longer and helping out and learning so much more, I hope you guys are too."