Since as long as I can remember, I have been fond of horses and I have always felt drawn to the misunderstood horses. I started working with problematic horses when I was quite young. During my masters, I specialized in horse behaviour and studied the Przewalski horses in Mongolia. In my own time, I studied different horsemanship methods and felt particularly drawn to the ideas of Mr. Klaus Hempfling. I have spent a few years teaching biology in high school while I was teaching and training with horses on the side. The last years of my 'working life' before starting my own horse farm, I have been employed by Wageningen University as a teacher trainer. I have been teaching didactic- and communication skills and learning and instruction theories to bachelor students.
Quite early in my work in horses, I realized that to be a good rider means, to develop your relationship with your horse, to develop your own mindset, your seat AND the body and mind of the horse. I became a Centered Riding instructor to study the seat and I continue to explore different perspectives on the seat. When I met Bent Branderup, he completed the picture by teaching me how to develop the body of the horse in a way that the horse is able to carry the rider correctly. He also showed me how subtle the communication between man and horse can become. I train with Bent Branderup several times per year, and also study other classical methods and masters. Also, I study the seat and the human body by continuing education in Centered Riding and by training with specialists such as Tom Nagel. I am a trained Zen Bodytherapy® and Zen Triggerpoint Anatomy® Practicitoner and work with riders off the horse to release tensions and re-align their bodies.
I live in the Netherlands where I own a training & livery stable. I travel through the Netherlands and abroad to give clinics in the Art of Riding and Centered Riding. I also teach Instructor Courses in the Art of Riding and special clinics on Didactics. In the Netherlands, I host weekend clinics with AAoR teachers Bent Branderup and Christofer Dahlgren, as well as Centered Riding and Rider's Seat clinics.
In 2018 my first book will be published and I am busy developing my new Rider Transformation Program. Stay tuned for more news on these exiting developments by signing up for the newsletter here.