Chris first came into contact with horses during a challenging time in his mid-twenties. He looked into the eyes of a horse for the first time and felt an inherent peace, an inner-contentment in their being, that helped him to remember the peace and contentment within himself. He later became inspired by what was possible in mind, body, and soul when we connect with a horse on the ground, in riding, or when just being with them out in the fields. He found something deep inside him was ignited, a great journey and life-long quest emerging. This led him to leave Maine and head west in search of learning more about horses, their nature, and the many different ways of connecting with them.
Following The Heart
He would first work as an apprentice at the Van Nostern Arabian Horse Ranch in Colorado where he focused on a natural and evolving approach in his work with horses. From there he moved on to the Sunset Ranch in California where he worked as a wrangler leading trail rides ranging from five to thirty riders, including Sunset Ranch’s famous night rides. The ranch that had the most influence on Chris was the three hundred year old Rancho de la Osa in Arizona. It was here that Chris learned what it was like to have complete trust with a horse and the deep connection that can be experienced with them. He lived with horses in ways where caring for them, knowing them, and working with them from relationship and connection became everyday life.
I love my work, and I love the opportunity to help people and horses. It’s beautiful when a horse and human truly connect and my intention is to support them as they find their own unique path to that.
Hundreds Becoming Thousands
When Chris returned to Maine in 2003 he set out on his own to help people and horses in his own unique way. He first started working with people one-on-one, traveling out to the person and their horse where they lived. His work focused on horsemanship lessons, riding instruction, starting horses for riding, initial handling of wild mustangs, and working with horses going through deeply challenging situations. Within a few years he was being asked to conduct clinics all over Maine and the northeast. It was during this time that Chris gained a very deep level of experience working with people and horses in all types of situations. Every year he worked with over a hundred different people and their horses, experiencing so many important moments that helped develop his feel for not only horses but for working with people too. The number of people and horses he has worked with is now in the thousands along with him having conducted around two hundred and fifty clinics.
Life, Love, And Being With Horses
Chris’s work now takes him all over the United States and beyond working with people and their horses both privately and in group clinics. It’s this work that has been his greatest teacher in how to be of best service to a person and their horse. With each horse and human he meets, Chris develops a greater depth of understanding and awareness of the ever-present challenges and growth we go through when caring for, connecting, and being with horses. It’s helped him to understand the love and fear that’s present in our relationships with horses, with other people, and ultimately with ourselves. It is this connection to our own journeys, and more than that, a connection to ourselves that leads the way in what we do with horses. And so that is where his focus is today–on inspiring and evolving ways of connecting and working with horses, while learning how to live our own lives more freely and lovingly in the process.
Chris and his horses Rocky and Tally have also been featured at many expos, fairs, and horse shows through the years. In 2013 he wrote Land of the Horses: A True Story of a Lost Soul and a Life Found which chronicled his two year journey in the American West. This led him to speak at many different schools, libraries and motivational speaking events. Then in 2019 he published The Horses In Our Stars: A Story of Life, Love, and the Journey Within which tells of how horses can help us to better live our lives.
He continues to be inspired by horses and the journey we take with them. Always learning, always growing, always in gratitude, he is just as passionate about horses now as he was that first time he looked into that horse’s eyes and felt that peace.