Chris first came into contact with horses when he started taking riding lessons in his home state of Maine. He found great joy in being around horses and was inspired by what was possible when you truly connected with them. This led him to leave Maine to go in search of learning more about horses, their nature, and the different ways of working with them.
His Background
He would first work as an apprentice trainer at the Van Nostern Arabian Horse Ranch in Colorado. The Van Nostern Ranch was focused on a modern and natural approach in their training and riding. Chris worked with Arabian horses of all ages, from yearlings to champion stallions. From there he moved on to the Sunset Ranch in California where he worked as a wrangler. He led trail rides ranging from five to thirty riders, including Sunset Ranch’s famous night rides. He also worked as a riding instructor teaching both English and Western riding.
I love my work and I love the opportunity to help people and their horses. It’s beautiful when a horse and human truly connect and my goal is to help them find their own unique path to that.
Arizona To Maine
The ranch that had the most influence on Chris was the 300 year old Rancho de la Osa in Arizona. The Rancho de la Osa served as a guest ranch that was still run as a working cowboy operation. It was here that Chris learned what it meant to have complete trust with a horse and he learned more about the deep bonds and relationships that can be had with horses. From herding horses and cattle across the range to guiding rides and looking after the guests, each day was a study on horse/human relations. Chris worked on developing a balanced and easy approach to working with horses, and developed his skill in teaching these ways to people of all ages and ability.
The Dynamics Between Horse & Human
When Chris returned to Maine in 2003 he set out on his own to help people and their horses, working with them in his own unique way. His work now takes him all over the northeast and beyond, working with people and their horses both privately and in group clinics. It is this work that has been Chris’s greatest teacher in how to be of best help to a person and their horse. By going very in-depth with each horse/human relationship he encounters it has allowed him to understand the dynamics between human and horse very well. The work has inspired Chris to grow and evolve not only in his horsemanship, but in his own personal growth as well. This is where his focus is today–on new, evolving, and inspiring ways of connecting with horses, while learning how to live our own lives better in the process.
In recent years Chris and his horse, Rocky, have been featured at many expos, fairs, and horse shows. 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 has 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 and inspire us to better live our lives. He also writes essays on nature and horsemanship that have appeared in many different magazines.
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 them now as he was the first day he met them.