Episodes

  • The Black Horse History They Left Out | Louis Hook | LFRF 60

    The Black Horse History They Left Out | Louis Hook | LFRF 60
    Aug 14 2026
    ✨ "Everyone knows that the conqueror writes his story." – Louis Hook✨ "I stood up. I told my son, 'That's not true.' And from there, I started a research path." – Louis HookLouis Hook is a founding member of the Compton Cowboys, the decades-old therapeutic riding program based in Compton, Los Angeles, and previously featured on Rupert's Equine Assisted World podcast. He carries an MIT PhD program background and a Harvard Business School education, and for the last several years has redirected that analytical training toward an independent research project: documenting the African cavalry traditions written out of mainstream history. The catalyst was watching the film The Woman King and being stunned to see a Black cavalry on screen — a moment that sent him down a research path he is still on today.Rupert brings his own family history into the conversation, including a 19th-century surcoat, chain mail, and sword taken from a Mahdist cavalryman at the Battle of Omdurman by his ancestor, George Spotswood Sparks. Together they trace the arc of African equestrian power — the Moors' 800-year hold on southern Spain, Mansa Musa's cavalry-protected gold empire in Mali, the Kanem-Bornu Empire and Sokoto Caliphate, and the horse cultures of the Sahel that, as Rupert notes, never went away and still produce true Barb horses in Senegal today.From there the conversation moves to the American side of the story — the "brain drain" model of slavery that targeted skilled horsemen, blacksmiths, and rice farmers, and the land-grant gated-horse tradition of East Texas that Rupert witnessed firsthand. A wide-ranging, deeply researched conversation.FREE Helios Harmony Intro Course: https://longridehome.com/onoutpoutWhat You'll Learn in This Episode00:01:44 – Rupert's family connection to African horse cultures, sparked by a 19th-century surcoat and chain mail taken from a Mahdist cavalryman00:07:23 – How watching The Woman King sent Louis on a research journey into Africa's erased cavalry history00:11:19 – The Moors' 800-year conquest of southern Spain and their overlooked African identity00:23:00 – Mansa Musa's cavalry-protected gold empire, and Louis's case that he ranks among history's five greatest men00:35:19 – Why true Barb horses survive today only in Senegal00:37:43 – How the Catholic Church whitewashed Christian imagery and helped embed a racial hierarchy00:53:29 – The "brain drain" model of slavery — how expert horsemen, blacksmiths, and rice farmers were targeted and bought at a premium00:58:00 – The land-grant horse culture of East Texas, where freed slave families built a gated-horse tradition still alive today01:13:29 – Louis and Rupert trace the likely African roots of dressage rising star Nashon Cook01:30:04 – The "horses to heal, horses to harm" philosophy — how the same training system can wound or healMemorable Moments from the Episode00:04:02 – Rupert describes the surcoat, chain mail, and sword hanging on his family's wall, taken from a Mahdist cavalryman by his ancestor00:09:36 – Louis recounts standing up in the theater during The Woman King and telling his son, "That's not true"01:00:13 – Rupert recalls roughly 200 Black riders on gated horses passing his Texas home, beer trucks blasting hip-hop01:19:43 – Louis describes the emotional experience of visiting "The Last Bath," the Ghanaian site where enslaved people were bathed before auction01:34:38 – Louis walks through using AI to fact-check erased history, using the Benjamin Franklin slavery exampleGuest Contact & LinksLouis Hook's book, Black in the Saddle: From African Cavalries to Modern Cowboys https://amzn.to/4htcuPfLouis is a founding member of the Compton Cowboys, the Compton, Los Angeles-based therapeutic riding program also featured on Rupert's Equine Assisted World podcast. https://educatedhoodrat.comAbout Louis HookLouis Hook is a founding member of the Compton Cowboys, a therapeutic riding program serving Compton, Los Angeles for several decades. He brings an MIT PhD program background and a Harvard Business School education to his independent research into the African cavalry cultures erased from mainstream history. He is the author of Black in the Saddle: From African Cavalries to Modern Cowboys, with a second volume in progress tracing his own ancestral roots to Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso.See All of Rupert's Programs and Shows:Follow Us:Long Ride HomeWebsite: https://longridehome.comFacebook: https://facebook.com/longridehome.lrhInstagram: https://instagram.com/longridehome_lrhYouTube: https://youtube.com/@longridehomeNew Trails Learning SystemsWebsite: https://ntls.coFacebook: https://facebook.com/horseboyworldInstagram: https://instagram.com/horseboyworldYouTube: https://youtube.com/newtrailslearningsystemsAffiliate Disclosure:Links to books and products may include affiliate tracking. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting ...
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    1 hr and 43 mins
  • What My Horse's Tongue Taught Me About Healing | Nahshon Cook | LFRF 59

    What My Horse's Tongue Taught Me About Healing | Nahshon Cook | LFRF 59
    Jul 23 2026

    ✨ "I've never used Baucher to train anything. I've always used Baucher to heal." – Nahshon Cook

    ✨ "Does your horse feel good after you've done what you've done with them? ... That's connection." – Nahshon Cook


    Nahshon Cook is a classical dressage trainer based in Colorado whose path began riding donated horses as a kid at the Urban Farm at Stapleton, an inner-city youth program in Denver. Two mentors — Cynthia Spalding and former Cadre Noir rider Jean-François Fabier — introduced him to dressage before he was out of his teens, and after a detour through divinity school, Southeast Asia, and a stint training show and race horses in Thailand, he returned to Colorado and built a reputation for taking on horses other trainers had given up on.

    The conversation moves through Nahshon's approach to kissing spine, poll and TMJ tension, and how he reads a horse's tongue as a barometer for what's happening throughout the rest of the body. He walks through three distinct flexion positions he uses to unlock the hips, stifle, and hocks, and describes rehabilitating horses diagnosed with DSLD and a herniated disc using Baucher-based flexion work, treats, and nervous-system regulation.

    A rich, wide-ranging conversation that moves between technical dressage detail and questions of safety, mercy, and what it means to truly listen to a horse.


    FREE Helios Harmony Intro Course: https://longridehome.com/onoutpout

    All Books Mentioned: https://longridehome.com/books


    What You'll Learn in This Episode

    00:02:07 – How riding at the Urban Farm at Stapleton in Denver opened the door to dressage

    00:06:13 – What mentor Cynthia Spalding taught him about feel, not just technique

    00:11:21 – Learning from ex-Cadre Noir rider Jean-François Fabier and matching training to each horse's breed

    00:19:18 – Leaving divinity school for Southeast Asia, and training horses in Thailand

    00:31:14 – Why he swore off training for clients, and how horses get used as "bait"

    01:05:13 – The real cause of kissing spine: tension in the poll and TMJ

    01:07:38 – How to use a noseband correctly so it helps the horse feel safe

    01:15:44 – Reading the tongue as a map to the horse's fascia and poll

    01:26:16 – The three flexion positions that unlock the hips, stifle, and hocks

    01:30:45 – Treats, poll work, and grooming tools for regulating the nervous system

    Memorable Moments from the Episode

    00:38:31 – A client asks a 15-year-old Nahshon to fake a South African accent to hide his age

    00:49:34 – Healing a chronically colicking horse with stones and touch

    01:14:33 – Popping a horse's spine and ribs back into place with Baucher flexions

    01:28:06 – A herniated-disc horse's dramatic physical release during a flexion session

    01:55:15 – Nahshon closes the conversation with an original poem

    Guest Contact & Links

    https://www.facebook.com/NahshonCookHorsemanship/

    About Nahshon Cook

    Nahshon Cook is a classical dressage trainer based in Colorado who began riding at 13 through an inner-city youth program and went on to study with mentors from two different dressage traditions before he turned 18. His approach centers on reading tension in the poll, TMJ, and tongue as the key to unlocking a horse's back and hind end, and he's known for taking on horses — including cases of DSLD, PSSM2, and herniated discs — that other trainers and vets had written off. He now holds small working gatherings in Wisconsin rather than teaching public clinics.


    See All of Rupert's Programs and Shows:

    Website: https://rupertisaacson.com


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    Website: https://ntls.co

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    Affiliate Disclosure:

    Links to books and products may include affiliate tracking. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the show.
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    2 hrs and 3 mins
  • What My Most Dangerous Horse Taught Me About Letting Go | Dominique Barbier

    What My Most Dangerous Horse Taught Me About Letting Go | Dominique Barbier
    Jul 16 2026
    ✨ "Your horse does not anticipate. He simply reads your mind." – Dominique Barbier✨ "I want people to smile when they ride, because if they don't smile, why are you riding?" – Dominique BarbierDominique Barbier grew up in France with no horsey family background, but an early and almost uncanny sensitivity to horses that set him apart from the biomechanical training he encountered in England and France. After training and competing across multiple disciplines, he made his way to Portugal to study for two years with the legendary Nuno Oliveira, absorbing lessons that would go on to shape the French-Portuguese school of dressage he now teaches worldwide from his base in California.This conversation centers on Don Giovanni, the volatile, nearly-destroyed stallion who became Dominique's greatest teacher, and the three-step process of "getting out of the way" that Dominique developed to earn his trust. Dominique and Rupert also dig into descente de main and descente de jambe, the difference between riding physically and riding mentally, and Dominique's blunt take on spurs, competition, and the pursuit of joy over technique.A candid, wide-ranging two-hour conversation from one of dressage's most original voices.FREE Helios Harmony Intro Course: https://longridehome.com/onoutpoutAll Books Mentioned: https://longridehome.com/booksWhat You'll Learn in This Episode00:03:00 – Dominique's unusual early sensitivity to horses and how his father let him follow his passion00:12:00 – Why Dominique says a horse doesn't anticipate — he reads your mind00:16:00 – The nine months Dominique couldn't ride, and what he discovered about the intellectual mind blocking connection00:20:00 – Dominique's 90/10 philosophy: staying out of the horse's way00:39:00 – How Dominique met and nearly lost the chance to save Don Giovanni, the horse who taught him the most00:48:00 – The three-step process Dominique used to earn Don Giovanni's trust00:52:00 – Reading a horse's true preferences through nature, play, and "crazy time"01:04:00 – The story behind descente de main, descente de jambe from Dominique's time with Nuno Oliveira01:13:00 – Why Dominique now teaches people to smile when they ride01:50:00 – Fear as simply "what you don't know," and how Dominique helps students move through itMemorable Moments from the Episode00:42:00 – The dramatic story of winning the right to bring Don Giovanni home — a horse marked for destruction01:26:00 – Dominique's candid reflection on Nuno Oliveira's complicated inner life, and why he never wanted to "be" his master01:42:00 – Dominique's confession about once owning 300 spurs, and why he regrets it02:00:00 – Dominique reveals his upcoming book, simply titled Consciousness02:16:00 – Dominique's parting invitation to share a glass of Merlot with Rupert in CaliforniaGuest Contact & LinksDominique Barbier Website: https://dominiquebarbier.comAbout Dominique BarbierDominique Barbier is one of the leading figures in classical dressage, known as an exponent of the French-Portuguese school. Raised in France with no equestrian family background, he trained across multiple disciplines before spending two formative years studying under the legendary Nuno Oliveira in Portugal. He has authored numerous books, including Dressage for the New Age, with a new book titled Consciousness forthcoming, and continues to teach and train worldwide from his base in California. His approach emphasizes visualization, presence, and reading what a horse genuinely enjoys over rigid technique.🐎 Want to go deeper? Join the Long Ride Home membership — weekly live sessions, exclusive content, and a community of riders seeking real connection with their horses. 👉 https://longridehome.com — just $24.95/monthSee All of Rupert's Programs and Shows:Website: https://rupertisaacson.comFollow Us:Long Ride Home Website: https://longridehome.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/longridehome.lrh Instagram: https://instagram.com/longridehome_lrh YouTube: https://youtube.com/@longridehomeNew Trails Learning Systems Website: https://ntls.co Facebook: https://facebook.com/horseboyworld Instagram: https://instagram.com/horseboyworld YouTube: https://youtube.com/newtrailslearningsystemsAffiliate Disclosure:Links to books and products may include affiliate tracking. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the show.
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    2 hrs and 21 mins
  • The Lost Art of Mounted Combat & Classical Dressage | Arne Koets | EP 57

    The Lost Art of Mounted Combat & Classical Dressage | Arne Koets | EP 57
    Jul 2 2026
    ✨ "The difference between destruction and creation kind of just disappears, and this is a beautiful thing to be able to do." – Arne Koets✨ "Are you making a foundation for a skyscraper or are you making a foundation for a shed? Those are not the same foundations." – Arne KoetsArne Koets is a historical dressage teacher, jouster, and practitioner of Rossfechten — mounted sword fighting — who trained at the Fürstliche Hofreitschule in Bückeburg, Germany, reaching the level of Hofberater (courtly rider). His work draws on European martial arts manuscripts dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries, blending biomechanics, classical in-hand work, and the disciplines of combat horsemanship into a living, practiced tradition.In this conversation, Rupert and Arne trace the deep connections between martial arts on horseback, tango, and the finest ideals of classical dressage. They explore how the same biomechanical principles that make a good fighter also make a good dancer — and how understanding this can transform the way we train and relate to our horses. The conversation moves through in-hand work, the role of the schoolmaster horse, the philosophy of building community, and what it actually takes to get a beginner riding with confidence and joy from the very first lesson.A far-ranging, intellectually rich conversation that will delight history nerds, dressage geeks, and anyone who has ever wondered what riding was really for.TimestampsHow Arne's background in reconstructing European martial arts led him to historical dressage and Bückeburg [00:01:00]The connection between Argentine tango, wrestling, and riding — and why the line between building balance and destroying it is thinner than we think [00:10:00]Why teaching the collection work first, not last, is the old way — and why Steinbrecht actually agrees [00:16:00]The concept of unificare — inviting the horse to come up into an embrace with the rider — versus driving the seat bone down [00:25:00]Why confused definitions (what does "forward" actually mean?) have degraded the modern system of riding instruction [00:32:00]Arne's step-by-step in-hand training sequence: figure-of-eight, lateral movements, piaffe steps, and preparing for the first rider [01:03:00]The role of the "ground monkey" and "sky monkey" — why team work is not optional in breaking young horses [01:13:00]How Rossfechten (mounted sword fighting) builds community, releases ego, and teaches riders to feel what their horse is doing [01:26:00]Why horses become genuine strategic partners in mounted fencing — including Arne's story of a horse who executed a spontaneous 360 to protect his rider [01:41:00]How "deliberate hacking" — making conscious choices in the terrain — builds the horse's back and collection as effectively as arena work [02:30:00]A beginner sword fighter with zero riding experience sits piaffe on a stallion during his first lesson, then rides one-handed with a sword in canter by his tenth [00:16:00]Arne recounts confronting an FN clinician about why German riding schools don't follow what Steinbrecht actually says on page three [00:20:00]The horse who competed fully blindfolded by accident — caparison covering his eyes — and never put a foot wrong because rider and horse were one [01:44:00]Arne describes a group cavalry skirmish with 200 infantry and 48 mounted riders — and how the horses learn to aim the sword [02:13:00]The moment Arne's horse spontaneously executed a 360-degree bullfighting spin mid-sword fight, placed the weapon to parry an incoming blow, and then resumed the attack — entirely the horse's idea [01:41:00]Arne's Website: www.arnekoets.comRosswochen Symposium (first weekend of May — academic lectures, workshops, tango night, mounted demonstrations): www.arnekoets.comFürstliche Hofreitschule Bückeburg (the Princely School for Riding Art referenced throughout): www.hofgestut-bueckeburg.deAbout Arne KoetsArne Koets is a Dutch-born historical dressage teacher, jouster, and the foremost practitioner of Rossfechten — mounted sword fighting in the tradition of the European fighting manuscripts. He trained at the Fürstliche Hofreitschule in Bückeburg, Germany, achieving the rank of Hofberater, and spent years interpreting equestrian history at the Royal Armouries and the Dutch Army Museum. He now teaches clinics internationally and hosts students and riders at his home in Thuringia, Germany. His approach synthesizes biomechanics, classical in-hand work, and the martial arts manuscripts of the 14th through 16th centuries into a living, teachable system. His events attract riders from across Europe, the US, and beyond.🐎 Want to go deeper? Join the Long Ride Home membership — weekly live sessions, exclusive content, and a community of riders seeking real connection with their horses. 👉 https://longridehome.com — just $24.95/monthSee All of Rupert's Programs and Shows:Website: https://rupertisaacson.comFollow Us:...
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    2 hrs and 47 mins
  • What Wild Horses Taught Me About Consciousness | Mary Ann Simonds | LFRF 56

    What Wild Horses Taught Me About Consciousness | Mary Ann Simonds | LFRF 56
    Jun 18 2026
    ✨ "All social species seek connections. People and horses are no different. Safety and comfort are the core elements to build strong social bonds regardless of species. “ – Mary Ann Simonds✨ "The best tool we have is be the best human you can be. You don't have to know everything. You just have to be clear on yourself and be pure and be silent, and then help your horse be the best horse it can be." – Mary Ann SimondsMary Ann Simonds has spent more than four decades sitting at the intersection of wildlife biology, consciousness studies, and horsemanship — and almost none of it has looked the way science was supposed to look. She grew up in California riding hunter/jumpers, earned her BS from the University of Wyoming in Wildlife Conservation and Management and a minor in Range Management studying wild horse ecology and whole systems approaches. She was appointed to the National Advisory Board for Wild Horses and Burros in the early 1990s after years of field research on wild horse behavioral ecology. She has worked for oil and gas companies as a reclamation specialist, pioneered ecotourism partnerships with ranchers in Wyoming and Oregon, taught interspecies communication at Nippon Veterinary and Life Sciences University in Tokyo, earned a graduate degree in Inter-disciplinary Consciousness Studies and has spent years working quietly behind the scenes in the sport horse welfare world near her home in Wellington, Florida.Her new book, A Horse by Nature, published by Trafalgar Square, draws on all of it — wild horse social behavior, domestic horse psychology, welfare ethics, and practical communication tools — organized in red, blue, and green tips so riders can go straight to what they need most. It is, as Rupert and Mary Ann agree at the end of this conversation, Part One of what will be a longer series.This is a conversation about what happens when rigorous science and genuine animal communication occupy the same person — and what that has to teach anyone who lives and works with horses.FREE Helios Harmony Intro Course: https://longridehome.com/onoutpoutWhat You'll Learn in This Episode00:05:30 – How Mary Ann first recognized, at age 11, that a trainer couldn't hear what a horse with a headache was saying — and why that question drove her entire career00:13:00 – What double degrees in range management and wildlife biology taught her about the gap between academic science and what animals are actually doing00:39:00 – The dietary overlap study she conducted as an undergraduate — and how it became the data cited to justify mass BLM removal of wild horses decades later00:44:00 – How BLM's gate-cut removal policy destroyed wild horse social structures and caused reproductive rates to skyrocket00:47:00 – Why a Nevada rancher admitted he hated the wild stallion eating his alfalfa — and what that revealed about the real psychology behind mustang persecution00:56:00 – How she converted ranchers into ecotourism operators years before the concept had a name — and why she calls herself a solution finder, not an activist01:04:00 – The discovery that studying nature with a quiet mind produced completely different wildlife sightings than looking at it with scientific intent01:20:00 – Why she went to graduate school to study human consciousness after watching a BLM official throw a briefcase at a rancher in a public meeting01:38:00 – How she taught interspecies communication at Nippon Animal Science University in Tokyo, and why Japanese vet students grasped it almost instantly01:44:00 – Why a horse's first two years determine everything, and how not knowing a horse's early history is one of the most common mistakes buyers make01:49:00 – What A Horse by Nature offers: how to teach a horse to be a functional horse, the OFFER technique, and why eye contact, nose bump, and buddy scratch transform the relationship01:51:00 – The red, blue, and green tip system — and why safety and comfort, not food, are a horse's primary motivation for bonding with a humanMemorable Moments from the Episode00:12:00 – Mary Ann describes sleeping with rattlesnakes as an 18-year-old after refusing to leave the field — and what it taught her about looking with nature rather than at it00:43:00 – She discovers her own undergraduate data, filed under her maiden name Canny, was the study used to justify mass wild horse removals — and the range manager confirms it was never statistically significant00:49:00 – An Oregon rancher comes to her door late at night to confess he killed a band of horses because they looked too pathetic to live — and her response: "So if you look like that, should I shoot you too?"01:33:00 – A Wyoming cowboy's horse jumps into the back of his pickup truck with his dog, unprompted and untrained — and that moment becomes the seed of her interspecies communication research01:42:00 – Rupert describes aloud, for the first time, all the prayers and invisible...
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    2 hrs and 17 mins
  • Medieval Times & The Art of Horsemanship: Joy, Trust & the Old Masters | Mario Contreras | LFRF 55

    Medieval Times & The Art of Horsemanship: Joy, Trust & the Old Masters | Mario Contreras | LFRF 55
    Jun 4 2026
    ✨ "The best teachers and coaches are the horses. It's important for us to learn to listen to them and see them." – Mario Contreras✨ "There is a big word I always feel is missing from the training scale — and that's joy. Where's the joy? These are movements that horses do when they feel passion." – Rupert IsaacsonMario Contreras is the head trainer at Medieval Times Chicago, the man responsible for the standard of horsemanship that stops knowledgeable riders cold in the middle of a crowd of beer-drinking tourists who have no idea what they're witnessing. Third-generation horse trainer, born in Texcoco and raised in a family rooted in the Alta Escuela and charrería traditions of Jalisco, Mexico, Mario came to the US in 1990 with no English and a lifetime of classical riding in his bones — and built a 35-year career inside one of the most demanding equestrian entertainment operations in North America.In this wide-ranging conversation, Rupert and Mario cover the deep roots of Mexican horse culture that most American dressage riders have never heard of, how Mario trains complete beginners to become knights performing before 1,500 people in under three years, and why cross-training, liberty work, and genuine joy are the true secrets to keeping horses and riders performing at their best. They also dig into the lost art of schoolmaster training, the in-hand and ground work that underpins everything Mario does, and the vision — still unfinished — of building Mexico a national horsemanship school at the level of Jerez or the Spanish Riding School.A rich, warm conversation between two horsemen who share a deep reverence for the old masters and a conviction that horses teach us more than we teach them.FREE Helios Harmony Intro Course: https://longridehome.com/onoutpoutWhat You'll Learn in This Episode• How the Contreras family built a three-generation tradition of Alta Escuela and charrería in Mexico, and how it led Mario to Medieval Times [00:02:35] What charrería is, why it matters, and how Mario's father blended it with classical Alta Escuela to create something unique [00:08:46] The role of Andalusian horses in promoting Mexican culture — and how the Aztec horse breed came to be [00:03:19] Why Medieval Times hires actors and athletes with no riding background — and how Mario turns them into skilled knights in three years [00:20:37] How Mario's brother Marcial pushed him harder as family than he would have pushed anyone else, and what that taught him about leadership [00:27:46] The value of getting your hands dirty: why Mario still cleans stalls and brushes horses, and why that's inseparable from great horsemanship [00:30:11] The case for in-hand and ground training before ever mounting a horse — and how Mario uses it to teach piaffe, passage, and the Spanish walk [00:32:18] Why schoolmaster horses are the missing ingredient in modern dressage training, and how the old masters always put beginners on the best horses first [00:51:24] Cross-training as the antidote to burnout: how mixing dressage, Alta Escuela, liberty, working equitation, and games keeps horses genuinely joyful [01:34:10] Mario's approach to stallion management, redirecting energy, and why isolation is the worst thing you can do for a difficult horse [01:15:07]Memorable Moments from the EpisodeRupert describes watching a rider perform three caprioles in a row at Medieval Times while the crowd sips beer — and no one in the room understands what they're seeing [00:01:32] Mario recounts the moment he first rode for Medieval Times in California and was so hooked he never looked back [00:26:56] Mario describes being deported from the US, spending four years in Mexico without his family or friends, and then getting a call from Medieval Times offering to bring him back legally — via a detour to Cancun as a pirate [01:53:59] Mario was invited to ride Claudio Castilla Ruiz's Olympic Grand Prix horse Jade — in jeans and tennis shoes — during a visit to Spain in 2008 [00:58:19] Rupert and Mario agree that joy is the word missing from the classical training pyramid — and that a horse in the arena performing with passion is the only thing that makes the audience feel they spent their money well [01:32:11]Guest Contact & LinksMario A. Contreras — Facebook and Instagram: Mario A. Contreras MC Horse Training (Chicago area / Maple Park, IL): mchorsetraining.com (currently being rebuilt) Phone: 630-415-9788About Mario ContrerasMario Contreras is a third-generation horse trainer from a family rooted in the Alta Escuela and charrería traditions of Jalisco, Mexico. His father, Jose Trinidad Contreras, was co-founder of the Escuela de Jinetes Domeq and helped introduce Andalusian horses throughout Mexico. Mario joined Medieval Times in 1990 and has spent 35 years building and running the equestrian program at their flagship Chicago castle — the largest in the company, seating 1,500 people per show. Outside ...
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    2 hrs and 1 min
  • The Cowboy Who Bridges All Worlds: Classical Dressage, Ranch Medicine & the Art of Connection | Dr. Glenn Cochran | LFRF 54

    The Cowboy Who Bridges All Worlds: Classical Dressage, Ranch Medicine & the Art of Connection | Dr. Glenn Cochran | LFRF 54
    May 21 2026
    ✨ "Somebody asked me, 'Do you teach horses collection?' I said, 'I suppose, but really what I'm trying to do is teach them connection. I want them to know me, and I want to know them.'" – Dr. Glenn Cochran✨ "The only thing about you that's bigger than that horse is your brain." – Dr. Glenn CochranDr. Glenn Cochran is a Texas cattleman, emergency room physician, classical rider, working equitation organizer, and honorary charro who has spent his life refusing the false walls between disciplines. His journey runs from starting colts at 14 under old-school cowboy Buck Kidwell — dallied to a stallion's saddle horn, left leg turning purple — through Peruvian Pasos, Andalusians, and six months of Wednesday afternoon in-hand sessions with Spanish rider Fermin Carrera, to gathering 300 head of cattle through Central Texas brush so thick you can only hear the other cowboys, not see them.The through-line is connection. Glenn practiced Oslerian medicine — sit down, listen, let the patient tell you the diagnosis — for decades in the ER, and found it mapped exactly onto how he trains horses. Rupert and Glenn also go deep on the historical origins of the Baucher flexions, tracing a possible thread from Hittite clay tablets in 1375 BC through Islamic horsemanship texts of the Reconquista to a 1665 German riding book — and asking whether Baucher invented anything at all.Glenn swims in the Black singlefooting tradition, the Mexican charrería, the Portuguese rejoneo, and Baucher-influenced classical work, and sees it as one thing. A rich, warm, wide-ranging conversation.FREE Helios Harmony Intro Course: https://longridehome.com/onoutpoutAll Books Mentioned: https://longridehome.com/booksWhat You'll Learn in This EpisodeHow Glenn started horses at 14 dallied to Buck Kidwell's stallion — and what that old-school hackamore foundation taught him [00:05:00]The chain from a 1971 Denver bookstore to Nuno Oliveira's students to Spanish rider Fermin Carrera — and six months of Wednesday in-hand sessions [00:17:00]Day-working cattle ranches across Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado — what it is and what you learn [00:26:16]Oslerian medicine: sit with the patient, let them talk, and they'll give you the diagnosis — and how it maps onto horsemanship [00:42:00]How the Masterson Method, Reiki, and skin-to-skin touch in medicine all point back to connection [00:50:17]Glenn on teaching connection, not collection — and what that actually looks like with a young horse [00:53:06]Were Baucher's flexions original? The rabbit hole: a 1665 German riding book, Islamic texts from the Reconquista, and a teenager who went to work with his uncle in Italy [01:20:23]Why the division between western riding, doma vaquera, and classical dressage is a "completely monkey idea" — and what Mongolian livestock work has to do with piaffe [01:29:39]The "song of the brush": gathering 300 head of Corriente cattle on horseback through brush so thick a snake has trouble getting through [01:39:33]The charro, the vaquero, the escaramuza, and eight minutes of floreo rope work before you ever throw — Glenn as honorary charro [01:55:25]Memorable Moments from the EpisodeBuck Kidwell refusing a chicken catcher while roping a cow's swollen udder: "I don't need no goddamn chicken catcher. I'm a cowboy." [00:09:39]66 horses moving through the foothills of the Rockies toward Estes Park — kids roadside calling "Real cowboys!" — and the horse that kicked out a fancy car's headlight [00:31:25]Rupert pauses mid-conversation to fetch Dressage in the French Tradition by Diogo de Braganza and reads aloud on whether Baucher was a plagiarist of the German old school [01:20:23]Glenn clears an 8-foot oak-plank fence in one leap after pawing back at a horned cow with a calf — who hit the boards right as he cleared them [01:36:00]Glenn's first riding experience: sneaking under the electric fence to the neighboring dairy at age 10 until a little Jersey cow let him sit on her back [01:52:44]About Dr. Glenn CochranDr. Glenn Cochran is a Texas cattleman, emergency room physician, classical rider, and working equitation practitioner based on a 500-acre ranch in Central Texas. Raised around horses from childhood, he trained under cowboy Buck Kidwell before following a lifelong thread through Peruvian Pasos, Andalusians, Lusitanos, and the in-hand Baucher tradition — shaped by Diana Christensen (a student of Nuno Oliveira) and Spanish rider Fermin Carrera. He is an honorary charro and an active voice in bridging the western, classical, and Iberian worlds. Find Glenn on Facebook: Glenn Cochran.🐎 Want to go deeper? Join the Long Ride Home membership — weekly live sessions, exclusive content, and a community of riders seeking real connection with their horses. 👉 https://longridehome.com — just $24.95/monthSee All of Rupert's Programs and Shows: Website: https://rupertisaacson.comFollow Us:Long Ride Home Website: https://longridehome.com Facebook...
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    2 hrs and 14 mins
  • Liberty, Lightness & the Long Game: From Parelli to the Beach | David Lichman | LFRF 53

    Liberty, Lightness & the Long Game: From Parelli to the Beach | David Lichman | LFRF 53
    May 7 2026

    What does it take to get a horse to stay with you — freely, on an open beach with no fence and no force? David Lichman has spent more than 30 years answering that question. From watching Ray Hunt work cold colts at the California State Fair, to becoming a Parelli instructor, to learning positive reinforcement from a sea lion behaviorist, his entire career has been built around one insight: make being with you the best place on earth.


    The conversation covers liberty training, the treats debate, undemanding time, the history of horsemanship, and why joy is the only metric that matters. There is also a miniature horse named Pepino, America's Got Talent, and Sarah Silverman asking for a mustache ride on live television.

    ✨ "What's great about having a focus on liberty training is that if it ain't joyful, it ain't gonna happen — 'cause the horse is gonna leave." – David Lichman

    ✨ "You're either with me or you're not with me. If you're not with me, you're gonna come back here and find out how good it is here." – David Lichman


    What You'll Learn in This Episode

    • How David's childhood in Marblehead, Massachusetts planted seeds that took decades to bloom [00:07:00]
    • Why watching Ray Hunt start 18 cold colts in 18 days at the California State Fair changed everything [00:20:40]
    • How David went from IBM contractor to World Grand Champion to Parelli instructor [00:22:12]
    • The circus liberty horse epiphany: a hooded figure, six gray Arabians, and a 20-year friendship [00:38:00]
    • What a sea lion facility in Moss Landing taught David about positive reinforcement [00:40:02]
    • The treats debate: why combining food reward with pressure-and-release produces results "way more than twice as good" as either alone [00:57:57]
    • Why joy is the one thing missing from every training scale — and why the joyful brain is the learning brain [01:00:24]
    • Why Parelli said "undemanding time" first, Warwick Schiller didn't hear it for 10 years, and Mongolian horse tribes never had to be taught it [01:03:00]
    • Why David changed the way liberty circles are taught — stop blocking departure, start making arrival irresistible [01:20:29]
    • The beach test: 10 years of relationship, outriders who rode away, and horses that stayed [01:22:42]
    • The America's Got Talent disaster: Pepino, a sick morning, and a performance that never happened [01:32:00]
    • Why horses require humility — and why they'll hand it to you regardless [02:01:24]

    Memorable Moments from the Episode

    • David's horse kicked in the skull on tour — found grooming the horse that kicked him through the stall door two stops later [00:08:29]
    • Bow-and-arrow balloon shoot for 600 schoolchildren in Tennessee — dismounts by breaking two ribs [00:11:55]
    • Watching Ray Hunt at the State Fair: nobody around him could see the miracle [00:21:04]
    • The outriders ride away down the beach. The liberty horses don't follow [01:23:39]
    • Pepino refuses cookies the morning of his AGT debut. The act falls apart live [01:33:49]
    • Two mustaches shaved for charity. David's is back within three days [01:44:47]
    • Sarah Silverman watches the Spanish walk and asks if David taught his horse to goosestep [01:53:26]

    Projects and Organizations Mentioned

    David Lichman Natural Horsemanship https://david-lichman-5-star-parelli-professional.myshopify.com/

    New Trails Learning Systems / Horse Boy Method — rupertisaacson.com

    About David Lichman

    David Lichman is a natural horsemanship clinician, liberty horse trainer, and former Parelli Instructor with more than 30 years of experience. He is known for developing liberty training that works in open fields and on beaches — no round pen required — and for integrating positive reinforcement with classical and natural horsemanship traditions. He also plays bass guitar and performs jazz with vocalist Gabriela.


    See All of Rupert's Programs and Shows:

    Website: https://rupertisaacson.com


    Long Ride Home

    Website: https://longridehome.com

    Facebook: https://facebook.com/longridehome.lrh

    Instagram: https://instagram.com/longridehome_lrh

    YouTube: https://youtube.com/@longridehome


    New Trails Learning Systems

    Website: https://ntls.co

    Facebook: https://facebook.com/horseboyworld

    Instagram: https://instagram.com/horseboyworld

    YouTube: https://youtube.com/newtrailslearningsystems


    Affiliate Disclosure:

    Links to books and products may include affiliate tracking. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the show.
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    2 hrs and 6 mins