O sobie: Monty Roberts, known as the “Man Who Listens to Horses” has led an extraordinary life. An award-winning trainer of championship horses, best-selling author, Hollywood stunt man, foster dad to 47 children (in addition to three of his own) and creator of the world-renowned and revolutionary equine training technique called Join~Up, Monty Roberts could now, in his later years, be resting on his laurels – but that’s not his style.
Roberts has won countless awards and received immense worldwide press coverage, put three books on the New York Times best-seller list, trained some of Queen Elizabeth II’s equestrian team in London and been awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Zurich. But if you go looking for Monty Roberts, you won’t find him lounging in his favorite chair high up in the hills overlooking his horse-training farm in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley.
Monty Roberts, Man Who Listens, Join-Up, Flag Is Up, Wild mustangsClick here to watch a video
about Monty’s childhood
The “man who listens to horses” is more likely to be found somewhere on the globe continuing to spread his message of nonviolence. You’re more likely to find him speaking to incarcerated youth in a juvenile detention facility, gentling his 15,000th horse at a demonstration, teaching his techniques to the growing number of students at his Equestrian Academy in Solvang, California or advising executives at Fortune 500 companies.
Why have millions of people from all walks of life responded to his PBS television shows, books, demonstrations, and media appearances with such passion? What makes Monty’s message so compelling that everyone from the C.I.A. to Volkswagen invite this cowboy to share his experiences with their executives and leaders?
Perhaps it comes from the undeniable power of personal experience, of having witnessed too many horses “broken” in using violent, traditional methods. Perhaps it’s having experienced an abusive childhood himself.
Monty often expresses that his goal in life is to leave the world a better place for horses and for people. With energy and enthusiasm, he gets up every morning, most often in a hotel in some town far away from his home, his horses, his staff and his farm, to keep talking . . . and listening.
Monty first learned to listen to horses while observing wild mustangs in Nevada at the age of thirteen. Sent there to round up horses for the Salinas Rodeo Association’s Wild Horse Race, he spent hours silently watching the feral horses interact with each other. Soon he realized that they used a discernable, effective and predictable body language to communicate, set boundaries, show fear and express annoyance, relaxation or affection. In a moment that would change his life and the lives of horses and people forever, Roberts understood that utilizing this silent language would allow training to commence in a much more effective and humane manner, encouraging true partnership between horses and humans. Later, he would name this moment of partnership “Join~Up,” and it would become the foundation of all his work with horses and people.
After this revelatory moment with the wild horses, Roberts returned home to his family’s riding school at the Salinas Rodeo Grounds in Salinas, California. There, he had grown up watching his father “break” horses using traditional methods involving pain, control, fear and coercion. Testing his new insights into the nature of horses, Monty tried out some of his new ideas and was promptly punished for challenging his father’s traditional methods.
Monty remained undeterred from his vision and later became a champion Western horseman. Hollywood hired him as a “stand in” rider and stunt double for stars such as Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet and many other films. He even worked with James Dean during the pre-production and filming of the acclaimed movie East of Eden.
Czym się zajmuję: My mission is to leave the world a better place than I found it for horses and for people too.