Exploring Life & Business with Jessica Roberts of Harmonized Horsemanship

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Roberts. 

Hi Jessica, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I’ve always loved horses. I say I got the “horse gene” from my mom, who spent her entire life with horses up until a few years after she had kids. I spent a lot of time as a kid spending time with the neighbor’s horse, pretending I knew what I was doing. I started formal riding lessons in 2002. In 2005, I got a horse of my own for Christmas. He was a 4-year-old with very little education and a lot of attitude. I dedicated my teenage years to figuring out how to “tame” him. I discovered an intense passion for training horses, and the rest is history. 

I founded my own training company in 2010 straight out of high school and worked my way through college. I was a “traditional” trainer to start, bringing up hunter/jumper horses and riders and competing. My program was based on the common dominance and submission training method. In 2016, however, I suddenly felt the urge to find another way. I didn’t want to keep dominating the horses I worked with. I didn’t want to silence the horse’s opinions, and I was yearning for a true partnership with the horse that I hadn’t experienced before. Harmonized Horsemanship was the result of that soul searching. And though I am still (and will always be) learning, I am proud to have developed the program that I have now. It’s based on mutual respect for both horse and human, allowing the two to come together in a way that’s truly harmonious. Being able to help humans rediscover their passion for the horse is such a gift, and being able to see the horses thrive in a new relationship with their human is why I do what I do! 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have definitely been challenges. First of all, having a horse business is a costly endeavor. Horses aren’t cheap! The biggest challenge, though, has been figuring out how to have a healthy work/life balance, when my work AND my life both revolve around horses. I am a horsewoman at my core and have 5 personal horses of my own. People often tell me I am so lucky that my passion turned into a career, and they aren’t wrong…but it’s also a great responsibility. I have to make sure that I don’t lose my passion by making it feel like “work,” while still focusing enough on the business side of things to have a successful career. It’s a constant juggling act. I’ve found that a rigid self-care routine helps me to stay focused on the “why” behind what I am doing, keeping that passion alive! 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Harmonized Horsemanship?
Harmonized Horsemanship specializes in the horse and human connection. As an equine behaviorist, I focus on the subtle, often overlooked, pieces of horse behavior and body language that can be a complete game-changer in how the horse feels in the relationship with their human. I work with horses and humans of all backgrounds, skill levels, and ages. I am known for helping horses that have “flunked out” of traditional training models and do a lot of alternative training such as liberty work and focusing on developing intuitive communication throughout the training process. 

I am proud of what Harmonized Horsemanship has turned into and the reputation that it has! I worked hard to build something that is well-known and respected as a quality program for horses and humans. The fundamental principles of the Harmonized Horsemanship program apply to so much more than horses. I strive to help people not only change the way they relate to their horse but how they relate to the world. We spend so much time as humans stuck up in our heads, resisting change. I want to help people get back to the present moment and enjoy where they’re at. I also have developed a fun summer event series called “Equine & Wine” which are short demonstrations in which I cover a variety of topics while people enjoy a glass of wine! It’s been a great way to get my message and philosophy out to more people, some of which aren’t even “horse people!” 

What makes you happy?
Horses! This seems like such an obvious statement, but there are so many horse trainers out there that are burned out and don’t like horses anymore. Being able to be friends with so many horses and build the connections I have with them is such a gift and is truly the joy of my life! 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.harmonizedhorsemanship.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/harmonizedhorsemanship
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/harmonizedhorsemanship

Image Credits
@katiepucphotography