Hi! I’M LISA.
I’m a horse trainer and coach based near South West Rocks on the NSW Mid North Coast.
I work with horses and their humans to build safer, clearer, and more confident partnerships through groundwork, ridden support, owner coaching, and practical 1:1 sessions.
But the way I work today didn’t come from wanting to follow one fixed method or become a “typical” horse trainer.
It came from my own journey back to horses.
As a younger rider, I was confident. I loved riding, learning, improving, and feeling capable around horses. Then life changed. I became a mother, stepped away from horses for a while, and eventually found myself trying to reconnect with the part of me that had always felt most alive around them.
When I returned to riding as an adult, I thought I could simply pick up where I left off.
But I quickly realised things felt different.
I had more responsibility. More awareness of risk. Less willingness to just “push through.” And when a difficult experience with a horse shook my confidence, I had to completely rethink the way I approached horsemanship.
At first, I changed because I wanted to feel safe.
Over time, that became something much deeper.
Now my work is about helping both horse and human feel understood. I still care about skill, progress, and physical development, but I believe lasting change starts with clarity, confidence, communication, and trust.
Whether I’m helping a nervous rider, a misunderstood horse, a young horse, or an owner who feels stuck, my focus is always the same:
to help horse and human move forward together in a way that feels safer, clearer, and more connected.
What I believe
1. Horses deserve to be understood, not just managed.
Every behaviour is information. Before forming a conclusion about a horse, I ask what they might be communicating — whether that’s anxiety, confusion, discomfort, or simply a question that hasn’t been answered clearly yet. My job is to look deeper, ask better questions, and help create a path forward that builds confidence.
2. The human is part of the training.
Every session considers both sides of the partnership. Your confidence, timing, feel, body awareness, emotions, and expectations all shape the way your horse responds. That means giving you the tools, understanding, and support to become clearer and more confident with your own horse.
3. Good training should make life better, not more complicated.
I believe in practical horsemanship that transfers to real life. Whether we’re working on groundwork, lunging, confidence, handling, riding, or rebuilding foundations, the result should feel clearer, safer, and easier to continue at home.
My approach
My approach blends thoughtful training, emotional awareness, and clear communication. I value softness, but I also value honesty. I want horses to feel heard, and I want humans to become clearer, steadier, and more effective.
Every session looks at the full picture:
- the horse’s behaviour
- the human’s confidence
- groundwork and handling patterns
- ridden responses where relevant
- the emotional state of both horse and human
- the relationship underneath it all
Some horses need help building trust.
Some need better boundaries and clearer leadership.
Some riders need reassurance, education, and a simpler way to understand what their horse is telling them.
Most partnerships need a bit of everything.
Wherever you’re starting, I aim to meet you there.
Who I work with
I work with horse owners and riders who want more than a quick fix.
That includes:
- nervous or returning riders rebuilding confidence
- owners who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure what to do next
- horses who are anxious, reactive, pushy, shut down, or hard to understand
- young or green horses needing thoughtful foundations
- horses returning to work
- riders who want clearer communication and more feel
- people who care deeply about doing right by their horse
A lot of the horse owners I work with love their horse deeply, but something has started to feel hard.
The horse has been labelled difficult.
The rider has lost confidence.
The partnership feels disconnected.
Things are not unsafe all the time, but they no longer feel enjoyable either.
That is the space I love working in.
If that sounds like you
If you’re looking for calm, practical support with a horse-first and human-aware approach, I’d love to hear from you.
I offer local 1:1 horse-and-owner sessions across the NSW Mid North Coast, as well as online coaching and video review support for people outside my travel area.
Where horses and humans grow together.
EquiMail – a monthly ritual for the horse person who wants to go deeper.
Contact
equikinder@gmail.com
+61 487 944 670
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