Casevel, Nazare & Golega (Oct-Nov ’22)

The barn and large riding ring. (Note the tiny people and the big draft horse. It’s a big ring.)

We never really know what life’s going to bring us, what we’re going to co-create, do we? How about 42 hectares housing 13 horses, 7 dogs, 7 pastures, 1 flock of chickens, 1 field of vervain, a hotel, a spa, olive orchards, an orange grove, an organic garden, a pool, a cozy restaurant, (pant, pant) the biggest compost pile I’ve ever seen on private lands, a luxurious yoga room, miles and miles of fencing, fields of hay, bays and barns, sheds and workshops… (pant, pant, pant) Oh! and riding rings and trails. This was a big farm.

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Odemira (Oct ’22)

Trainer Elsa Sinclair with a relaxed Hope

Special thanks to Stefan Kieselbach for his beautiful photos, used with his permission for this blog.

In between working on farms, I went to a horse training clinic at Sundance Ranch in southern Portugal taught by a beautiful soul named Elsa Sinclair. Her method, called Freedom Based Training, is very unique. Instead of asking the horse to respond to us, which is what all other training is based on (I ask the horse to walk in this direction, to accept a halter, etc.) – she has us respond to the horse.

This is revolutionary.

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Cercal (Sept ’22)

Maike’s sweet herd.

After finishing the 10 fun filled days of mornings at Natura Horses and afternoons on the beaches with my new friends, I settled down into spending my days in Cercal. Along with my hosts Maike and Kai, there were 3 horses, 1 super sweet dog, a few cats who only came in to eat and 2 volunteers, Suzanna and I.

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Vila Nova de Milfontes (Aug ’22)

Gin and tonic (and lemonade) with good friends in Milfontes.

So now the story goes on a little tour, with a variety of people and places along the way… we’ll take it slowly.

First, Ana, the daughter at the last farm, had introduced me to another horsewoman in the area that she grew up with, Joana. We liked each other and Joana immediately invited me to come help out at her riding stable. The only challenge was she had no facilities for food or accommodation. Food I could take care of easily, but accommodation was a bit harder. I asked around, and my friends came up with many clever ideas… and none panned out. What to do?
With that still up in the air, off I went to join Benoit for a bit of adventure…

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Porto Covo (June ’22)

As I write, on a mild August day in 2023, I’m on vacation, looking out at a beloved Wimbledon garden full of doves and magpies. I want to take a moment here to thank each and every one of you who wrote in response to my last blog. I remain touched by the outpouring of love and kindness and sharing.

As I said to many of you, now, more than a year later, the pain and suffering are long gone, and only the lessons remain. My shoulder is 95% healed, and I’m regaining that last 5% as I continue my life long movement towards alignment, strength and suppleness. Thank you for your condolences and support and all that you shared about your own lives in response.

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Beira (Apr-Jun ’22)

– The water tank kissed with spring blooms. –

The story of my shoulder injury comes into play here. I haven’t talked about it yet, so I’m going to tell it here, where most of the healing took place. I’ll start by telling you about the accident, then the healing process that happened here, and finally show you what we were doing while the healing was taking place… We even went to Prague for part of it! It was all a very beautiful and painful journey as you can imagine! Enjoy as you like.

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Toulouse (Apr ’22)

We went to our friends’ home in the Pyrenees, complete with a huge metal and wood workshop. Thomas, an accomplished builder, who recently finished building their home, has started a business doing van conversions and building tiny houses. He encourages the owners to help out with their builds, and we got to play with a lot of power tools! So much fun and very fulfilling!

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