Principles to purpose, Joining the dots between Ground work and Riding Demonstration with Jonathan Browne

Then in 1999, Jonathan got the amazing opportunity to ride as a member of the Royal Armouries Historical Interpretation riding team, and riding horses took on a new meaning, with historical saddlery and clothing, which included 70 pounds of full plate armour!!

This is where Jonathan was introduced to western ranch riding, as a member of the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, which ran from May to October 1999, in Leeds.

Once this fire was lit, Jonathan sought instruction from top western horsemen, such as Mike Bridges and Jeff Sanders, and Natural Horsemen Including Pat Parelli, Jonathan says: “there is always something to learn and something to improve on, it never stops” he goes on “The horse shows us our weaknesses, its up to us weather we learn and improve, or stay on a level, climbing the learning curve in horsemanship is a life long endeavour, one of the hardest things to do is admit you got it wrong, but its the only way to move forward and keep climbing”

On working cattle Jonathan says:

“Working cattle has brought so much insight into how to work with horses better, why we do the things we do, why we need better lateral movements, good communication, calmness,  focus and the ability to harness the power of the horse. I love it! I always bring a steer into the arena with me now, even if its just in my mind, it makes me think about stops, turn around’s, roll backs in a totally different way, add a rope and things calm down, its about focus and the ability to move your horses feet like they were your own, awesome”

Jonathan remained at the Royal Armouries (RA)until 2004, before leaving to pursue his own endeavours, including freelance work with Atkinsons Action Horses, riding and working with horses on film and TV. Jonathan still works as a freelance rider for the Royal Armouries during the summer events too.

At the same time as working at the RA, Jonathan found a new way of working with horses, and discovered what was called ‘Natural Horsemanship’, But was later described from a client and local BHS II as just ‘Simple Good Horsemanship’, that name stuck.

Since 1999 Jonathan has developed a reputation for simple good horsemanship practices, including starting youngsters and helping hundreds of horses and owners to understand each other better, through what he calls the Horseman’s Triangle:

Trust & Respect (both ways) and Communication. Key elements required to develop a strong bond between the human and the equine.