that there was a secondary effect, namely that the trainer became less violent as well.
Boys with pony
Workshops with Horses cont. from page 18 Although large and powerful, horses naturally seek out a leader. This in turn creates an opportunity for some people to overcome their fear and to develop trust and confidence while working with a horse. It also provides them insight into dealing with other challenging life situations.
When Queen Elizabeth heard about Pokorny’s work in Guatemala, she was awarded a certificate by Her Majesty for her efforts in helping to reduce violence in the training of horses here. Her Majesty, a life-long horse enthusiast and patron of JoinUp, is very supportive of Lead-Up and is following the development of the program and believes these concepts can change lives. This month, Lead-Up will have its official international launch at Roberts’ headquarters in Solvang, California. Certified instructors of Join-Up from countries around the world will convene there for a
“Our goal is to create a positive network of leaders who can then impart their knowledge and success to others,” said Katie Cunningham Pokorny, founder of Lead-Up International, life-long equine enthusiast and advocate for human and animal welfare and nonviolence. “By having at-risk youth work alongside horses and learn compassion, we are helping them to discover on their own that they don’t need to use violence and that there is a more peaceful way to react and command respect.” Pokorny grew up in the United Kingdom and in 2006 began training with Monty Roberts, the renowned “Horse Whisperer” who pioneered Join-Up and has trained some of Queen Elizabeth II’s equestrian team. Two years later, Pokorny and team brought Roberts to Guatemala and organized a demonstration to advance the cause of nonviolence toward horses and humans. Initially, her mission was to show that the traditional way of “breaking” horses was both cruel and unnecessary but in so doing realized 58
Katie Cunningham Pokorny with Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth