Anna Twinney is the founder of Reach Out to Horses®, based in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado. As an internationally respected Natural Horsemanship Clinician and Trainer, Animal Communicator and Reiki Master she travels the world teaching the art of creating a trust-based partnership between Humans, Horses and all Animal Companions. She has conducted clinics, classes and training sessions in Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, France, Holland, Sweden, Spain, Norway, New Zealand and throughout the entire United States.
Anna's dream is to take the Reach Out to Horses® program around the world, especially to Third World countries, to make a difference in the lives of the working horses and people who don't have access to these ground-breaking methods.
Anna is also the creator of the Reaching Out to Natural Horsemanship DVD Series and can regularly be heard on radio and podcasts around the world including her popular podcast show Reaching Out with Anna Twinney.
Anna brings a wealth of knowledge to her own clinics - drawing on a lifetime of equine experience, and over a decade of coaching thousands of international students, including those with learning difficulties and physical challenges.
Her work has been featured on TV, including Martha Stewart's Living "The Horse Whisperer" and the BBC fly on the wall documentary "Living in the Sun". In addition, Anna has written articles for a variety of national and international equine-related magazines, and is a contributing author of Horse as Teacher: The Path to Authenticity with Horses, released in May of 2009.
Numerous public and corporate demonstrations around the world have also provided Anna with another venue for sharing her knowledge.
Anna's early love of horses blossomed through her relationship with her own childhood horse, Ringo - and then as an adult with Carrie, a Thoroughbred Irish Draught mare. She and Carrie entered competitions, including show jumping, long distance riding, and cross-country jumping; as well as assisting at local riding schools with trail rides and remedial horses.
Anna began her exploration of natural horsemanship as a participant in Monty Roberts' studies at "Flag Is Up Farms, during a year's sabbatical from her job as a police officer in England. For Anna, Flag Is Up Farms and their horses - especially the wild Mustangs - became a university of learning.
Following the sabbatical, Anna left an eight-year career with the constabulary and moved to the U.S. to pursue her real dream - helping horses and their people grow in partnership. Anna had been involved in investigative interview training, multicultural crime and major incidents investigations, including drug and surveillance, control room operations, rape and child victim investigations, and became an on-the-job instructor and Constabulary Force Reviewer.
While Anna was at "Flag Is Up", Crawford Hall, an internationally acclaimed horse trainer, who worked with Monty Roberts for over 28 years, became her mentor. After extensive studies into the unique "Language of Equus" she became an integral part of the research and development team for the Monty Roberts International Learning Center (MRILC).
Qualified as one of the first six instructors throughout the world, Anna was the first person ever to be entrusted with the title of Head Instructor at the MRILC and the only Head Instructor to be a member of the MRIA Board.
Anna was a member of the Development team and the originator of several Monty Robert's courses. She supervised instructor courses, numerous introductory courses and clinics. She wrote the standard exams for both the introductory and instructor courses and has been instrumental in graduating 10 instructor students, as well as being a member of the MRIA Board of Directors for a number of years.
During her tenure Anna assisted Monty in compiling the information used in his book, " From My Hands to Yours" and has conducted numerous demonstrations to the public at the MRILC and assisted Monty during Pomona Equine Affairs.
Anna has also worked in collaboration with other leading clinicians on natural horsemanship and animal communication. Beyond her own equine training and experience, Anna has explored a number of "alternative" healing modalities over the years, including becoming a certified Karuna® Reiki Master and Intuitive Healer. She has studied Equine Herbal Natural Remedies and Aromatherapy, is a certified Reconnective Healing® Level III practitioner, Level II Healing Touch for Animals practitioner, and a graduate of the Carol Gurney HeartTalk Program® as a certified Animal Communicator.
Her interest in the "Language of Equus" has led her to focus increasingly on the power of animal communication to strengthen and deepen our relationships with all species.
One of Anna's great passions is the survival and protection of wild horses, and she has been privileged to observe Brumbies in their natural habitat in Victoria, Australia along with colleague Eric Godward. She also assisted Neda DeMayo in the Santa Ynez Valley at the wild horse sanctuary 'Return to Freedom' for a number of years. RTF is home to the American Wild Horse and is considered a living museum. It provides a natural environment for the horses to live in herd groups and a place students can observe natural wild horse dynamics. Anna was part of the education program and played a significant role in gentling mustangs for special care and foster homes.
She continues to support a number of Charities including the Equine Angels Rescue Sanctuary in Connecticut, the The Horse Protection League in Golden, CO, Zuma's Rescue Ranch in Littleton, CO, and Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuary in Tucson, Arizona, where she is actively involved as an Advisory Board Member.
Anna is currently in the process of creating a Learning Center close to home where, by 2012, everyone can come and learn how to create a trust-based partnership with their horse.