Until 2007 horses had drifted in and out of my life but did not make the kind of impression required to draw me from my chosen livelihood, that of an English teacher, then a translator and now slowly moving into writing. Then in 2007 I discovered a different way of being with horses largely due to the influence of the internationally renowned German trainer, Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling. This is when my life began to change and together with my partner (and later my wife) of almost thirty years, I moved to Europe with an old dog and a horse to start a year of full-time training with him. The experience has been life-changing.