FRANKA O'CONNOR

I was born in France but spent most of my life in the U.K. I now live in Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands, with my husband, our 3 horses, Bally, Moomin and Nora and our dog Ziggy. I have a degree in Philosophy and a degree in media and film-making and I speak French, English, Spanish and have a good understanding of Italian and Dutch.

With regard to professional training, I have a Niveau 1 Instructor diploma in Liberty training (Loswerken), Groundwork (Grondwerk) and Double long lines (Dubbele lange Lijnen) from Emiel Voest's prestigious Freestyle Academy in Ruinerwold, a stage 1 certificate in the Masterson Method and have completed the first stage of the Trust Technique course. I also participated in the workshop, Following the Herds’ Lead with renowned horse therapist Emma Ross at Intuitive Horse, in the UK. I also undertook weekly sessions of Equine Assisted Personal Development, over the course of 8 months, with Emma and her herd of 11 horses before leaving the UK in 2020.

My current studies include a diploma in Horse Welfare (freestyle Academy) and Animal Communication (with Trust Technique pioneer James French). I also plan to complete the Trust Technique practitioner course with James in the near future.

As part of my aim to bring a holistic approach to the work I do with horses I am starting to incorporate techniques from my other interests, including Yoga, Qi Gong and Tai Chi. So far, whenever I have utilized these methods, the horses (and people) have responded extremely positively.

MY HORSES

BALLY

MOOMIN

NORA