Erica Hess

I live and work in Santa Fe at For the Heart of the Horse, our extraordinary horse ranch with my beloved husband and partner, Joost. My journey with horses truly began when I bought my first horse. Dancer was just three and when she foaled her darling colt 5 months later I just knew I was the luckiest girl I the world! 2 horses for the price of one! Little did I know how seriously my life was about to change. Discovering how much I did not know was the beginning of everything; the search for answers become my passion and purpose. I read anything and everything I could find about horses, sought out trainers and experimented with my horses for countless hours. During this time I connected with Mark Rashid whose books I devoured. Today we get to spend some great times with him each year at our ranch. Along the way I had a serious riding incident which proved to be another formidable teacher as I found myself unable to ride. Then I discovered Carolyn Resnick's method of the Waterhole Rituals. I became a student immediately and started learning liberty training with my horses. At last I found the key to understanding the language and culture of the horse! I still work with Carolyn and also with her protigé Robin Gates extensively. Today I teach and train in this work daily. I have become comfortable living in the question; how can I connect to the heart of this horse, and in this process I have become a very curious and capable leader and coach.