A new client recently asked me what our role was in the financial planning relationship.  She wanted to know if we just took over and did everything, or if we served as a kind of educator only.  I thought about an article I had recently read in American Lifestyle about a horse trainer.  Horsemanship is no longer one of the common skills among average people.  Horsemanship is now a rare and wonderful skill, the communion between a giant animal and a human rider.  It is not impossible, but something that takes practice and patience.

A friend of mine has recently gotten the bug.  She has taken to riding, and bought a horse.  This resonated with me, when I was a kid, we boarded a couple of horses in our barn, and I even learned to ride eventually.  I learned to appreciate just how difficult it was to communicate with a horse, and to get the horse to do what I had in mind.  Jumping, trail riding and other modest skills eventually became possible for me, if not automatic.  I became a reasonably competent rider. 

Later, I lived in Kentucky, and found myself in horse country.  People practiced dressage and other horsemanship skills that I found astonishing.  My respect for good horsemanship went up another rung. It became clear that great horsemanship was not about forcing a horse to do what you want.  A horse weighs about ten times what a person weighs.  You cannot force them to do things.  A good rider gently teaches and guides the horse.  Horse trainer Maria Katsamanis  at Amwell Ridge Farm has elevated this to a new level.  Her practice has taught her that the training is rewarding to both the horse and the rider.  The horse seems to enjoy the work, and the rider gains a sense of satisfaction from being able to help the horse to reach its potential.

Here are a pair of videos on Maria and her (very rare) Marwari Stallion, which allow you to hear about her training in her own words:

Her experience reminds us that our role in helping our clients is limited to being a gentle teacher and guide.  We cannot move our clients through any means beyond gentle persuasion, and our primary satisfaction is in seeing our clients achieve their potential.  We don’t get them to jump over hurdles (at least not that often) but we do see them achieve some really extraordinary things. 

We are so grateful to our clients for the opportunity to serve them and to help them to jump their own personal hurdles. 

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