Interview with Patrick Sullivan - (Part Two) A New Venture

Interview with Patrick Sullivan.
This will be my second interview with Patrick and It was lovely to catch up with him again and hear all about the amazing journey he's recently completed, with his two beautiful horses Gami and Hall.
We also chatted about his exciting plans for his new venture, which starts in January 2022.

Our first time was just a quick chat as he was still traveling on the road across America at the time but his enthusiasm shined through, as it did on this occasion too. 

He's such a genuine, big hearted guy and his passion for all horses (not just his own) is there for all to see.

So sit back, relax and I hope you enjoy this interview.
I can promise you one thing for sure . . . Patrick has an overflowing heart that really wants to make a difference but don't take my word for it . . . have a listen for yourself.

Patrick Sullivan and Gamilah have traveled from California to Kentucky, riding completely at Liberty 100% bridleless while primarily bareback.

All in the name of charity and liberty, giving back to people and horses along the way. 

https://www.moderndayhorsemanship.com/
https://www.facebook.com/GamilahUnbridled

Interview: Live Video Version
https://youtu.be/D34hdcP45qY

Video version (alongside applicable podcasts) can be viewed on facebook and YouTube.
https://www.facebook.com/equinevoices.co.uk
https://www.youtube.com/@equinevoicesuk
https://www.instagram.com/equinevoices.uk

Contact Ronnie.
mailto:equinevoicesronnie@gmail.com

Transcript

Ronnie: 0:11

Welcome to equine voices my name is Ronnie and tonight's interview is with Patrick Sullivan, who I was so lucky enough to interview for a short time a little while ago, as he was traveling across America on his horse, Gami and Hall, he was riding in bridless and bad back, he was also promoting the local horse rescues, as he was going through each county. I'm going to bring him in and he can introduce himself and explain about his journey and then he he'll tell you about his new ventures. Okay here we go. Hi Patrick.

Patrick: 0:49

Hey Ronnie will. Thank you so much for having me and it's such a blessing to be back on your show again and represent the horse community, a little way that I can and it's just such a big blessing again, to be here. So thanks. You're welcome, would you like to explain to people of see your name's Patrick Sullivan we've already established that, but why you decided to go on this journey across America on horses, bridless and bareback. What was it that set you on this path and what was you wanting to achieve? Of course yeah so we traveled 2,500 miles through nine states of the United States of America and it was just one heck of a journey. And to be honest, the whole reason we did this is because we wanted to show and demonstrate how people can heal horses and horses can heal people without using a lot of tools. And I think if we can relate to the horses, mind and spirit, we can connect with them on a level that we can't even imagine and being able to ride Gami and Hall bridless a lot of bareback but always bridlessacross this wonderful nation around through mountains, through rivers, over rivers, through deserts and cities, big towns. Little towns and you name it, the climate we've changed. We went through a hundred degree weather and minus, you know, under freezing weather and it all came down to the relationship that we have with our horses and the trust that they had in us, that we're going to take care of them. It was just such an amazing experience and one that I'll remember for the rest of my life, one that I'll probably never go on again, but one that appreciate that. The opportunity that I was given by my horses to be able to go and embark and complete such an amazing adventure.

Ronnie: 2:39

And the beautiful horses, would you like to explain what type of horses they are for the people that don't know about your journey, what sort of horses are they.

Patrick: 2:48

Yeah so they are actually brother and sister. They have the same mom and they're separated by one year and they're both Arabian. So Gami is nine and how is 10 and 11 this year but they were the first two horses I ever started to under saddle and they have taught me so, so, so much they are completely different personality wise. Gamey is more of a older, wiser soul, or how is a soul that has an amazing heart, but just has like, he's like an Energizer bunny and always wants to go and do something and play. So they were a perfect combination for this trip. They're beautiful horses, Gami is she pure black or does it, it looks dark on the, on the videos. Yes Gami is pure black but she does send bleach during the summer. So she will have some, a little lighter spots as the heat and the sun bear down on her, but she is a pure black and of course a Hal gray.

Ronnie: 3:42

And can you describe how this journey really impacted on you, obviously I know you appreciate all the help and guidance that you've got on the way from strangers, as well as friends and your team that was looking after you in the horses but what can you take away and think that's really stuck with me for life.

Patrick: 4:02

You know, I think that's an amazing question and to me it all comes down to the hope and the inspiration that not only we got from people along the trip, but that we were able to provide for people to see with their own eyes, what you're able to accomplish with your horse. If you first give them the trust and responsibility and education in which they need, because there are so many people that want to do right by their horse that want to educate their horse that want to treat them as well as possible. But the thing that a lot of us are missing is the lack of education. How do we get that trust? How do we get that love? How do we get that knowledge to our horses? And from us. And I think probably the thing that's going to stick with me is, is how people, little by little saw how much Liberty can impact the relationship you have with your. Whether it's a horse you just got today, or one that you've had for 20 years, the Liberty aspect and how it changes. People's mindsets to say, Hey, look, I've always wanted this connection with my horse. And this Liberty has allowed us to finally start building on that relationship to another.

Ronnie: 5:15

So you were a team, it wasn't somebody just riding a horse. You were a team and you relied in each other and you had that non-spoken communication. You understood each other as, and that developed more so journey went on is that correct?

Patrick: 5:31

Yes, 100% and people always ask, how did I know that we were going to make it safely and alive? And I always say, you know, I didn't, but I trusted my horses. I trusted the foundation that we were able to embark on them. But I also trusted the fact that if push came to shove, my horse, my horses would always come first and I would never intentionally put them in danger. You know, where we would be in danger every single day. So I like to really say, Hey, look, if, if something happened in the middle of the trip, I always said to my horses and I felt like it wasn't safe to go on. We would just pack up and go home. It wasn't about the mileage that the whole journey was about providing hope and giving back and helping the entire way. So I just always like to say, you know, I didn't always know that they were ready, but I knew that we would grow to get there as long as I put them in front of my end of it and ahead of myself.

Ronnie: 6:31

You met some amazing rescue places on the way. Some of them you would have known about as you plan your routes but did you come across ones that you wasn't aware of and you incorporated that on your journey as well?

Patrick: 6:43

Yeah, so actually when we started, we were only planning on going to five different rescues and that five turned into like 18, 19 different non-profits. So we, there was probably more than two-thirds of them and we weren't aware about going into the trip, but as people connect with us. And we were like, you know, these are supposed to be rest days, but we'll give the horse rest days and we'll go educate and help people. So we didn't know most of the rescues before we started the trip or the non-profits before we started the trip and it kinda just came on and its own, and it became a life of its own. As people reached out, we tried to make time, my sister and Avery and the whole crew were always telling me, they're like, I don't think we have time for these more rescues you know, we got to have some time to rest and I was like, well, as long as the horses get rest, I'm going to keep working because this trip is about giving and this trip is about making sure and allowing people to see what we see everyday.

Ronnie: 7:45

And like you said it's a trip of a lifetime, I mean even if you did it again, you're not going to recreate the exact same journey. That journey is special because of where you went, who you met and in that time, so you could have something similar but it wouldn't be that exact journey. And I know that you've got a new venture that you've got planned, you've started to do it, it's about helping more horses. So would you like to tell us about that?

Patrick: 8:11

Yeah so Gamilah unbridled started off on this cross-country journey too, to show about Liberty and how it can heal, but it's kind of taken a life of its own. And throughout the trip, you know, again, as we talked about here a little bit today, we stopped at I think, 12 or 13 different rescues in 10 different states around the country and the one thing that was missing from these rescues was a trainer to help educate these horses because a lot of the founders of the rescues have amazing hearts. They have good people that support them, both physically as volunteers or financially to help provide for the horses but one thing that the rescue community is lacking in is a good education system because they take in these horses, they save their lives, they get them back in good health, physically and mentally, but then there's no one to help train them and educate them that they can go on to the next chapter of their life with their new family. So we decided to do was we decided. To put an application process out to the United States and say, if you have a very difficult rescue, behavioral problems, mental problems, whatever it may be, we want to take in. So we decided to take in five of the most challenging and difficult rescue horses in the nation, starting in January, and we are going to educate them using Liberty techniques, only, meaning we are going to put halters on them to do the normal, traditional cold start. We are going to do it all at Liberty. So they will have a choice whether or not we ride them or not. Whether or not we can catch them or not, whatever we can do is all going to be at Liberty. And I'm so excited because to me, I feel like once we reached the horse's mind, the challenging horses. Aren't so challenging anymore because people are missing the whole overall objective anyway. If you can relate to the mind, you're going to have control of the body, but we can't have control of the body until we can relate to the mind and that is what the Liberty does. So from January until may, we are going to have these rescues free of charge to these 5 0 1 C3 non profits and we're going to take them, educate them and then on May 15th, 2022, we are going to host a live event near north Texas and showcase how far some of these most challenging rescue horses have come in four months using Liberty techniques only. I'm so excited. I'm so fortunate. I'm very blessed that we have the opportunity to once again, showcase the power of Liberty. not with horses that I trained and I rode but these rescue horses that were thrown out given away and show that they can have a second, third chance if put into the right hands and given the right education.

Ronnie: 10:58

Wow that's some venture Patrick, some venture, so you've got five horses and you're doing that in five months is that right?

Patrick: 11:07

That's correct. We actually have five horses, a mule, and then one extra horse that we took on for a therapeutic riding center out of new Orleans who got devastated by a hurricane and so we're going to help transform that horse into a therapeutic riding center horse and that's kind of surprised that we'll be mentioning two. So we'll have seven horses until and the horses that we turned down in the program or are on our waiting list. And we gave an opportunity for those who weren't on our waiting list to go with other trainers and do the same deal. So all the horses that applied for a program, even if they weren't selected by us, got an opportunity to help change their lives through friends of ours and we're just pumped for the future and see what's going to happen over the next five.

Ronnie: 11:53

That's really special and such a lovely thing to do, I'm really looking forward to seeing that in the future and to hearing how that goes. So how will you go about that, are you going to concentrate on maybe one horse for a little while until you get a better bond or are you going to go with the flow and do each one a little bit at a time? How, how will that work?

Patrick: 12:13

So honestly it, most of my schedule from January to may, I've left open apart from a couple of expos and events, because I'm going to put all my time and these horses that are at our farm. So we're going to do focus on all of them every day. So just do a little bit here and there and luckily I have Avery to help me, and then we're gonna be hiring an intern as well. So we're gonna have plenty of people and we're going to really just turn the next five months into time where we can give back to these horses and spend as much time as we can with them. I'm going to treat them like I would a million dollar horse, to me, horses are all the same, no matter if they're worth a million dollars or were found in to kill a lot, they're all souls and they all have potential and I'm just a ready to get focused and starting and partaking in this next adventure, which to me personally, I think it's going to be bigger than the last one.

Ronnie: 13:01

As you were talking, you'll have to remember this in the future, as you were talking the words that three months, in three months time, there's going to be something or a significant outcome, so just bear that in mind. If it doesn't happen, that's fine, but that's just come through just now. Sometimes when I'm talking, I get information that comes through. I forgot to say that, so three months time, I'm interested to see what that is. So this is going to be on your farm in Texas.

Patrick: 13:31

Yes, that's correct. So I had just moved back from Kentucky. I left double Dan horsemanship with Dan James, and he's still a good friend of mine, but we moved down to Texas Avery and I were closer to my family and we're gonna start this next rescue operation through a nonprofit and kind of get started on our youth program that we're hoping to start this.

Ronnie: 13:51

I'm just going to touch on this because in the UK we saw about the tornadoes, that's just gone through some of the states and I was thinking, crikey, I'm sure that's where Patrick rode through, some of the areas, but I don't know for sure. So yeah we had that on the news a few days ago I think it was.

Patrick: 14:09

Yeah it's an incredibly sad and we appreciate if you keep those family and communities and your thoughts and your prayers, because that's exactly where I rode through. We rode it through, Indiana, Southern, Illinois, Missouri, and then Northwest Kentucky and that's kind of some of the areas that were hit by this storm. So it's very sad, it's devastating largest and longest tornadoes in history and again, there's networks to express the emotions and things that people are going through right now, but I'm just doing my best to keep them in my thoughts and myprayers.

Ronnie: 14:43

Absolutely and here, to here too. Okay so I've heard you talk about Avery and I was hoping to say how in chapter, but you've mentioned that she's gone back home but she's part of your team and she's a big part of your team. Did you guys meet when you were working with the horses.

Patrick: 15:00

Yeah about two and a half years ago at Dan James, his farm in Kentucky. And she came to work for and, you know, we became really good friends first and then more of a romantic side came about a year later after we were friends. She took the risk of moving down to Texas with me but she's an amazing horse woman and an incredible person, she's one of my best friends in life. So I'm just very thankful that she'll be partaking on this adventure with me and we'll be doing it together and getting to spend a lot of time together, trying to educate these horses.

Ronnie: 15:30

How exciting is that I'm meeting somebody that has the same passion as you and you get to work with each other. Which isn't always a good thing it depends on your relationship. With horses it's good because you can appreciate what the other person's doing and you can appreciate the ups and downs that come with that especially your line of work. Tell me a story about one of your horses. Let's go with Gami. So tell me something interesting that you remember from the earlier days.

Patrick: 15:59

Wow there's a lot of them and I have two stories actually. So the first one is, she was the first horse that I ever started under saddle. So six months into my horsemanship I started her under saddle and I don't know if it's wrong or right. But we learned a ton. At the beginning she didn't really like me very much and to be honest, I didn't like her very much. I became really frustrated with her. She was very independent mare she had a mind of her own and you know, she wasn't really interested in what I had to say or do because I wasn't treating as well as I should have. I Wanted to, but I just didn't have the knowledge to help her and it became frustrating and it all came full circle in one event. And my sister gives me a hard time about this all the time, because she witnessed one of my low points in my horsemanship journey and it was with Gami. So it was in December the first year that we started her and I was riding her out in this big field and we were working on cantering and I was just getting so frustrated I was like, Gami you can't canter or everything was going too fast. She was getting emotion. She was cross firing and we were probably cantering for 20, 30 minutes and while she was dripping sweat, I was dripping sweat and all of a sudden she was just like, I'm not doing this anymore and she just took off for this tree. Boom smack me into the tree, I fall off. I'm just face first in the grass and I'm just yelling and I'm not a yeller, I'm very calm and relaxed normally, but I was just so frustrated and I probably used some words I shouldn't have. And as soon as I look up my sister Netty I was walking out and she just starts laughing and laughing and laughing and she's my big sister and she's someone that I look up to and love in life, but she came out there, she grabbed gamey and she was like, you know what you're done for the day. She took Gammy and she took her back inside and she unsaddled her and put her back into the pasture and then later that evening we had a conversation and she sat me down and she was like, you know what? You need to treat Gami as if, as you do women, and as you do people, you're so kind to people, you're a good person but you treat Gammy differently than you treat people and you need to treat her like you would someone that you care about and a woman who you want to respect and learn about and listen to. She's like, you need to just imagine that you're going to bring her flowers every day, just like you would a woman that you love, just like someone you're going on a date with just like you would do your mom, you need to treat them well. And so the very next day, I literally got some flowers and brought them out to Gabby, cause I thought Nettie was being literal, bringing her flowers but again, she had a good laugh at that. But the whole relationship changed after that day with gamey and I, because I stopped worrying about what it is that I wanted to get done and started listening to her. And from that day forward, our whole relationship changed or their attitude changed, my attitude changed and we became the partner and in developing that partnership that people see today because it always wasn't, you know, sunshine and rainbows with gamey and I. It took a long time coming and to be able to develop that partnership and that trust that we have today.

Ronnie: 19:13

Your sister is one wise lady Patrick. I like her, I'd like to meet.

Patrick: 19:20

Oh, you would love her. She puts me in my place all the time and she reminds me what life's about and she's just an incredible person and she just had a little kiddo of own.

Ronnie: 19:28

But It's just simple listening simple for what she said, you know, you can treat them their respect, but the fact that you took her some flowers out, that was cute, that was funny. You've got a beautiful mare in Gami, So tell us about Hall.

Patrick: 19:43

Yeah so he's an incredible little horse. I always say that Hall if he were bigger, cause he's kind of small, you know, if you were a little bit. She would be the horse that I would have ended up with instead of Gami and cause they were the two horses that he was the second horse I started, she was the first horse I started. Gami was the horse that always bucked me off and Hall was always the horse that would run off with me. So when I started him under saddle, I mean, he was more emotional, he was more fearful of things and if he got scared, he would just take off whether you were on the, on the. And probably the biggest changing point in our relationship was that when we started playing with him and when I say play, when he just has such a big play drive and he wants to feel like that can be taken, you can understand that you can see that and let him be Hall. So I went from trying to control how meaning to saying, Hey, you do this, this, this, and this, and say, Hey buddy, you be yourself. Stay in the structure in which will keep us both safe and that kind of all came to fruition probably four years ago or something like that, after a year of ridding we were out and he was just feeling great on a trail and I was like, you know what, I'm just going to take the bridle off and we're just going to see what happens. This is the first time I've ever taken the bridle off on a horse on the trail and he was just fantastic. He wasn't spooky. He wasn't, energetic, he wasn't trying to take off we allowed him and I say, we, because even though I trained them, there's so many different people that come and educate me and help me and so it's a team that does this, but it turned Hall into a more scared, sensitive, energetic horse, into a horse that felt comfortable playing and being himself and allowing to use that energy for a positive light and, and he's one special boy and I'm just so thankful for him because he has one of the biggest hearts of anyone horses that I've ever met and we wouldn't have made that trip without him.

Ronnie: 21:41

Beautiful, beautiful horses and I love your videos, you did little daily videos on your whole says you going through different places and they were very inspirational and that's how I came across you and I connected with you on those. It was really nice but it was nice to see your relationship with your horses and to hear you speak because you speak from the heart Patrick and you can see that you genuinely have kindness and wanting to communicate with a fellow human being. But also show them how relationship can be better, with horses and how healing can be on many different levels, it's not just about the ride and it's what they give to your soul but it is a relationship, it's a partnership. It's not a one being telling another being what to do because you, you found out what happens, you have to take flowers to say sorry. And I love that comes across, just comes across in buckets loads. Would you like to just share about some of your mentors? So you've talked about Dan, do you work with Dan?

Patrick: 22:45

Yeah so I was very unfortunate to me your mentors it's the people that help you along the way that make you and people all the time say, you're doing great things, you're doing great things, but it's never just me. It's we, I would not be here without the people in my life without the influences that I had in my life from the very first day. And Dan James from double-down horsemanship, I spent two years with them and I started out as an intern and I finished as you know, right-hand man and assistant, and I trained all of his horses that came in there, good, bad and it was just a phenomenal experience. But my first horsemanship trainer was a lady named Isabel farmer and a Houston Texas. She taught me the foundation what it's like to treat a horse and how to put them first. And then I had a lady named Farah green who's up in Wyoming who had a big influence on us and help me learn how to ride bare back and help me, do a lot of things that a lot of other people, maybe wouldn't we went. Rode with our first parade with Farrah and then before Dan was a gentleman named Ryan Rose up in Wisconsin and he was a horse, he puts a good portion foundation on these horses and teaches them how to think and use their minds first. And actually probably one of the other big ones was his name is Jack Brainard and he was a hundred years old and, and he just passed away. But he taught me that the number one thing in horsemanship and you can't do anything else is you have to get a horse relaxed. And if you can get a horse relaxed, you can then teach them. Again, I've been so fortunate and so very, very blessed to have a list of force professionals, men, women, and to be able to be a big influence on media to educate me and some that I still people that I still reach out to today, if I have problems or things that I would like to learn and get better at. So I'm just fortunate for the people that I've had in my life. And hopefully that continues to people will keep sharing their knowledge with me.

Ronnie: 24:36

I'm sure as people come into your life and people that are just starting on their journey in horsemanship, as they learn from you, and also people that have horses learned from you that will have a similar knock on effects and they'll look up and say, well, I'm this because Patrick showed me another way. So we all interlink and we're like huge sponges and we learned. All the time and obviously horses learn all the time, they learn bad habits very, very quickly. And it's the ones that you really want them to do, they don't seem to click onto but I'm sure they do. But that was good when you talked about getting the horse relaxed, that's when they learn It's the similar if you're trying to help a horse that can be in pain or uncomfortable or needs, some assistance, if that totally shut down and that they're switched off and they don't want you near them for ever reasons, it's really hard to help them. So the best thing is to get them on board and to know that they're in a safe place and if you are a bit more relaxed, then you can maybe help him a little bit more physically. So it's the same sort of scenario, as far as that's concerned, you can't work on a horse's body if they're tense, because it's not going to have the same effect. You've got to wait for them to let you in. And sometimes it's just being with them in their presence. So they know there's no agenda that you're just there for them and just waiting for that doorway, just to say, okay, you can come in, you can come closer and even then sometimes they still test you to say, let's just see what you're gonna do.

Patrick: 26:12

That's right.

Ronnie: 26:13

It's amazing, I mean I learned from watching you and listening to you and watching other people and hearing their stories and then sometimes something will happen with my own horse and my own learning and understanding comes to that and then something I've heard, I think. Okay, I understand that now. Cause sometimes you can read a book and you can watch your video and you think, yeah, I know what to do, or I know the basics of it and you can participate in it, you can do it, and you may see a result. But it's when all the dots joined together and it's the feeling and the horses communicating yes, let's do this together. There's something about it. It's different, it's so different and it's not always visible to start with, but as you explained, the relationship between your horses afterwards, they felt that you were equals, they didn't feel, you were telling them you were showing them. They were actually showing you. I'm just getting that, they were actually shown you. It's so funny. So I'm picking up the essence of Gami at the minute. So I never know what's going to come when I'm connecting. Okay. So I'm going to say it anyway, this is coming from the heart. Gami is so, so proud of you, but from a heart space, but he's proud of what your going to achieve, so it's not just from the journey of you riding your horses. It's, what's come from that and what's going to come from that. And there's a big feeling of proudness for being part of that too. Okay. So I'm just chatting in my head. Sorry, I wasn't expecting this sometimes it happens, so I'm just going to go with it. So Hall is, I want to say he's a bit quieter, he watches, he observes and he takes everything in. So this is what you're saying to me. But Gami she's just that big heart, that big heart, she's almost like motherly to you as well. She sees you a youngster that she's brought on. That's how she's giving it, does that make sense to you?

Patrick: 28:25

Yeah 100% and you know, it definitely got some chills here and it's warm outside here in Texas. It's beautifully said and it's something that I hope that and I'm thankful that you shared that with me. No it's fine, very, very proud. Eh, it's hard to put into words because it's not verbal. It's just, if you could see the heart glowing and she senses what is to come from this. So horses, as, you know, a very, very aware and that their senses go far beyond what we realize but the part of them that knows the deep part that knows everything has even more of a, of a yeah, I think actually I think we're just gonna carry on talking, cause this is going quite deep. She's just really proud and the both are. Sides, it was a understanding of what this means, on a level that, you know, when we see but on a deeper, deeper level, the horses are aware of. She was just sharing that with me, that deeper level that the proudness and this glowing heart comes from, what you're going to achieve. As you did with them, you'll achieve that for the horses and they can have a life with somebody and hopefully have that relationship with their potential carers, which is amazing thing to do. Do you want to just share a little bit about the horses that you actually got on your program? I'll go ahead and kind of lay it all out there from what I can. So we have Roman and he is a red Roan and he's very sensitive. He wants to be with people and that's the thing about a lot of these horses they want to, but they just don't know how. I think he's eight to 10 years old and he's a beautiful horse, but he, again, he's not very trusting and one that we're going to kind of have our work cut out for us, but I think. Once we get them to trust he's going to be fantastic. The next one is indigo, it's this gray mare here, down in Texas and she was actually with a couple of different trainers in Texas, but when they got her saddled, every time they even put weight in the stirrup, she would take off and run and bolt. So they put her up and they were thinking, Hey, we'll just use her as a sanctuary horse. If she has to be, she has a good life here, but she's still young and they want to give her a hope and an opportunity to get over that bolting because Bolton can be very dangerous, abuse, very scary, and something that can really hurt the horses and us. And I just think the Liberty will really benefit for her. The next one is Declan and he's a five-year-old Mustang and he came from Masurey and he's just, I mean, they have to put them in a shoot to get his feet trimmed. They can't really catch them very well, like he can be a very intimidating horse. He's beautiful. And he's one that's getting that it's going to need a, quite a bit of work but again, I think the Liberty and the trusting of people was really going to help him. And the next one is Armani and this one's actually a pretty cool story and they're all cool stories, but this one was a wild horse from Eastern Kentucky and he had a little herd of his own of 11 horses and he was the head stallion of that herd. And they were in this old coal, mine or mining location, and they had to round them up because there just wasn't enough food to go around so that they would survive. So they rounded them up and brought him to this rescue. And he was the one horse out of all of them. He was the lead stallion but they just couldn't get them to trust people. And he was trying to run through things, hurt himself and there were people that followed him and they would see him in the wild and he was the horse that would, a cool story about him, protect the herds that they could drink, they could eat. And he was just that kind of protector, so we're really excited about him. Then the last one, well, other than the mule is from nostalgia and she's from Nevada and she actually escaped from the rescue. She jumped the panels and was lost in the desert for a week. Before they were able to get her back and round her up. And she's a beautiful quarter horse mare and she's going to be a handful too, but again, they think she comes from bucking stock, but they don't know. She's going to be tough because she has that mindset of reacting and being big and escaping. And then the last one is Rocky top the mule, and he's coming from Texas, but I don't know how difficult he will be. We'll See, he's an older branded mule, but I think he's going to really make a really nice transition because again, he has that mindset of really kind mindset. Mules are a different breed and all of themselves, but they have every opportunity as horses do. So we've got a really neat and wide variety of different issues that are coming in. And they're all issues that I think we can solve and heal through the art of Liberty and allowing them to trust us first before we educate if they can trust us and they can be relaxed around us, then we can educate them. So we're not going to focus on anything else until we get these horses relaxed and confident to learn.

Ronnie: 33:27

Have you heard of a lady called Dr. Susan Fay.

Patrick: 33:30

Yeah I have, I have heard of her.

Ronnie: 33:32

Google her, she's got a book out and it's called secret spaces and she comes from a scientific background as well. But she ended up working on a ranch in a later years, which she said at the time was you know, not the sort of thing that was heard of. Anyway she works with horses but she found. Through a synchronicity, through guidance, through the universe, whatever you want to call it. That her journey is to help people to have a connection with their horses. And it's to help them with their mindset. Simple things. She peels it back and just gets them to understand about energy and how if they focus on their own energy first and where they are and the emotions. And they calm themselves down and they relax themselves that the horses notice that and then there'll be more likely to be drawn near them. So it's not about asking them calming and asking them to come in. It's just totally about yourself and seeing how that affects the horses because the horses or understand that. So you're making yourself the safe place and then if they want to, they will come towards you and they will interact with you. But she's a fascinating lady, Dr. Susan Faye and she's such a lovely, gentle lady. She's in Colorado but she just traveled, yeah definitely. So you're going to be starting after Christmas, after the new year. Your venture starts in January, that's when you're going to start this new venture.

Patrick: 35:02

That's correct.

Ronnie: 35:03

Really, really exciting times. Are you going to be filming any of this? Is it going to be documented, so you can explain as you're going along as well, or is it going to be filmed, documented, and then at the end of it.

Patrick: 35:15

We're hoping to do both. We're hoping to have daily updates like we did for Gamilah and bridled as our trip across the country. And we have. Also hoping to make a documentary at the end of it. We don't know how that documentary is going to come apart. We're just going to let the energy in the world you know, allow us to see what that's going to make of it. But the goal is, is that people can see the progression. I want people to see how we make these transplants. From day one to day 30, today, 60 today, 90 until the end of it, so I want to make it as public as possible. I'm gonna let people that are in town, come watch us. I have nothing to hide, I just want to showcase what we can do for these horses in the short amount of time when we put them first. So I'm just really excited about what we're going to get out of it, whether it's a lot of film or a little film, it doesn't really matter. As long as we can allow the horses to come first and help heal them as much as we can.

Ronnie: 36:08

And you're doing it at their pace, aren't you Patrick. So it's not like you've got to fit this in, it's got to be done by a certain time. Whatever is achieved. Is it their pace? So there's no pressure to perform. Purely what the horses want to work with on that day and as the time goes by yeah and sometimes that can be a pressure, but I know with you, it's not going to be, you're focusing on what you're trying to achieve, not what people's expectations may be. And that's something to be proud of, because again, that can be a pressure that can add to what's not needed. Is there anything you want to say to people before you go?

Patrick: 36:48

You know, I have a quick little story I want to share, they actually came up to me this morning and it just kind of symbolizes how we're all connected, how the universe there's. No, there's nothing that happens in our lives to me that are coinsedence. I think there's a greater power as the universal world work together and all connected and we just have to make sure we appreciate that because I picked up one of my old notebooks and I'm not really organizer and organizing person, but for whatever reason, I took notes of the dates and how many times I rode Gammy and Hall back in 2015, when I started them. And the first time Gami you ever had a saddle on her was October 16th, 2015. And that date might not mean a lot to you guys, but if you were following the journey, the last day of our ride in Kentucky, when we made this, the Kentucky horse park was October 16th, 2021. Exactly six years later from the first day I'd ever put a saddle on Gami we finished at the Kentucky horse park. And I never in a million years ever thought I would quit my job. To train horses, to work with horses and help try to change the world for the equine industry and these horses, but we are all interconnected and I truly believe that if we listen, if we truly listen with our heart, with our minds, with our soul, with our whole body, nothing that we do, is for a loss and everything that we do is for a reason, for the better, for one reason or another, we're all going to be connected and be able to grow as people and as a world, when the time is needed.

Ronnie: 38:34

Oh, that's beautiful patrick, that's really beautiful. I could feel the emotion coming from that, that was lovely. And you're right, especially now we need to, to connect more with each other. So this is you talking about horses And a lot of the interviews that I'm doing, you know, you connect in through the horses but it's a lot more to do with connecting to yourself and trusting and having a voice. And that's just come to me now so horses don't always have a voice and that's really coming strong and that's what they want. They want to have a voice they want to be heard because they've got a lot to say and they've got a lot to show us about our own mortality, how we live our lives, how we can experience joy and Things that we should be experiencing it. It's not all doom and gloom. Yes. There's hardship and this tragedy and things happen, as you're well aware, this just happened in your country. But you can either stay in that place or you can go to a place where you want to change and change yourself and change what's around you and not be part of an old way of where you don't think you can have choices and and it boils down to that. That is very much what the horse is saying, the animals are saying, you know, we need a voice, we need a voice, so that was very beautifully said. I am so looking for to seeing the rest of your journey and to hearing about these amazing horses, amazing animals, and the lucky people that are going to have them in their lives. I wish you lived in the UK. You could help me with mine. But I'm so happy for you. I wish you all the best and it'd be nice in future, to chat with you and Avery and your team, that'd be lovley at some point. Have a wonderful Christmas.

Patrick: 40:27

Ronnie you're an amazing soul and you're an incredible person. I just thank you for everything you're doing for the horse community and the horse world and the kindness that you share with me, and I'm sure everybody in your life every single day. So thank you for, for you and we really are fortunate to be here today be able to kind of share our story a little bit.

Ronnie: 40:45

Thank you so much, you're going to make me blush, but thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much Patrick. Oh, what a lovely, lovely guy. Thank you everybody, I hope you enjoyed this interview. Lovely guy I am so looking forward to the rest of his journey and to see where it goes with this, it will be amazing for all concerned. Have a lovely weekend, thank you for listing and I shall chat to you soon. Bye for now, bye.