Live Free Ride Free with Rupert Isaacson

✨ "I don't believe it's possible to ride with lightness if you're heavy of heart." – Rupert Isaacson

✨ "It's in the break where you get the effect of the exercise." – Charlotte Wittbom

Charlotte Wittbom grew up in Sweden riding ponies through the forests and competing in eventing, then found her way through a UK riding school to Portugal, where she spent years with the Valença family and went on to run Quinta do Brejo, Nuno Oliveira's old yard. She now teaches classical riding and in-hand work in England, working alongside physios and with a growing number of compet...

✨  “The principal thing is love, passion, love, passion and passion and love.” – Luis Valença

✨ “The first thing is to communicate with the horse, and for the horse to accept you.” – Luis Valença 

✨ “It’s not gymnastics.” / “Our work is like music. It’s the same as listening to Chopin or Beethoven.” – Luis Valença

✨ “I have the same enthusiasm because I love life, I love the horses, I love the family.” – Luis Valença 

✨ “Never take the personality from the horse.” – Luis Valença

Rupert Isaacson welcomes Mestre Luis Valença o...

✨ "For me, competition has always been real feedback, not what I think is good." – Sinead Maynard

✨ "There's nothing about me that's gonna make you do this. You gotta love it, and we gotta love it together." – Sinead Maynard

Sinead Halpin Maynard was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Irish immigrant parents and grew up in South Carolina, where she stumbled into eventing via a hunter-jumper barn that didn't approve of her mother's black saddle. At 15 she drove herself to Middleburg, Virginia, as a working student, went on to train with David and Karen O'Connor, and after lo...

✨ "Dressage should be for the horse — the horse should not be for dressage." – Mark Russell, quoted by Patrick King

✨ "Speed is the enemy of balance." – Patrick King

Patrick King is a classical dressage trainer based in Lexington, Virginia, who came up through Western horsemanship — 4-H as a kid, an apprenticeship with legendary colt-starter Ray Hunt, then mentorship from the late Mark Russell before he found his way, like Rupert, to Luis Valença and the Portuguese school. He's since studied with Charles de Kunffy and Bettina Drummond, earned bronze and silver dressage medals, and now teaches throu...

✨ "You do it by offering before you ask, connection before direction." – Jenifer Zeligs

✨ "Look with appreciation. Look with delight. Look with interest. Look with curiosity." – Jenifer Zeligs

Jenifer Zeligs has spent her life reading animals of every kind, from cheetahs and wolves to sea lions and horses. She started at the National Zoo at nine years old, mentored by exotic animal trainer Casey Cover, and went on to a career that helped shape modern liberty horse training. She is also the person that legendary horse trainer David Lichman credits with the "come bearing gifts" philosop...

✨ "I think love is just not blocking out your connectedness to anything else." – Warwick Schiller

✨ "The same action with a different intention has a different energetic signature." – Warwick Schiller

Warwick Schiller joins Rupert Isaacson for a wide-ranging conversation on altered states of consciousness in horsemanship, a subject the two first began exploring together on Warwick's own podcast. Rupert opens with the story of his son Rowan's healing ceremony with Kuku Yalanji shamans in Australia's Daintree Rainforest, and the two trace the theme from there into what "consent" and so-called horse slapping actually look like through a horse...

✨ "Everyone knows that the conqueror writes his story." – Louis Hook

✨ "I stood up. I told my son, 'That's not true.' And from there, I started a research path." – Louis Hook

Louis Hook is a founding member of the Compton Cowboys, the decades-old therapeutic riding program based in Compton, Los Angeles, and previously featured on Rupert's Equine Assisted World podcast. He carries an MIT PhD program background and a Harvard Business School education, and for the last several years has redirected that analytical training toward an independent research project: documenting the African cavalry traditions written out of m...

✨ "I've never used Baucher to train anything. I've always used Baucher to heal." – Nahshon Cook

✨ "Does your horse feel good after you've done what you've done with them? ... That's connection." – Nahshon Cook

Nahshon Cook is a classical dressage trainer based in Colorado whose path began riding donated horses as a kid at the Urban Farm at Stapleton, an inner-city youth program in Denver. Two mentors — Cynthia Spalding and former Cadre Noir rider Jean-François Fabier — introduced him to dressage before he was out of his teens, and after a detour through divinity school, Southeast Asia, and a s...

✨ "Your horse does not anticipate. He simply reads your mind." – Dominique Barbier

✨ "I want people to smile when they ride, because if they don't smile, why are you riding?" – Dominique Barbier

Dominique Barbier grew up in France with no horsey family background, but an early and almost uncanny sensitivity to horses that set him apart from the biomechanical training he encountered in England and France. After training and competing across multiple disciplines, he made his way to Portugal to study for two years with the legendary Nuno Oliveira, absorbing lessons that would go on to shape th...

✨ "The difference between destruction and creation kind of just disappears, and this is a beautiful thing to be able to do." – Arne Koets

✨ "Are you making a foundation for a skyscraper or are you making a foundation for a shed? Those are not the same foundations." – Arne Koets

Arne Koets is a historical dressage teacher, jouster, and practitioner of Rossfechten — mounted sword fighting — who trained at the Fürstliche Hofreitschule in Bückeburg, Germany, reaching the level of Hofberater (courtly rider). His work draws on European martial arts manuscripts dating back to the 14th and 15th centu...

✨ "All social species seek connections. People and horses are no different. Safety and comfort are the core elements to build strong social bonds regardless of species. “ – Mary Ann Simonds

✨ "The best tool we have is be the best human you can be. You don't have to know everything. You just have to be clear on yourself and be pure and be silent, and then help your horse be the best horse it can be." – Mary Ann Simonds

Mary Ann Simonds has spent more than four decades sitting at the intersection of wildlife biology, consciousn...

✨ "The best teachers and coaches are the horses. It's important for us to learn to listen to them and see them." – Mario Contreras

✨ "There is a big word I always feel is missing from the training scale — and that's joy. Where's the joy? These are movements that horses do when they feel passion." – Rupert Isaacson

Mario Contreras is the head trainer at Medieval Times Chicago, the man responsible for the standard of horsemanship that stops knowledgeable riders cold in the middle of a crowd of beer-drinking tourists who have no idea what they're witnessing. Third-generation horse trai...

✨ "Somebody asked me, 'Do you teach horses collection?' I said, 'I suppose, but really what I'm trying to do is teach them connection. I want them to know me, and I want to know them.'" – Dr. Glenn Cochran

✨ "The only thing about you that's bigger than that horse is your brain." – Dr. Glenn Cochran

Dr. Glenn Cochran is a Texas cattleman, emergency room physician, classical rider, working equitation organizer, and honorary charro who has spent his life refusing the false walls between disciplines. His journey runs from starting colts at 14 under old-school cowboy Buck Kid...

What does it take to get a horse to stay with you — freely, on an open beach with no fence and no force? David Lichman has spent more than 30 years answering that question. From watching Ray Hunt work cold colts at the California State Fair, to becoming a Parelli instructor, to learning positive reinforcement from a sea lion behaviorist, his entire career has been built around one insight: make being with you the best place on earth.

The conversation covers liberty training, the treats debate, undemanding time, the history of horsemanship, and why joy is the on...

What if the stars in your birth chart could tell you why you're drawn to horses — and what stands between you and the deeper connection you're seeking? Denise Elizabeth Byron has spent decades working at the intersection of astrology, psychic intuition, and soul guidance. She didn't set out to become the horse community's astrologer. She set out, as a seven-year-old girl in California, simply to understand why her grandmother kept showing up in her bedroom after she died — and never really stopped.

Denise's path winds through a childhood steeped in Irish and Celtic intuition, a mother casting char...

✨ "Men don't need less empathy. They often need empathy delivered differently." – Eric Robertson

✨ "Success is a tricky thing. You can get to the point where you start to believe your own bullshit — and that has some negative impacts on your relationships." – Eric Robertson

Eric Robertson spent 33 years inside some of the most painful moments families ever face — divorce. As one of Austin's most respected family law attorneys, he sat across from men and women at their most raw and most desperate. What he noticed about the men changed the direction of his life. They weren't fall...

⭐ “Horses can only perform as well as they understand — and as well as they feel.” – Karen Rohlf

⭐ “You have to be either searching or enjoying — nothing in between.” – Karen Rohlf

Karen Rohlf didn’t start out trying to reinvent dressage — she started as a horse‑crazy kid, fell into traditional training, and then slowly realized something wasn’t adding up.

In this episode of Live Free Ride Free, Rupert Isaacson speaks with Karen about the hidden tension inside modern dressage, the difference between training and performance, and why so many riders get stuck chasing “correctness”...

“ If you lead with heart and joy, you end up with heart and joy.” – Laura Chesterfield

“ It’s not about being an expert in everything — it’s about being interested in everything.” – Laura Chesterfield

Laura Chesterfield grew up inside one of the most magical landscape restorations in the world: The Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall. As the daughter of Heligan co‑founder Tim Smit, Laura watched the famous gardens emerge from decades of abandonment after the First World War — a process that revealed not only a remarkable landscape, but powerful stories about people, nature, restor...

✨ “Once people release the trauma, we can start dreaming about possibility.” – Jeff Tomhave

✨ “It’s not rocket science. It’s telling a compelling story to a receptive audience.” – Jeff Tomhave

Jeff Tomhave is a Native American attorney and tribal advocate who has spent more than two decades working at the intersection of federal policy, infrastructure development, healthcare access, and tribal sovereignty.

In this episode of Live Free Ride Free, Rupert Isaacson sits down with Jeff for a far‑reaching conversation about what it means to live in “America within America.” From federal land trust systems and und...

✨ “The horse lives in the present. If you want to be a good horse person, you need to become more like the horse.” – Richard Williams

✨ “Horsemanship is a physical meditation. The horse is a three-dimensional mirror.” – Richard Williams

From preserving rare classical manuscripts to exploring the emotional and civilizing power of horsemanship, Richard Williams — publisher of Xenophon Press — joins Rupert Isaacson for a deep dive into why the old masters still matter.

In this episode of Live Free Ride Free, Rupert and Richard trace the arc of classical equestrian knowledge from Xenophon through the Renaissa...

✨ “I’m upset because life should be so beautiful.” – Rejane D’Espirac 
✨ “Healing begins with attention.” – Rupert Isaacson

In this expansive and deeply reflective episode of Live Free Ride Free, Rupert Isaacson is joined by French writer, journalist, filmmaker, and activist Rejane D’Espirac for a wide‑ranging conversation on healing, presence, storytelling, plants, and what it means to live a life in service.

Rejane’s work sits at the crossroads of human rights, environmental activism, health, and inner transformation. From documenting the long‑term aftermath of the Bhopal industrial disaster in India, to exploring Ayurveda, yoga, inf...

✨ “Being different is not your weakness — it’s your superpower.” – John Kippen 
✨ “Story is the original healing technology.” – Rupert Isaacson

In this deeply moving and wide‑ranging episode of Live Free Ride Free, Rupert Isaacson speaks with resilience coach, magician, and motivational speaker John Kippen about identity, illness, visibility, and what it truly takes to come out of hiding.

John shares his extraordinary personal story — from being diagnosed with a life‑threatening brain tumor in his early thirties, to waking from surgery with permanent facial paralysis that led him to withdraw from public life for more than a...

In this deeply honest and wide‑ranging episode of Live Free Ride Free, Rupert Isaacson speaks with family therapist and author Amanda Atkins about what it truly means to parent a high‑needs child — and how parents survive, adapt, and rediscover joy along the way.

Amanda shares the personal story behind her book How to Handle More Than You Can Handle, written from lived experience as the mother of Asher, a teenager with Prader‑Willi Syndrome. Together, Rupert and Amanda explore overwhelm, grief, resilience, humor, identity, marriage, community, and the long‑term realities of parenting children with disabiliti...

In this deeply moving and long‑awaited reunion episode of Live Free Ride Free, Rupert Isaacson is joined by Tulga Otgonbaatar — the Mongolian guide, cultural bridge, and quiet catalyst behind the original Horse Boy journey.

Nearly twenty years after Rupert, his autistic son Rowan, and Tulga traveled together across Mongolia to meet shamans, reindeer herders, and the vast living intelligence of the steppe, the two sit down to reflect on what that journey set in motion — not only for Rowan and their families, but for Mongolia itself.

This conversation weaves together memory, history, spirit...

✨ "You’re not stuck. You just haven’t talked to the right mentor yet." – Jason Barrett
✨ "If you find a purpose—and the courage to follow it—you’ll surprise yourself every time." – Jason Barrett
What happens when a 12‑year‑old kid walks into a summer camp for people with profound disabilities—and never really leaves? Performer, father, and nonprofit co‑founder Jason Barrett joins Rupert Isaacson for a funny, vulnerable, and deeply inspiring conversation about service, special needs, faith, horses, circus arts, and what it really takes to build a life around purpose.

From his first summer at Camp S...

✨ “Sometimes we just need to be—without the pressure of doing more.” – Dr. Kate Lund

✨ “Movement and nature help us return to ourselves when the world feels too loud.” – Dr. Kate Lund

What does resilience really look like when life pulls the rug out from under you—again and again? Clinical psychologist, author, and resilience expert Dr. Kate Lund joins Rupert Isaacson for an intimate and powerful conversation about childhood illness, brain surgery, parenting, pressure, movement, nature, and how we find our way back to possibility.

Diagnosed with hydrocephalus at age four, Kate spent much of her ch...

From cryptids to hickory trees, raccoons, and the hidden balance of the natural world, writer and poet Jarod Anderson invites us into his world of imagination, healing, and belonging. In this deep and reflective conversation, Rupert Isaacson explores Jarod’s journey through depression, his rediscovery of nature, and how storytelling can transform pain into wonder. Together they uncover how imagination acts as a bridge back to the wild world—even when we’re confined by screens or cities—and how the stories we tell can become medicine for our own minds. Known for his podcast The CryptoNaturalist and his books So...

In this deeply moving episode of Live Free Ride Free, Rupert Isaacson welcomes Henrich Berkhoff, farmer, father, politician, and founder of child-protection and education initiatives in Germany.

From facing a devastating prenatal diagnosis to creating one of Germany’s first Green Care Farms, Henrich shares how his son’s birth with spina bifida transformed his family’s life—igniting a mission to integrate nature, farming, and inclusion into education and policy.

A lifelong advocate for children’s rights and special education, Henrich speaks about building community (“the tribe comes to you”), turning crisis into growth, and working wi...

In this episode of Live Free Ride Free, Rupert Isaacson sits down with scientist, journalist, and bestselling author Dr. Jo Marchant (PhD in Genetics and Medical Microbiology) to explore the intersections between science, spirituality, and the human experience. From the placebo effect to consciousness, awe, and the nature of time itself, Jo unpacks her groundbreaking books Cure, The Human Cosmos, and her forthcoming In Search of Now. Together they examine what it means to live curiously, think freely, and rediscover wonder in a rational age.

✨ “Science is asking questions of nature and listening to the answers.” – Jo Marchant...

Once nonverbal, Lina Hjalmarsson-Lyons now communicates through a letter board and her own writing—sharing profound insights into love, autism, and the human spirit. In this extraordinary episode of Live Free Ride Free, Rupert Isaacson sits down with long-time friend Helena Hjalmarsson and her daughter Lina to explore the paradox of autism, poetry born from struggle, and what it means to align with our planet and each other. Their conversation moves from the excruciating journey of learning to spell, to navigating health challenges, to Lina’s vision of compassion as the cornerstone of society.

✨ “In learning how to spell...

From hitchhiking to California with $35 in her pocket, to becoming a Stanford professor, medical doctor, and pioneer in equine-assisted programs, Dr. Beverley Kane’s story is one of resilience, curiosity, and transformation. In this episode of Live Free Ride Free, Rupert Isaacson sits down with Dr. Kane to trace her journey through medicine, sports science, corporate Silicon Valley, parapsychology, and ultimately to horses—where she bridges science and spirituality.

Beverley shares how her early activism during the Vietnam War led her into medicine, what she learned working in preventive health and AI at Apple and WebMD, and...

 From the rugby fields of London to the Merchant Navy, Special Forces, skydiving, aviation, and entrepreneurship—Paul Illingworth’s life has been defined by risk, resilience, and relentless drive. In this episode of Live Free Ride Free, Rupert Isaacson sits down with Paul to trace a journey that spans fear, family, and the search for tribe.

Paul shares how being bullied as a child forged his fighter’s spirit, how rugby and the Navy honed his leadership, and why fear should never be allowed to rule your life. From building successful businesses—including skydiving operations and escape rooms—to...

In this rare solo episode of Live Free Ride Free, host Rupert Isaacson shares his own extraordinary story—tracing a path from his multicultural childhood in London to horseback adventures, indigenous rights campaigns, and the creation of groundbreaking autism and equine therapy programs. Rupert weaves together vivid life experiences: from retraining an unruly ex-racehorse as a boy, to helping the Bushmen of the Kalahari win historic land claims, to transforming his son’s autism journey through horses, nature, and movement. This is a deep dive into service, resilience, and the magic of following the call of adventure.

🔍 What Yo...

What happens when a successful publisher hits rock bottom—and finds his way back through psychedelics, storytelling, and soul work? In this episode of Live Free Ride Free, Rupert Isaacson sits down with Ralf Daab, a Cologne-based publisher and spiritual entrepreneur, to explore how dreams, and intuition reshaped his life. From sex with his soul-self to conversations with ancient Persian sultans, Ralf shares candidly about death, rebirth, and the creative power of expanded consciousness. It’s a story of heartbreak, transformation, and discovering that the spiritual path doesn’t have to begin in the jungle—it can start with a walk p...

Filmmaker Craig Foster (My Octopus Teacher) and wildlife sculptor-naturalist George Bumann return to Live Free Ride Free for a sweeping, soul-deep conversation on rewilding the human spirit. With Rupert Isaacson, they dive into the healing force of biodiversity, the true meaning of conflict resolution, and why tracking—not just animals, but ourselves—is essential for becoming fully alive. From snails in beer bottles to raven politics at the dump, they explore how the smallest natural encounters offer the biggest epiphanies. This episode is an invitation to reclaim our 3-million-year-old blueprint for joy, freedom, and kinship with all beings.

✨...

Dr. Ben Conner, professor of practical theology and founder of the Center for Disability and Ministry, joins Rupert Isaacson for a radical rethinking of Christianity and environmentalism. From reinterpreting "dominion" in Genesis to empowering neurodivergent voices in ministry, Ben challenges assumptions about American evangelicalism, conservation, and the role of theology in planetary healing. Together, they explore how to reconnect children, horses, and communities to a sense of sacred kinship with nature—through wonder, embodiment, and relational theology.

✨ “Maybe the vocation of a mountain is just to be a mountain.” – Ben Conner

✨ "Jesus in the wilderness w...

"The foundation of Western rationalism? A series of mystical dreams."

Artist, philosopher, and occult scholar Dr. Justin Sledge joins Rupert Isaacson to illuminate a forgotten dimension of Western thought. With over 870,000 YouTube followers on his channel Esoterica, Dr. Sledge has built a global audience passionate about the academic study of magic, mysticism, and esotericism. In this fast-moving and rigorously researched conversation, Justin pulls back the curtain on the mystical roots of rationalism, the dream logic behind Descartes, and how occult traditions shaped the very sciences that claim to have left them behind.

Why should...

Artist, regenerative grazier, and rewilding facilitator Nick Viney joins Rupert Isaacson for an expansive conversation from the wilds of Dartmoor to the edges of imagination. With boots-on-the-ground wisdom from 20 years of land restoration, livestock management, and community-building, Nick makes a compelling case for restoring ecosystems through play, art, and radical listening. This episode is a masterclass in how to bring trees back, slow the water, and let the wild shape us.

🔍 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Farrier, ultra-runner, and Derby training guide Stevie Delahunt joins Rupert Isaacson for a surprising, funny, and soulful conversation that gallops through Patagonia, Mongolia, Oregon, and the inner landscapes of fear, boredom, and awe. They unpack the difference between trauma and triumph, how endurance sports can help rewire the brain, and what it means to truly listen to animals, land, and spirit. Whether you’re derby-curious, nature-hungry, or wondering how to make a more meaningful life with your horses, this one’s a ride.

🔍 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

🚨 Support the Cornwall Rainforest Research Station: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-cornwall-rainforest-comm

Robin and Merlin Hanbury-Tenison are currently raising funds to build the UK's first Atlantic rainforest research station through their Thousand Year Trust. This station will serve as a hub for groundbreaking studies into biodiversity, climate resilience, and the mental health benefits of temperate forests. The crowdfunder is live until May 21st, 2025, and donations will be matched by Aviva—with additional matched funding unlocked if the target is reached.

Legendary explorer and indigenous rights activist Robin Hanbury-Tenison OBE, DL, DSc, DHc, MA, FLS...