Monty Roberts

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Monty Roberts is a horse trainer who became world famous when his autobiography, The Man Who Listens to Horses, became a best-seller.

Roberts reacted against what he describes as the abusive rearing he received as a child and rebelled against the allegedly harsh horse training methods used by his father. He wrote in his autobiography that by personally observing horses in the wild, he learned to "listen" to their non-verbal language. Based on these observations or realizations, he learned that when horses understood that they can trust you, they will decide to be with you. Roberts called this moment "Join-Up" in which a trainer negotiates with an untamed horse to form a voluntary relationship with him.

Without the use of pain or force the trainer persuades a raw horse to accept a saddle, bridle and rider. Working in a round pen, one begins Join-Up by making large movements and noise as a predator would and begins driving the horse to run away. She then gives the horse the option to flee or Join-Up. Through body language, the trainer will ask, "Will you pay me the respect due to a herd leader and join and follow me?" The horse will respond with predictable herd behavior: by locking an ear on her, then by licking and chewing and dropping his head in a display of trust. The exchange concludes with the trainer adopting passive body language, turning her back on the horse and without eye contact, invites him to come close. Join-Up occurs when the animal willingly chooses to be with the human and walks toward her accepting her leadership and protection. [1]

Roberts bases his methods purely on horse behaviour and he has promoted the idea of "starting horses" as opposed to "breaking" them (see horse breaking).

The father of Monty Roberts was Marvin Roberts [2] who demonstrates his methods of horse training in his book written in 1957 and according to Monty:

...trained horses to carry riders in the traditional way -- "breaking" horses by breaking their will, almost torturing the animals into submission.

According to other sources, such as Roberts' aunt, Joyce Renebome, and cousin, Debra Ristau, in their book, 'Horse Whispers & Lies,' Marvin Roberts was a kind and compassionate man.

[edit] List of accomplishments

1939-1944 Stunt double for Mickey Rooney, Roddy McDowall, Charleton Heston, Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet and others
1948 Tracked wild mustangs and learned “the silent language of Equus”
1950–1969 Regional NIRA All Around Championships

11 National Championships in Show Ring
National NIRA Champion Bulldogger
NIRA National Team Roping Championship
NIRA National All Around Championship

1954 Worked with James Dean on East of Eden

1966 Founded Flag Is Up Farms

1966–2004 Started and trained hundreds of race horses; produced champions including:

Cathy Honey, An Act, Aladancer, Walk in the Sun, Tobin Bronze (United States)
Alleged, Dajur (Europe)
Lomitas, Quebrada, Risen Raven, Macanal, Lavirco, Silvano, and :*Sabiango (Germany)
Sharivari and Bahroona (New Zealand)

1973–1986 Leading consignor to Hollywood Park/Two-Year-Old Thoroughbreds In Training sale

1985 - Gold Card Lifetime Member, PRCA, Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Association

1986 - First public demonstration of Join~Up® in Vancouver, BC, Canada

1988 - Named “Stock Horseman of the Year” by National Reined Cow Horse Association

1989 - Queen Elizabeth II invites Monty to Windsor Castle to demonstrate Join~Up® and train her staff

1996 - "The Man Who Listens to Horses" is published

1997 - Book remains on New York Times best-seller list for 58 weeks

1998 - BBC/PBS documentary Monty Roberts: The Real Horse Whisperer airs

1998 - First Join~Up® demonstration tour visits more than 40 states in the United States

1999 - Monty’s book, "Shy Boy: The Horse That Came in from the Wild" is released and hits the best-seller lists

1999 - Documentary "Shy Boy: The Horse That Came in from the Wild airs"

2000 - ASPCA awards Roberts their “Man of the Year” award

2001 - Monty’s book, "Horse Sense for People" is published

2002 - Awarded honorary doctorate from the University of Zurich, Switzerland in animal psychology

2002 - Monty’s fourth book, "From My Hands to Yours", is published

2002 - Monty demonstrates Join~Up® as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee at Windsor Castle

2002–2003 - Monty, Pat, and Shy Boy ride in Tournament of Roses parade

2004 The Girls Scouts commission a special Join~Up® badge and training program in honor of Monty’s pioneering work

2004 - Monty’s German bred Sabiango wins the Grade 1 $350,000 Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap at the Hollywood Park Racetrack in California, followed shortly thereafter by the $200,000 Kentucky Cup Turf