I have been passionate about horses since childhood, following my father's example.
At the age of sixteen, I entered the world of classical show jumping. As a child I dreamed of a horse in an open field, galloping in complete freedom, without harness or saddle. There was no place for this dream in the equestrian world as I knew it at the time. The "winning" aspect and everything that went with it took precedence over the comfort of the horses. Everything had to go fast and make money.
Later Karen, my daughter, confronted me with my dream again. From then on I started to approach horses in a different way. For example, I started riding without a bit. I soon discovered some essential factors that support this treatment, such as nutrition, understanding language, flight and herd instinct, but above all I had to learn to come down.
Since 1993 I have been searching for answers to questions that arose during my quest to collect horses on a loose rein (read bitless).
In 2002 I set up a business to coach people and horses. I will be forever grateful to Inge and Jos for supporting me in this important step.
In 2007 I was lucky enough to meet my current wife Pascale. She encouraged me to write down my structure and to find the right words and images to translate my intuition into a clear and understandable format. She also took care of the administrative side so that I could concentrate 100% on my passion and my work.
Since 2010 I have been studying the Academic Art of Riding in a bitless way. I have developed the BAR Cavemore and the BAR Cavesal® so that I can remain true to my philosophy.
Achieved tests in the Academic Art of Riding:
2013 Squire test with Deseado
2014 Squire update with Deseado
2018 Piaffe test with Deseado
2019 Levade test with Deseado
