A fresh, honest, and deeply empathetic approach to horsemanship that puts the horse first, combining practical skill with emotional clarity.
Reflections From Horse People Learning With Us
"Excellent Learning"
"...so much excellent learning, challenging of old ideas bad beliefs and a new way to progress. Highly recommended.
- A McLaren
"...communicate with complete honesty."
"Lockie breaks it all down into manageable chunks that not only make sense in theory, but in practice too... this technique strips away all the noise and allows your horse to communicate with complete honesty.
- W. DeDonato
"Amazing Experience."
"Amazing experience. There's just nothing else like it."
- S. Utton
Meet Your Support Team
Lockie Phillips
Lockie Phillips is the founder of Emotional Horsemanship, an international horse trainer, riding instructor, clinician, coach, and lifelong horse nerd. After more than a decade of wide-ranging experience across disciplines, Lockie created Emotional Horsemanship to offer a modern, horse-first approach to training that blends science, empathy, and real feel.
Lockie’s teaching is shaped by both practical horsemanship and a prestigious background in classical and contemporary dance, bringing a unique focus on biomechanics, movement, balance, and ethical partnership.
His work spans rehabilitation, hoofcare, horse-keeping, harmonious riding, non-escalating pressure, emotional neuroscience, and training techniques designed to prioritise the horse’s experience as much as the outcome.
Since 2021, Lockie has delivered over 1,000 private and group services annually and has been teaching equestrians worldwide since 2012. Today, his focus is primarily on long-term mentorship programs, alongside a limited number of international clinics each year.
Lockie lives at Finca de Sanson in Galicia, Spain, where clients also join him for retreats and internships alongside his herd.
He is proud to represent the LGBTQIA+ community and is deeply committed to increasing accessibility, safety, and visibility for minorities within the equestrian industry.
You can follow Lockie’s work on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, or listen to the Podcast HORSE, FIRST with Lockie Phillips.
Michelle Knapp
Michelle is the first Associated Emotional Horsemanship Trainer, Instructor, and Coach, and she brings a rare mix of deep experience, calm clarity, and genuinely good humour to the EH community.
Michelle specialises in Emotional Horsemanship Foundations, confidence-building, consolidating skill sets, classical dressage, and reminding all of us that horsemanship is allowed to include play, laughter, and a little lightness alongside the serious work.
She is a USDF “L” dressage judge, has competed across multiple disciplines as a young trainer (including cattle work and beginner eventing), and spent many years in the Parelli institution before doing the most important thing of all: forging her own path and landing here with Emotional Horsemanship.
Michelle is a seasoned clinician, coach, and trainer with decades of experience, and she runs a busy training and boarding business in Wisconsin, USA. In other words, she is extremely competent, deeply horse-first, and has seen absolutely everything.
Michelle is passionate about supporting EH students in a way that complements Lockie’s teaching while still being unmistakably herself. Her sessions are practical, empowering, and often sprinkled with the kind of humour that makes hard things feel possible again.
Despite her background in performance horses, Michelle knows the truth: horses only succeed when they know they are being considered, not just managed.
She teaches for the horse people who want to be heard, witnessed, and supported as their real selves, alongside horses who deserve the same.
Michelle and her husband Troy steward a lively household of personal horses, boarding horses, and a highly serious committee of cats who believe they run the entire operation.
Kristy Foley
Kristy Foley offers Energetic Balancing and Care Coaching for horses and humans through an Emotional Horsemanship lens, bringing a rare blend of grounded practicality and deeply intuitive insight to the EH community.
Kristy is a pioneer in energetic translation, having developed her own balancing system to support heart-centred horse people navigating the modern world with clearer, cleaner energetics. Her work is not vague or performative. It is steady, repeatable, and deeply respectful of both horse and human experience. Kristy helps clients notice what is happening beneath the surface, where tension often begins, and where peace can be restored.
We do not use dismissive language to describe Kristy’s work, because what she offers is skilled, consistent, and profoundly useful. Her sessions are designed to bring regulation, validation, and emotional clarity, especially for horses and people who are sensitive, overwhelmed, or carrying more than they realise. Kristy approaches this work with care and discernment, ensuring that clients who engage with energetic translation feel ready, aligned, and supported.
A student of Lockie since his very first clinic tour, Kristy began working with the Emotional Horsemanship student body in 2023 and quickly became a trusted and beloved presence. As an Energetic Translator, she has a remarkable ability to help horses and their humans find their way back to one another, often bringing calm to situations that have felt confusing or stuck for a long time.
Kristy is also a devoted mother with a beautiful family, and the proud steward of her horse, Kid. Her warmth, steadiness, and quiet wisdom make her work feel less like something mysterious and more like something deeply human: a gentle returning to balance, connection, and peace.
Hayley Josephs
Hayley Josephs is our first and only Emotional Horsemanship Student Teacher, handpicked by the team for her rare combination of talent, humility, outstanding work ethic, and consistently excellent results with her horses as a long-term EH student.
Hayley first appeared in the HC1 program in 2023 and quickly became one of those quiet, unmistakable presences in the community. The kind of horse person you notice because her work speaks for itself. Since then, she has attended Emotional Horsemanship clinics both as a participant and an auditor, and she continues her own deep study as a long-term client of Lockie.
We invited Hayley into the Student Teacher role to give her a true container to grow into professional instruction, training, and coaching, with real mentorship, experience, and support as she steps into the service sector. Hayley brings a thoughtful, steady way of working that is deeply horse-first, highly adaptable, and refreshingly free of ego.
Hayley is available for bookings at a Student Teacher rate and specialises in confidence building, strength identification, and tailoring Emotional Horsemanship techniques to the unique horse and human in front of her.
Working with Hayley is a little like getting to meet a brilliant teacher at the very beginning of a long career. We have immense trust in her potential, and we are proud to support her as she grows.
Hayley lives in Colorado, USA, with her husband, son, and two mustangs, Cirrus and Paloma, who are very lucky to be part of her unfolding horsemanship story.
Kathrin Lueke
Kathrin has been the administrator for Emotional Horsemanship since January 2024, bringing a rare combination of consistency, excellence, and genuine warmth to every corner of the EH community. She is often the first friendly point of contact for clients, and her calm, capable presence makes the experience of learning with EH feel smooth, organised, and well held from the very beginning.
Kathrin supports all aspects of the business administration, from clinic coordination and course access, to client bookings, enquiries, and day-to-day communication. She is knowledgeable, qualified, and deeply committed to helping each person feel welcomed, informed, and cared for as they find their place within Emotional Horsemanship.
One of Kathrin’s most appreciated roles is as the quiet remover of modern tech headaches. If you feel unsure about Zoom lessons, Pivo recordings, internet setups, or navigating your educational materials, Kathrin is available for tech-assistance calls to guide you through it step by step. No stress, no embarrassment, no confusion left hanging. She makes the practical side of online learning feel simple again, so you can focus on what really matters: your horse.
These support calls are offered freely to EH clients and prospective clients, because we believe learning should feel accessible, not complicated.
Kathrin is also an Emotional Horsemanship student herself, and the proud steward of her own horse, which means she understands this work not only from the administrative side, but from inside the journey too.
Brie & Stuart
Brie and Stuart are a husband and wife team who have been part of the Emotional Horsemanship story since shortly after Lockie moved to Spain in 2019. Their presence at Finca de Sanson is one of the reasons the farm feels so steady, cared for, and deeply horse-centred.
Brie joined Emotional Horsemanship in 2023 as the daily caretaker of the EH horses, and Stuart soon followed as our gardener and groundskeeper. Together, they bring enormous pride and quiet skill to the everyday work that truly matters: making sure the horses are exceptionally well kept, and that the land continues to grow in both function and beauty.
Their roles are not about luxury, but about responsibility. Good horsemanship is built on good horse-keeping, and Brie and Stuart ensure that the horses’ lives here are held to the highest standard. Brie has kept horses all her life and has a particular love for senior horses, and through her work with Lockie she has also developed strong hoofcare skills, so that the horses’ feet and comfort are always a priority. Stuart brings a background in construction, alongside a passion for woodwork and gardening, and his care helps keep the farm safe, practical, and welcoming.
When Lockie travels for clinics, Brie and Stuart continue the work at home with the same steadiness and attention, ensuring the horses remain settled and well cared for. They are not behind-the-scenes extras, but an integral part of what makes Emotional Horsemanship possible.
The horses adore them, and so do we.
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