John operates Against the Wind Ranch in McDowell, VA. He breeds, raises and works with cattle, horses and Border Collie stock dogs.

In addition to his spiritual practices and beliefs, his life has also been devoted to learning, developing and refining methods of logical and effective horse and human communication.
As far as working with horses, there are specific types of stimuli and techniques employed, there is no set formula as each horse responds differently. “I seek harmony and compliance, based on respect, trust and understanding,” he says. John feels that the most favorable results come from presenting things in a simple manner, so that the horse  (or cow, or canine…) may understand and absorb what is being asked. Honoring each one of them as a unique being, and trying to achieve a complete union of horse and human - with the human as the established leader - is the cornerstone of his philosophy regarding horses.

John’s mainstay is the stock saddle. His style of riding and horsemanship derives from the old world traditions of Spain and Portugal. In turn, the horsemanship of those countries was learned from conquering and occupying Nomadic tribes of the Central Asian Steppe. The Nomads, who traveled into Europe via “The Silk Route”, were known for their excellence in preparing horses for warfare with dressage training. Their day-to-day life was that of grazing and tending livestock. These horsemen were (and still are), the first so-called “Cowboys” (a cowboy being simply a “mounted herdsmen”). They honed their skills by inventing mounted “games”, such as retrieving small objects from the ground while riding at a full gallop – exercises that would make any rodeo “trick rider” envious. These peoples are credited with the development of the stirrup and the lasso – to mention but a few pieces of equipment still in use today.

John’s approach with horses works on humans, too. In fact, he believes that strengthening the bond with our horses gives us greater insight into our human relationships. “It comes down to respect, trust and understanding - that is what all of us, human and equine, are searching for.”

John employs his insight on the horse human/bond to his work with his Against the Wind Leadership Program (see Leadership Programs section of website). He also is certified as an Equine Specialist with the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA). www.eagala.org/

He also serves on the Advisory Council for Maryland Therapeutic Riding (MTR), in Crownsville, MD. For the past several years, John has been conducting clinics and workshops for MTR horses and volunteers. He works to help the human volunteers to understand the horses, and the horses to understand and accept their role as the integral part of the therapeutic team.