IRWIN INSIGHTS

Willow Ranch would not exist without the inspiration that came from Irwin Insights. 

 

Once upon a time there was a young Dutch girl who loved her horses.  Her passion for learning about horses would draw her to venture away from the Netherlands to Canada where she would spend a summer totally immersed as an apprentice in horse training.  It was on a ranch in the mountains of British Columbia that Lissy was introduced to a revolutionary method of horsemanship known as Irwin Insights.

 

At first, Lissy admits she struggled a bit.  Irwin Insights was not easy.  It seemed to be the opposite to everything she had been taught about horses.  However, it didn’t take long before she was seeing incredible transformational results with the horses.  The Dutch have a saying: “In the land of the blind, the man with one eye is King.”   And for Lissy, Irwin Insights was quickly becoming an eye-opening, life-changing experience!  

 

Like so many well-intentioned equestrians, when Lissy left the Netherlands for training in Canada, she did not know what she did not know about what was missing in the relationship with her own horse, a big beautiful warmblood by the name of Willow.  But when she returned to the Netherlands she was amazed at how immediately responsive and appreciative Willow was for her new knowledge and skills!  Before Irwin Insights Willow also did not know what Lissy did not know.  But when she returned to her own horse after studying Irwin Insights, it was dramatically clear and evident to Lissy that suddenly, now Willow did know what she did know!     

 

Knowledge is power.  And positive results build confidence.  Suddenly, what had always seemed like a dream was becoming a potential reality.  Lissy and her sister, Claire, had long imagined owning and operating a horse business together where they could realize their heartfelt goal of making the world a better place for horses.  But they also knew how often the road to hell can be paved with good intentions.  They had been afraid that their dream of owning their own horse business could too easily turn into a nightmare!  But as Lissy shared what she learned about Irwin Insights with Claire, and the two sisters trained together and continued to see better and even more amazing results with their own horses, it wasn’t long before their dream was looking more and more possible.

 

Long story short, it didn’t take long before Lissy and Claire moved with their parents, Teun and Nicolette, from the Netherlands to Canada, to start their own guest ranch and educational retreat.  And of course, it was the love of horses that brought together Lissy and her husband, Simon.  Now Lissy, Simon, and Claire, are a family team dedicated to serving the horses and public as Master Certified Irwin Insights Trainers.

 

We believe that life is best lived if we are doing what we love and loving what we do.  For the team at Willow Ranch this is our path.  And our greatest reward is always during that special “ah-hah” moment of recognition when we see that our guests now know what they didn’t know about horses, and the horses know the guests know, and the guests know that the horses know they know.  It is magical!  

​

Being so dedicated to Irwin Insights it felt as a great honour that Chris and Sofie partnered up with us to be able to offer a great variety of clinics and courses throughout the year. This fits so greatly in our passion of making the world a little bit better for horses, as in our opinion spreading the Irwin Insights and sharing Chris's knowledge is the best help horses can get.

​

Are you interested in learning more about Irwin Insights, check out our event calendar for upcoming clinics, or contact us to book in your private learning experience.

​

​

 

​