Hey everyone, Jake here! I wanted to share a bit of my story with you so you could get to know me better. Like many men who are into horses, I got started all because of a pretty girl.
Originally from Michigan, I began early in my horse career working for Parelli Natural Horsemanship as member of the Ranch Crew and Tour Team. I started their “Mastery Program” at Parelli’s Florida campus in Oct 2009 and was a full time student until August of 2011. I have traveled across the country, to Europe, met some of the horse industries top professionals and had the opportunity to ride and perform in front of thousands of people, all thanks to the start the Parelli program gave me in the horse world. Now I get to help horses and humans with what I learned from my many mentors, about horses and life, while traveling all over the country with my family and the Pear Tree Ranch Crew!
Before my horse journey began I did a little bit of a lot. I’ve been a carpenter, worked in a daycare with toddlers and infants, done landscaping, worked at a dog boarding kennel and spent almost 5 years learning at Tom Brown’s Tracker School where I practiced tracking, wilderness survival and primitive skills. I even spent most of a year living in a primitive shelter in the woods as a caretaker at Tom’s “Tracker” school. While there I helped teach and had lots of time to develop my primitive skills since I had the opportunity to live them daily.
Once horses came into my life it didn’t take long for me to decide I wanted to make horses a part of my career. I found a two-year Horse Management Program at a major university and enrolled in 2006 to increase my all around horse knowledge. I transitioned into working for Parelli Natural Horsemanship and worked on the Ranch Crew, Tour Team and spent two years as a part of the Mastery program graduating as a 3-Star Instructor and Horse Development Specialist. I traveled the country helping horses and humans for the next 5 years as a Licensed Parelli Instructor.
In those years I met my lovely wife Stephanie and we have been working together living our dream since 2013. We were married in 2015 and welcomed our son to the family in the spring of 2017.
In 2016, The B-C Foundation Station was opened in Reddick, Florida and as a 501c3 Not for Profit Company, we developed horses and humans in a variety of ways to fund us to be able to support other Non-Profit Companies like Therapeutic Riding Centers and Horse Rescues with our services to create a better world for horses and the humans that love them. I dedicated all of the profits from my horse development and teaching to get that program off the ground and functioning.
In 2017 I retired as a Parelli Professional to be able to have the freedom to grow and develop as a horseman and an educator, and to be able to share everything I have learned from horses and the many other teachers and horseman I have studied. In May of 2017 we refocused our efforts away from B-C back to the Pear Tree Ranch mission: To Educate for a Purpose, with Passion, to Inspire Hope.
The Pear Tree Ranch Team is now based out of Citra, Florida, just outside Ocala, the Horse Capital of the World, where I am able to own and operate a beautiful facility where horses and their owners can come to learn in a special environment. I also travel the country so I can help even more horses and humans get together and become better partners. I help horse owners by starting a relationship and developing partnerships with their horses so the horse is ready to be a good partner for their human with my Horse Development Services. I also teach owners to have good habits and skills so they can have successful relationships and partnerships with their horses through our Human Development programs including Lessons, Bootcamp, Workshops, Clinics and Camps.
It’s great to have the opportunity to share my journey and you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates. You can find Pear Tree Ranch on social media platforms including, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you are interested in having me help you along your journey please see my Services page to see more about what is available to you and your equine partner.