Monty Roberts

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Monty Roberts in Essen, Germany (March 2003)

Monty Roberts at work

Monty Roberts (born 15 May 1935 in Salinas, California as Marvin Earl Roberts) is a horse trainer who became world famous when his autobiography, The Man Who Listens to Horses, became a best-seller.

He wrote in his 1996 autobiography that by personally observing horses in the wild, he learned to "listen" to their non-verbal "language"; that when horses understood that they can trust you, they will decide to be with you. Roberts registered as his term for "hooking on", the phrase "Join-Up", in which a trainer negotiates with an untamed horse to form a voluntary relationship with him.

The father of Monty Roberts was Marvin Roberts [1] who demonstrated his methods of horse training in his own book written in 1957 and according to Monty:

...trained horses to carry riders in the traditional way -- "breaking" horses by breaking their will, almost torturing the animals into submission.

Roberts claimed to have been beaten by his father, but according to other sources, such as Roberts' aunt, Joyce Renebome, and cousin, Debra Ristau, in their book, "Horse Whispers & Lies", Marvin Roberts was a kind and compassionate man. Roberts' brother, Larry Roberts, also denied the claims of child battering.

[edit] List of accomplishments

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1950–1969 Regional NIRA All Around Championships

11 National Championships in Show Ring
National NIRA Champion Bulldogger
NIRA National Team Roping Championship
NIRA National All Around Championship

1956 Married to Patricia (Pat) Burden
1966 Assisted Hastings Harcourt in the founding of Flag Is Up Farms. Roberts now owns Flag Is Up Farms.

1966–2004 Started and trained hundreds of race horses; produced champions including:

Cathy Honey, An Act, Aladancer, Walk in the Sun, Tobin Bronze (United States)
Alleged, Dajur (Europe)
Lomitas, Quebrada, Risen Raven, Macanal, Lavirco, Silvano, and :*Sabiango (Germany)
Sharivari and Bahroona (New Zealand)

1973–1986 Leading consignor to Hollywood Park/Two-Year-Old Thoroughbreds In Training sale

1985 - Gold Card Lifetime Member, PRCA, Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Association

1986 - First public demonstration of Join-Up in Vancouver, BC, Canada

1989 - Queen Elizabeth II invites Monty to Windsor Castle to demonstrate Join-Up and train her staff

1996 - "The Man Who Listens to Horses" is published

1997 - Book remains on New York Times best-seller list for 58 weeks
1997 - Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) awards Roberts their Equitarian Award at their Washington, DC International Horse Show

1998 - BBC/PBS documentary Monty Roberts: The Real Horse Whisperer airs

1998 - First Join-Up demonstration tour visits more than 40 states in the United States

1998 - ASPCA honors Roberts with their “Founders” award

1998 - The British Horse Society bestows their Appreciation Award

1998 - Santa Barbara Wildlife Care award for “Lifetime of Dedication”

1999 - Monty’s book, "Shy Boy: The Horse That Came in from the Wild" is released and hits the best-seller lists

1999 - Documentary "Shy Boy: The Horse That Came in from the Wild airs"

2000 - ASPCA awards Roberts their “Man of the Year” award

2000 - MSPCA bestows the George T. Angell Humanitarian Award

2001 - Monty’s book, "Horse Sense for People" is published

2002 - Awarded honorary doctorate from the University of Zurich, Switzerland in animal psychology

2002 - Monty’s fourth book and first textbook, "From My Hands to Yours", is published

2002 - Monty demonstrates Join-Up as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee at Windsor Castle

2002–2003 - Monty, Pat, and Shy Boy ride in Tournament of Roses parade

2004 The Girls Scouts commission a special Join-Up badge and training program in honor of Monty’s pioneering work

2004 - Monty’s German bred Sabiango wins the Grade 1 $350,000 Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap at the Hollywood Park Racetrack in California, followed shortly thereafter by the $200,000 Kentucky Cup Turf

2004 - Monty’s fifth book, "The Horses in My Life" is published in Great Britain, Germany, and Australia

2005 - Awarded honorary doctorate from the University of Parma for his work in animal psychology

2005 - Monty’s "The Horses in My Life" is additionally published in the United States and in many other languages.

2005 - Roberts awarded the Silbernes Pferd (Silver Horse) Award in Germany for lifetime achievement for outstanding contributions to promoting the love of horses. He is the first foreign-born and first American to receive this award.