Trish Browne-Gross is an EGALA Certified Instructor who believes that working with horses is a win-win experience. We enjoy our activities with the horse and the horse enjoys the attention from caring adults. Friendship with horses relieves stress and strengthens one’s spirit. Safety around horses enhances self-awareness and expands one’s focus. Learning to read a horse’s body language helps to develop non-verbal communication. Grooming a horse is an opportunity for physical exercise, warming-up and stretching. Establishing the leadership role, a necessary step in horsemanship, enhances one’s conflict resolution skills and ability to set relationship boundaries. Training a horse boosts creative thinking skills and one’s imagination. Applying exercises and reaching goals require team building and goal setting. Partnering with a horse and learning herd dynamics strongly relates to relationship skills and learning human personality types. Riding, driving and other horse activities provide another fun opportunity for strength building and aerobic exercise. Understanding and responding to the needs of the horse fosters a sense of responsibility in people. In short . . .“connecting with horses is connecting with life!”

Trish’s contagious love of the equine world began during a difficult time in her childhood. She connected with a dangerous mare, one her father disciplined excessively and was never unable to handle. Horses became her anchor and she decided that for the remainder of her childhood she would make every effort to be around horses. She worked cleaning stalls and tack without pay, just to be with the horses. At age 15, she decided that if ever she had a horse of her own she would never allow it to be alone and has always encouraged other people to be around and connect with her horses. “Horses are not meant to be solitary animals”. 

Trish’s big heart is open wide to rescue horses and horses she purchases at auctions that no one else wants. Often they have been abused, resulting in behavioral problems. She works with the horses, helping them become more responsive to being handled and able to connect with human beings. “I just make them happy again”, she explains. Trish will also help place horses that need to find a new home.

Trish and Randall have created a setting where people can slow down enough to feel the healing magic of interacting with the equine world. In addition to the horsemanship classes they offer, they are teaching people the lost art of driving buggies and wagons. In fact, they provided the wagon rides at Cowboy Christmas. “I don’t do magic with horses, horses have done magic with me,” Trish says with a warm smile.

Rock-n-Horse Ranch
Owners -Trish Browne Gross and Randall Gross
Grass Valley
(530) 272-3289
rocknhorseranch@sbcglobal.net