Julia was born and raised in Germany and lived in a small town close to Cologne, North-Rhine Westphalia until the age of 23 before moving to Canada in 2011.
The rich natural beauty and vastness of Canada caught her interest very early on and from the age of 17 years old she spent most summer holidays with family friends in Callander, Northern Ontario. After graduating high school and completing her riding instructor license she decided to spend a year abroad in British Columbia. She worked on Little Beaver Creek Ranch outside of Merritt, BC, bordering Douglas Lake Ranch, Canada’s largest working Cattle Ranch operation.
On Little Beaver Creek Ranch, she cared for a herd of over 25 horses and guided trail rides out into the Nicola Valley.
After spending the year with work and travel, Julia decided that she wanted to make Canada her home permanently. She attended Capilano University in North Vancouver from 2012 - 2014 to gain a formal education in Canada and graduated with a Tourism Management Diploma.
Her work experience includes working in management of fishing resorts and whale watching operations in both Ucluelet and Campbell River on Vancouver Island, BC. For a winter season she enjoyed working for Canmore’s (Alberta) most reputable dog sledding operation.
Driven by her childhood wish to observe Orcas in the wild she first visited Campbell River in the Summer of 2013. Having a love for the ocean and the vast wilderness of Canada’s West Coast Julia permanently moved to Campbell River in 2015.
She frequently travels back to Germany to spend time with her parents, two siblings and longtime friends and is grateful to have access to two beautiful countries with their own strengths and resources. Germany’s advancement in equine nutrition, species aligned husbandry and bodywork modalities is especially intriguing.
Asides her engagement and commitment to horses, Julia is a lover of dogs (you shall discover her long-term companion Drake in some of the photos), chocolate, enjoys kayaking, yoga, hiking, swimming, camping, and beekeeping.
One of her favourite places to visit is Bere Point Provincial Park in Sointula, Malcolm Island, BC.
Julia began asking for riding lessons at the age of four and her parents hesitantly agreed to them. While first starting out with English riding, she quickly discovered her fondness for western riding and developed a love for Quarter Horses.
After graduating high school, she started working for a trainer in Pfalzdorf (Easy Horse Ranch), Germany that specialized in starting, re-starting, and training horses in the disciplines of pleasure, horsemanship, trail, and reining. Julia had the opportunity to show a number of horses and work with many different types of horses and people. While working at Easy Horse Ranch she also successfully completed all necessary courses and exams through the Western Riding Association of Germany (EWU) and holds the license of Western Trainer C, which gives her the ability to provide lessons and education to riders.
She also attended several workshops in the fields of animal psychology (dogs and horses), anatomy, nutrition, equine massage, osteopathy and physiotherapy through the German Institute of Animal Psychology and Natural Medicine (DIFT).
Through the event of very clear coincidences, Julia added her equine partner Roam (not all those who wander are lost), to her life in May of 2019. Roam came to her with chronic laminitis and several resulting compensation patterns, which initiated her to open pandora’s box and continue the journey of her equine therapy education. Please find a list of certificates and continuing education here.
