A little bit about us and our Mission
We started the summit to expand the reach of positive reinforcement (R+) and foster a global community of trainers. Our goal is to share R+ more widely, bringing this powerful approach to a broader audience. By connecting professionals from around the world, we aim to enhance the method through the exchange of innovative techniques and best practices. The summit also serves as a platform to connect R+ trainers with each other and with clients, providing a global network for collaboration. Additionally, we are committed to supporting charities by offering them greater access to R+ resources and donating a portion of the profits to causes that align with our values.
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Angelica Hesselius
Angelica is the founder of the Reward Based Riding School, a passionate teacher, and a lifelong student of the horse. She brings a wealth of experience from the classical dressage world is a Certified Riding Instructor. She has created a logical reward based riding system to work from the get go up to high level movements.
Angelica is a member of the Knighthood of Academic Art of Riding and has been teaching dressage since 2010 and the last decade reward based dressage.
Her passion is guiding riders and their horses toward higher balance, connection, and collection with forward-thinking methods and genuine care for both horse and rider. She's currently lives in the north of Sweden with her horses.
A dedicated learner as well as a teacher, she continues to expand her knowledge by collaborations with other coaches and trainers and by working closely with her students around the world.
You can find more info at:
Do Groen
Do is a Dutch reward-based horse trainer known for making learning engaging and accessible. With a background in communication sciences, she breaks down complex ideas into practical steps to improve communication between horse and rider—creating happy, independent learners who enjoy training together.
Her approach emphasizes active participation and giving learners choice and control, which is especially evident in her husbandry training, where she helps build cooperation for stress-free care.
Do teaches mainly online, reaching students worldwide. She is a Fear Free Pet Professional, an IAABC supporting member, and is currently pursuing a diploma in Animal Behavior Science & Technology. A lifelong learner, she stays current through courses, conferences, and collaboration with peers.
Together with Angelica Hesselius, she co-founded the Reward Based Horse Academy where they plan to educate the instructors of the future and she currently co-teaches new cross-over trainers at Angelica’s Reward Based Riding School.
You can find her at:
www.horseswithchoices.com
Hannah Weston
Hannah has been teaching reward-based horse training for nearly 20 years, helping horses and their humans build trust-based relationships through positive reinforcement. She has worked with a wide range of equines - including wild, rescued, aggressive, shut-down, and highly sensitive horses - using science-backed methods to create calm, co-operative partnerships.
Hannah specialises in gentle, consent-based training that brings clarity, confidence and joy to everyday handling, groundwork, and riding. She’s co-author of the bestselling book, Connection Training, and runs the CT Club, an online platform for learning her training methods.
You can find her at
Supporting charities
With the Summit we will support charities in two ways:
5 euro of every ticket will go to the following charity: Network for Animals
We chose them because of their work with equines and other animals in active war zones, a horrifying reality for many horses and donkeys. With your help, we want to make any difference we can.
Our sponsor Via Nova Equine Services have generously offered to sponsor a limited amount of tickets to the Summit, for selected equine charities, offering education to support staff and horses in need. We have now closed the applications for charities and informed everyone who have applied. Please contact us if there are any questions.
Meet our Sponsor
At Via Nova, we make positive reinforcement into practical tools that support both the everyday rider and the competitive equestrian.
Our Priority to Positive® training approach is based on our five Core Principles:
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Understand Motivation
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Look For Your Yes
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Create Opportunity
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Shape Toward What You Want
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Set Up For Success—It’s not Cheating to Make it Easy!
Priority to Positive® is designed to help you think like a positive reinforcement trainer, so that you can successfully apply this powerful training method to the many different needs and goals of equestrians. Including our most important goal of all, the benefit of the horse!
Like all the participants at the R+ Summit, Via Nova is dedicated to providing equestrians with the knowledge, skills, and practical tools essential for success in using R+ training, both on the ground and undersaddle.
We’re focused on developing a larger contingent of professional trainers and coaches who understand positive reinforcement and how to apply it in undersaddle settings. Our goal is to see R+ taught as standard practice throughout the industry. Through our principles we teach the strategies and skills to put positive reinforcement into practice across the entire scope of equestrian activities from husbandry to competition.
Through our passion for horses and unwavering commitment to their well-being, we strive not only to improve performance in the ring but to deepen the bond and communication between horse and rider.
Website: https://www.vianovatraining.com/