My good Friend Franklin,
         Athens, May 10th to 16th 2004

I hope reading this letter finds you safely and comfortably back home, from your perilous journey to Europe’s far-away lands.

From your experiences as far as the Syros part that we both enjoyed, it seemed a fruitful and promising trip and I only hope it got better after we left to return to our home.

As for Stella, and myself it was an experience we will cherish in our hearts.

I have a lot to thank you for and also a lot of compliments and gratitude will rightfully find their way to Candio (she’s sweet like Candy, don’t you agree?)
who made it all possible and organized it in a wonderful way.

But first of all, I thank life for the magnificent gift of friendship that I shared with you in the few moments/hours/days we’ve been together in Syros.

Seminar apart, I feel grateful for the opportunity to find a friend in a person with the depth of character, the dignity, the kindness and willingness to assist, as you.

Not wishing to over-state things that are better felt and shared than expressed in words, I would like to send you my personal comments from the seminar itself, to use to your discretion, if and when you think they might help others gain an insight to similar future events.


As you already know we have been fairly new to the equine world, yet were actively involved in the past year through caring for our own horse Loulou, that died in an accident not more than a month ago.

We were amazed by the transformation our care effected on this horse, both externally in the way she developed a better figure and posture, but more important in her disposition and character where she became more calm, responsive and willing to participate in the training along with us.

Advice we got from various riding teachers was conflicting to our own feelings and intuition, in the sense that to them all, the horse is similar to a machine. Once trained, it should perform, without its own opinion being ever considered, or else a force ranging from mild to brutal should be applied to coerce such results.

Mild force could be kicking the sides, using the whip or crop and brutal needs not to be explained.

In many cases, horses were put to work around the arena to tire them and thus make them obedient to commands.

During all this effort and pressure to achieve results, we never saw anyone making a request to a horse, like we saw you in the round pen.

We never experienced before meeting you, the caring “keeping of distance” until both parties felt safe to indulge in affectionate play and close contact.

What we felt in our hearts, i.e. that this gentle giant, the horse, requires a lot of love to win it’s trust and participation, was confirmed and re-established by your example in the Way of the Horse clinic, in a very touching and positive way.

In many cases in your clinic we were moved to tears, as certain horses seemed truly comforted by the presence of a human who could understand them, reward in a clear way the smallest of effort they made towards his request and in a sense justify their existence, where owners treated them as tough and complicated cases.

I only wish my mare would still be with me so I could explore this new understanding with her and try to make her as happy as she made me through the past months.

In any case, the benefits of our attendance of your seminar were many and diverse.

As horse owners, we discovered a new method of approaching any horse as well as dealing with any vice or dysfunction, true or perceived, in them.
By being patient and willing to understand the cause of any such attitude, through the steps clearly shown in your seminar, we have the opportunity to work toward a solution with that specific horse, enjoying all the while this process, without fear or pressure.

As riders, we discovered the vast field of preparatory work that separates asking a horse to ‘dance’ with you and the actual dance itself.
The time it takes to make the horse understand your request and willingly comply, the time to take to ‘…watch the grass grow….’

As humans we discovered the heavy responsibility to become parents to our little children, the horses, who having left their wild natural state are now expecting our guidance to adjust to a new situation with new requirements and new skills to develop, in order to continue to be happy and express the harmony nature intended for all creatures to express.

As audience we were amazed by a show filled with wondrous and unexpected moments, were all players performed their best under a conductor skilled enough to present to our untrained eyes the virtue and value of each movement, the preciousness of each effort, the key to every behavior.

As Greeks, we enjoyed the opportunity to learn a new language and exchange gifts with welcomed guests that will forever live in our hearts. Not excluding the chance to go out and have fun in the evening in a loud and warm-tempered manner.

All in all, we left much wiser, very pleased and uplifted by the knowledge that nature around horses and us in particular, are not silent participants in our life.
They whisper to us in their own subtle language, about their dreams their expectations, their desires.
We only need to bend our ear to embrace their talk and thus experience a harmony that will fulfill both their expectations and ours.

I am also grateful that all of these thoughts were connected to our everyday life and to our relationship with fellow humans, as if the path or method you presented was nothing less than a way to know our own true self, who like the subtle, often frightened horse, is often neglected and unheard.

We filled our hearts with feelings in your clinic and emptied our minds of preconceptions and fears, so that our rides from now on will be joyful moments for both human and animal.

For that you have my gratitude, my friend!

Let me then finish here, hoping that our appreciation for your attitude towards life (horse, human, universe) will give you strength to carry on.

Take care my Friend and hope to see you soon…..

With all my love, Markos