We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ross Cooper. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ross below.
Ross, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
Many people have a dream of having their own business, but dreaming of having your own business and having the drive to manage your own business are two very different aspects I feel.
I started this sentence by saying ‘I am fortunate to have the skill-sets I have developed’ but then changed that; yes I am fortunate, but that has come with self-motivation, hard work and learning involved. To date, I have three business that I enjoy, and not many people can say they do what they love so, to avoid sounding far-fetched, the day to day ongoings never really feel like work.
We are only human, and as many benefits there are to having your own business, there will be aspects for each person that can become wearing over time.
A professional, be they self-employed or employed as part of a business, should have a balance of qualities which make them ‘desirable and hireable’. Knowledgable, reliable and skilful are just some of the traits a client or customer might look for. Though just as there are traits someone may want when they wish to hire a professional or become associated with a business, so too a client needs to express certain qualities that make them appealing, someone who a professional would like to work alongside.
From experience, I can name many traits that make someone a person I want to work with; this could be openness and honestly, kindness, a want to improve themselves and in turn helping their horse. These are traits that I see in so many of my clients and friends I am fortunate to work alongside.
I can also tell you traits that I do NOT find attractive. Self-entitlement. Expectant. Demanding. Sarcastic. Rude.
Few and far between over the years, but enough to be a regularity, I have had potential clients telling me to put aside the sessions of others to accommodate themselves, dictating if and how long I should have time off (which was a rarity, but I have come to realise it is necessary.) Demands for lessons, or time outside of lessons, when that time is not available. Rude messages with undertones. Expectations that I am there specifically at one persons disposal.
Someone who contacts me doesn’t need good people skills. I just need to feel that they are coming from the right place.
I always find it humbling when someone wishes to work with me, whatever their experience, whatever their skill set and whatever their issue, be this horses, holistics or photography. It is a big thing for a person to entrust you with a service, themselves, something they care about and their horses. I pass no judgement on a persons past, I only work with the person I have in-front of me, often going that one step further for those who need my help.
I am one person, like many others, running a business I am passionate and care about.
A person/client/ customer may just see the time a professional/person spends with them, but has little realisation or awareness of the difficulty in co-ordinating one business, never mind multiple businesses; lessons, write-ups, travel, post-session editing, the paperwork, the CPD. These are just some of the physical aspects, aside from the emotional toll a deep session may take, and aside from a personal life outside of work.
None of these are things I would expect someone to consider, but the consideration that the professional you are working with is in-fact human and deserves the same courtesy’s that they afford to you.
Those who are self-employed especially are always appreciative of your custom, yes. However, they are perfectly entitled, and rightly so, to decline working with you based on how you present yourself to them.
A healthy working relationship works both ways, with a little compassion and consideration.
It is when I give too much, compromising myself, my energy and my drive, that it can look to be appealing to have a ‘regular job’. It is at this stage where you have surpassed where your boundaries lie and need to take some time out to reassess, in whichever way you need to do so.
One of the most important things I have learned is to draw boundaries; a ‘regular job’ may have these for you, but to run your own business, you need to decide where those lines are.
Don’t run a business at the expense of your health, when the two can be balanced on a set of scales, with a little practise.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Well, where to start?! My name is Ross Cooper.
I am primarily a Horsemanship trainer at Rosca Horsemanship, my business name.
For those who are unsure of what that is, horsemanship is the way that one interacts and works with horses with their best interests in mind, defined on Google as ‘the art of riding a horse’, yet I feel that does not go in depth enough. Each horseman has a different perspective and explanation on to what they feel their Horsemanship is. For me I sum up how I see it like this;
“Horsemanship encompasses the meaning of what it is to work in harmony with the horse.
In my mind, it is a change in the way you see that alters the way that you do, from the trust of the first touch
to riding as one in the saddle”
Within this umbrella term of Horsemanship, I cover many aspects of training with a wealth of qualifications and experience that I am always eager to add to (we only stop learning when we are dead, right!?). I am an Equine Behavioural Consultant, Equine Sports & Rehabilitation Massage Therapist and hold multiple UKCC coaching qualifications for Western and English riding disciplines.
I have been fortunate to receive tuition from a select number of experienced horseman, and travel to the USA on a few occasions. I am also a Horse Agility Accredited Trainer and member of the International Horse Agility Club, write for a number of UK equestrian magazines, lecture for local equestrian colleges and travel around the UK teaching lessons and group clinics from my base here in Derbyshire.
If you haven’t lost interest just yet, please read on!
My way of working is pretty unique and still to this day I find it hard to sum-up in words. On the baseline, I encompass the behaviour, psychology and physiology as a whole; the essence of what the natural horse is. The art of a horsemanship for me is not a method, style or defined by a discipline, it is a way of working in harmony with the horse that we can all improve upon, and needs constant adaptation for the individual.
On a daily basis I combine my natural intuition with behavioural science to promote ever evolving ethical interaction and mutual communication between people and horses for a successful partnership, building these relationships on pillars of trust and understanding through an effective application that achieves positive lasting results in a way the horse can understand.
From foundation to advanced horsemanship, I cover a wide range of services that I am able to offer to the equestrian world, from starting a young horse under saddle and liberty, to coaching confidence and teaching a western horse the trails. Over the years I have seemed to unintentionally specialised in behavioural rehabilitation, bitless training, foundation horsemanship, groundwork and the young horse. Though regardless of what the area ‘focus’ may be, each partnership is catered to as individuals.
I work alongside a wide variety of equines, from pleasure to performance horses, from Draft Breeds, Thoroughbreds and Arabians, to American Quarter Horses and Donkeys, approaching their training in the absence of conventional and traditional methods; no fear, no force, no pain, challenging the conditioned way horses are treated to improve the world for all equines.
I began my journey with horses completely by fluke which set me on the path I am on today, and I have not looked back since. Riding horses was not something I was doing like many horse owners who have been riding since they were 4 years old, riding before they could walk. I began with horses in my late teens, and though this to some may seem like a flaw or dis-advantage in my profession, I see this completely differently; I was able to make my own decision and mind up about what I felt was right and wrong with how I behaved around horses, I was not brought up in tradition that corresponds with blind acceptance and social conditioning of how to treat horses.
I therefore began making my own way in to how I could work, ride and communicate with horses alternatively, as it never felt right being told to ‘wack’ them, ‘kick’ them or ‘strap their mouth shut’. I am lucky in the sense that I never experienced much of that before I found a different way.
I also came to find over the years that the training industry I am in with horses can be a little isolating. It has always seemed, in my personal experience anyhow, to be quite a closed book in terms of social interaction or comradery between professionals, even years ago when I first started out as a trainer I would ask to go and work with more established and experienced individuals and would receive blank response. I remember attending a small clinic not too long ago where multiple members of the group all pulled chairs away from the large table I was sat on to all sit around this small table built for two people; I am a pretty friendly guy, and all I had done was fly half way around the world to attend a clinic by myself not knowing everyone. It was a shame for sure, but ultimately I was there to learn and to develop my own skills. Making a few friends would be nice, but I wasn’t any worse off.
Working with horses can be tricky because of the many variables that accompany the role and the limitations that seem to be set for you; you are always learning something new, there is always an area you can progress in, and you will never achieve a masters in horsemanship; you have to be okay with that, to persevere with where you want to go, that is part of the beauty of it.
This is one of the reasons that I am proud of what I have achieved over the years, because I have never once had help from anyone, no financial contribution, no leg up, no help. Everything I have achieved I have done using my own initiative, my own self-drive and off of my own back to do what I love, and help make the world a better place for people and horses.
Like with any business mind, it is always smart to have a few back-ups, and this is where fortunately two of my other interests, photography and holistic healing come in to the mix as other interests, but also viable businesses that naturally take a seat on the back-row due to my focuses on the horses, but are still present non-the-less.
With Rosca Holistic Healing I offer a number of holistic therapies such as Reiki, Aromatherapy and Mindfulness for both humans and animals, which naturally compliments the way I work with horses very nicely.
Roscatography is my photographic side where I offer a number of prints from around the world, wildlife, nature and landscapes, a few and a select equine and pet photographic packages. My main passion in this aspect is conservation and wildlife photography; it is a way that I take some down time out from the day in nature, capturing whatever may come my way. I have been very lucky to capture some awesome examples of our own British wildlife, as well as travel to game rich destinations and photograph wildlife in North America and Eastern Africa, with hopeful opportunities coming in 2023.
If you have taken the time to read my waffling’s about myself, my businesses and have reached the end, just remember that anything can be achieved; if you want to go for it, put in the time, find a balance, and go for it; never take no!
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
To be authentic.
The equine industry can be a somewhat hostile business to work in; there is always opinions, traditions and deep social-conditioning that anyone with an alternative view, perspective or application comes up against.
I for sure have come up against all three over previous years, but that has never phased me, though my sadness for the horses that have lost out because of the stone-set mindsets of their owners has always been present.
A horse will be a mirror to you always. A person can present a façade on social media to a certain extent, but when it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter to the horse how many followers you have, how many likes on a post or that you have brought them the latest in saddle-pads, it matters to them how consistent, compassionate and understanding you are.
Continuing to be authentic, to develop my own way of working and allowing people to see the results that I get has been the reason I have the great reputation that I have today.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I wrote this on my Rosca Horsemanship Facebook page let last year
What I Am.
I am.. a horseman
I am.. an equine behaviour consultant
I am.. a western and english coach
I am.. a Equine Sports Massage and Remedial Therapist
I am.. an energy healer and Reiki master
I am.. spiritual, yet enjoy the sciences!
I am.. unique with the way that I see things and unique with the way that I do things.
I am.. empathic, compassionate, knowledgeable and kind
I am.. passionate about the natural world, wildlife and conservation
I am.. always here to support those I work alongside
I am.. always working on myself
I am.. more than just a horseman, I am human.
What I Am Not
I am not.. a paid rider
I am not.. a practitioner of outdated Natural Horsemanship methods
I am not.. willing to overlook the finer details or subtleties in training.
I am not.. here to provide you with shortcuts or quick fixes
I am not.. here to promote co-dependency
I am not.. willing to accept poor behaviour; rudeness, expectancy or here at ones self-entitlement
I am not.. a person who gives up easily
I am not.. willing to compromise a horse for any result
I am not.. your average horseman
I am not.. driven by ego
I am not.. always on time
I am not.. perfect
When I began my musings to write this, I had no idea how empowering it would be to put to paper what you are, what you are not; to hear it, read it, and feel good about it!
Not everyone is able to do a development exercise like this, really hear their strengths and own the areas for improvement. When you put them together, I feel it creates a type of resilience because you are aware of who you are, and you can own it. Combine that with some healthy boundaries and self-care and that is a good place to move forward from.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.rosscooperofficial.co.uk
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/rosscooperofficial
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rosscooperhorsemanship
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/rosscooperofficial
Image Credits
Roscatography ©