At just ten years of age a blonde, blue eyed Australian-born girl ventured to the UK tucked tightly under the wings of her mother.

Taken away from her childhood of horses, riding, competing and their family ranch, a young Sarah Kreutzer landed on the doorstep of a small cottage in the Lake District - a far cry from the life she was accustomed to. She said: "Looking back it was really weird, leaving my homeland to such a small place with no horses. My whole world was changed upside down."

Sarah's mother, Sandra, bought her a short, fat pony called Teddy to ride, although she recalled: "I didn't show or go to pony club on him as we couldn't really afford it, but at least I did have something to ride again, for that I was grateful. My mother was a riding instructor back home and continued to teach me herself, so between us I was always able to better my equine ability throughout my childhood."

Her love for horses and what she learned from Sandra took Sarah to study equestrian management at Brackenhurst College in Nottinghamshire for a year, which in turn led her to the yard of local rider Patrick Swiers at Thirsk. There, Sarah rode the event horses for Patrick as his groom. She stayed there for a year before deciding to venture out on her own, training and riding other people's horses.

One day Sarah went out for a short hack with her friend called Alex. "We were going down the road at walk when suddenly a helicopter appeared in front of us, below the height of a tree," she said. "It scared the horses so badly; everything happened so fast. I could see this wall in front of us and Alex's horse started to move towards it.

"It was a split decision but I chose to reach out and grab her reins to stop her horse bolting as she was a beginner rider. He tried to bolt and went spinning round and Alex fell off hitting her head on the wall. She was wearing a hard hat but the fall killed her.

"It is something that I have to live with everyday of my life, what if I hadn't made the decision to hold the reins, would the wall have stopped her or would she have jumped it? Would she still be alive today? These are questions that I will never have the answers to."

After the accident Sarah spent the best part of a year in a complete state of shock. She said: "I would look at myself knowing that I had got up out of bed, but I couldn't remember getting up or getting dressed. I can't even remember my daughter Hannah during this period or where I was even living. Everything was permanently blocked out.

"It wasn't until Christmas day nine months after the fateful accident that I remember anything. My mother bought me a book called 'The man who listens to horses' by Monty Roberts. I don't even read books and I certainly had NO intention of ever having anything to do with horses again. I turned the pages and was captivated by the contents.

"For the first time I felt alive again. I had had a hard and changeable childhood and Monty's method of listening to horses and people totally mesmerised me. I simply had to learn more. I firmly believe that this was actually a gift from Alex, it is because of her I am teaching what I have learnt to others now. What a gift."

Sarah sent more than 25 faxes before she got a reply from Monty's ranch, Flag is Up, in California, asking how she could get there to learn his methods. She was told to go to Kelly Marks and Michael Peace in Oxford for a ten-week course, if she passed and was chosen she would be admitted to the ranch.

Sarah didn't need asking twice. With the help of her mother to look after Hannah, off she went, only returning home at the weekend. Sarah came away with knowledge of the Monty Roberts method of training and a certificate of achievement for his preliminary course of horsemanship.

"The course was life changing, it was an overwhelming experience. I learnt to better myself, when to keep my mouth shut and how to stay in focus on my own life and not get caught up in other people's. Humans are by nature 'takers' and I don't want to be like that, I want to give something back.

"I could make a horse do what I wanted in the past, usually with the help of spurs, whip or voice, but by learning to listen and having a different approach to training and understanding them, asking them was so much easier. It is a language all of its own. When you are working with a horse you are having a conversation the entire time," Sarah said.

In 1997 Sarah went to work at Flag is Up for three months. Everyday she rode ten 'real horses who had real problems', she was kicked, bitten, reared on and bucked off time and time again, which only resulted in making her even more determined to understand why these horses were like this.

She worked alongside trainer Felipe Castro. "I wanted the ability to focus and understand the horse mind on mind, instead of bullying it. Felipe did this perfectly, he was a true master," said Sarah. "When you teach people you have to teach, not jump in the pen and take over. Monty's method is brilliant and he is the 'name', but people like Felipe and Crawford Hall are true educators. They are my real mentors and the ones I am truly grateful to."

Sarah collected Hannah and returned to the USA for a further two years working in Palm Springs, starting young polo ponies and once again at Flag is Up. Sarah and five other protgs created a development team, a learning centre and wrote a new introductory course for Monty, before returning to England, bringing with her a fountain of knowledge and a wealth of experience, which she now shares with others at her own 'ranch', Hill Top Farm, near Ilton, Masham. There she lives with her husband Robert, Hannah and soon, their new baby, due in August.

Her business is called Learning to Listen, which is exactly what she teaches. But her educating isn't just for horses; children with severe behavioural problems now pass through the ranch gates, all in need of her listening techniques.

Sarah is presenting a Learning to Listen Festival at Hill Top Farm on Sunday, May 29, and Bank holiday Monday, May 30, featuring natural horsemanship demonstrations. Call the ticket hotline on 01765 689368.

Published: 03/06/2005