About Us
Helping Riders Find Their Inner Strength
Julie and Kathryn Christensen are a mother-daughter team from Washington State. Julie is a licensed hypnotherapist, and Kathryn is a dressage trainer. Together, they created Hypno-Ride.
Our Story
Julie graduated from the University of Maine with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Nutrition. She began her career in the hospital setting as a Registered Dietitian counseling patients about food and nutrition. While putting her work on hold to raise a family, she became more interested in behavioral psychology and alternative medicine, and was excited to learn of new developments in the realm of Hypnotherapy. As a result of her desire to discover more about it, she traveled to Oregon for in-class training to ensure she had the opportunity to learn and practice techniques face-to-face.
Kathryn fell in love with horses at a young age, while riding at a friend's house. In support of that interest, Julie learned about horses alongside her daughter, as the two of them attended 4-H meetings and riding lessons together. When Kathryn was 11 years old, Julie and her husband Peter bought Kathryn her first horse, an Arabian mare named Shadare. The mother-daughter team started learning firsthand about horse care to a whole new level.
Eventually, the family purchased horse property to move Kathryn's horse home. Of course, horses tend to do better with a companion than alone, so that meant that it was time for Julie to get a horse of her own too! She purchased a paint gelding named Buddy for herself, and she started riding with her daughter. She especially enjoyed trail riding.
Kathryn was very involved in 4-H growing up. She competed in riding events, equine judging, and horse knowledge bowl. In college, she competed on Washington State University's Intercollegiate Dressage Team and went to Nationals. She graduated in 2011 with a B.S. in Zoology and a minor in Psychology. After graduation, she decided to pursue her dreams of becoming a trainer. She started as a working student under Alyssa Pitts, and over time she grew her own training business. She earned her USDF Gold Medal in 2016, and she now trains out of Sky River Equestrian Center in Sultan, WA.
Kathryn and Julie realized that they could pair their unique skill sets to help riders through the power of hypnotherapy. In her teaching, Kathryn encountered many students struggling with confidence issues, whether it be fear or just simply doubting their own abilities. In her hypnotherapy business, and given her network of friends and contacts in the horse world, Julie encountered riders who she was able to help to become more confident in the saddle through hypnotherapy. The two professionals collaborated, and Hypno-Ride was born. Currently, the pair offers one general confidence-building self-hypnosis recording for equestrians. They plan to produce more recordings in the future. They have discussed producing recordings focused on Attending Horse Shows, Jumping, Trail Riding, Regaining Confidence After an Accident, Grief of Losing a Horse, and More!