Robyn's Takeover

Speaker 1 (
00:12
):
You're listening to the journey on podcast with Warwick, Schiller Warwick is a horseman trainer, international clinician and author, whose mission is to help people achieve a deeper connection with their horses through his transformational training program.
Robyn (
00:35
):
Welcome back to the journey on podcast. This is Robyn Schiller and I have taken over Warwick's microphone without him knowing it. So I thought I would answer the questions that he's asking other people just in case anybody wanted a perspective from the wife. So here we go. What book do you recommend the most? Not necessarily your favorite book to read, but one, you feel everyone needs to read minor one in the same, and it's an untethered soul by Michael singer. I haven't physically read the book like a paperback or a hardback, but I've listened to it on audible multiple times. And it just seems like it is very perspective making you know, it just, yeah, it just puts things in perspective. He says a bunch of times, you know, we're on a rock in the middle of the universe, like going at 27,000 miles per hour or whatever, and, you know, so it just, it, when, when your problems feel really big and you hear that, it just, you know, it puts things in perspective.
Robyn (
01:42
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What is your biggest failure and how has it helped you? You know, when I was 18, I I applied to a college called Cal poly under a journalism degree and they declined me and it was kind of the first time that I had that big of a failure. Like that was a pretty big affront to me at that point, you know, I know privilege and all that, but you know, it took me down a peg and it made me really rethink things. And, and boy, am I glad that that happened because I probably didn't want to be in journalism. I in high school, I was that was back when, you know, we had a layout, I was the layout editor of the school paper and, you know, we type, set things and laid it out on the, you know, on the light boards and, you know, things like that.
Robyn (
02:41
):
So, and I really liked that and I thought that's what I wanted to do. But, you know, in hindsight, super glad that that, that, that didn't work out and things would have, you know, gone a whole different direction. Had they had they gone that way probably would have never Warrick. And, you know, you could just go on and on. So, so how did it help me? It helped me get to where we are now and I love life right now. If you could spread a message across the world, one that people would listen to, what would that message say that you are enough? You know, I think, I think, well, I was going to say, especially women, but you know what I think it's, I think it's just a human condition that we don't feel worthy of whatever it is that we're either trying to do or wanting, or, and that's just be us, you know, you are enough, we are enough, you know, you can do whatever you want to do, whatever you put your mind to, you can do.
Robyn (
03:44
):
So there's a couple of those, I guess, I guess there's a couple, so you are enough and you can do anything you want to do. All right. What is an unusual habit you have or something out of the ordinary that you really love? It's not, I mean, I guess for some people it's not unusual. I started doing Kundalini yoga, eh, right shortly after we were put in lockdown and my sister in law started a certification and so she had to practice. And so she started a weekly zoom class and we all jumped on there at the time. Tyler was still here. So Tyler would be in his room and me and Mark would be in our room. And then, you know, my brother would be on the call and, you know, a couple other people would be on the call and and she would conduct class.
Robyn (
04:33
):
And after about the third time, I was like, I really like this. So I started looking around for more and through Gaia and YouTube, I found some other teachers that I really liked and subscribed to the Brett Larkin uplifted website. And she has a lot of Kundalini on there and I just really enjoy the Kundalini yoga. So I really love it. I'm so thankful for my sister-in-law Fey to introduce us to it. What accomplishment are you most proud of? You know, I mean, really other than Tyler and the awesome man that he has grown into, and I don't take responsibility for that at all. I really do credit the horse training principles throughout his life that he's grown up the way he has, but, and he is, he is a lot like me though, you know, I see a lot.
Robyn (
05:32
):
I see a lot of me and him. I also see he had a girlfriend last couple of years of high school and boy, she was just like me, so, you know what they say? So other than my, my wonderful son, the accomplishments that I'm most proud of, all probably revolve around the horses and the showing and, you know, I rode horses before I could walk and I've just always come from the competition side, thanks to my dad, you know I love to compete and, and I guess it's kind of like Tristan, what Tristan Tucker said about, about going out and competing or exhibiting. And I think that may be that hit the nail on the head. It's like, you have to be, that's like the most present that you are. And it's like this team with your horse, you know, and you're out there and you're, you're just, you have to be on.
Robyn (
06:36
):
And, and I really, I really enjoy that part. And so the accomplishments, you know, yes, I've won a world championship, but also, you know, just being able to represent Australia at the world, equestrian games in 2018 and nearly make the finals you know, that is a huge accomplishment and it kind of shifted my definition of, of success in the show pen, because, you know, prior to that, I'd always gauge my success on whether I won or not. And at the world, the question games, there were just so many levels of, of winning, you know, just getting, there was an accomplishment in itself because it's such a campaign to get there and, you know, to do as well as we did to make it back to the semifinals and then nearly make it to the individual finals. Like that was beyond our wildest dreams, especially on our little horses that, you know, they were, they were not of the caliber that other people brought.
Robyn (
07:44
):
And, you know, we were one of the only people who owned our own horses while there, and I'm sure they were the only ones that live together in a pasture with bite marks all over him. So, you know, that we did so well at world equestrian games on our terms. It was quite an accomplishment that I'm proud of. What have you changed in the past five years that has helped shape? Who of you, who you have become? Well, six years ago, I quit my corporate HR job. And so, you know, the business was getting to a point where we were going to have to hire somebody to start doing the administrative work and, you know, do travel arrangements. And, and I made the decision to fill that role myself. And it's been super hard, managing work is not easy. But we're coming to terms with it and between Tyler and I were sharing that responsibility and yes, and I'm still a work in progress for sure.
Robyn (
08:51
):
I'm learning a lot. And every day I learned something new about myself, about others, about horses. So, yeah, I think without having taken that leap, I wouldn't have evolved into what I'm involving evolving into. So what advice would you give people who are about to enter your occupation? I'm not sure I have an occupation. I mean, I guess I'll go with entrepreneur managing your husband. What advice would I give? It's hard be able to have your own thing, be able to be able to turn it off. I'm not very good at that. I tend to be, you know, working on the business or wanting to work on the business probably more than I should. So I think, yeah, have clear boundaries would be, would be good. We're still working on that. You know, our boundaries were, they were dictated to by travel. So if that makes sense.
Robyn (
09:54
):
So work, you know, he mostly, you know, he, half the time is on the road, so that gave us boundaries. And with this whole COVID thing, it's been a little tougher because he hasn't been traveling. And I think there's been some blurring of boundaries and, you know, there's some things that we're having to work through because of this and because he's not traveling so much. So so that's the advice that I would give people who are about to, you know, go on an entrepreneurial journey with their, with their significant other is, you know, make sure you have good boundaries and make sure you talk and communicate well and, and have your own thing and make sure you, you take time out for yourself. A well-placed bubble bath is, is a good thing. Even if it's in the middle of the day, where do you go and what do you do to relieve stress or recharge your batteries?
Robyn (
10:54
):
I love working out. So it started, remember when I said, when I was 18, I got rejected by the school. I don't know if that's what started my journey into fitness, but like I was, I learned about aerobics and I loved it. And then I became an aerobic instructor. In fact in 1989, when the big Loma Prieta earthquake hit in Hollister, I was at our community center and I was actually learning from another instructor, like I was learning routines that I could, I could start using. And I was gonna start teaching for the community center and that's when the earthquake hit during one of those sessions is really crazy. We thought it was just a local earthquake and I've never, so I was in the middle of this room and when the earthquake Hit, it was like, bye.
Robyn (
11:59
):
The ground became liquid. And it was like, waves were rolling through the ground. It was the weirdest feeling. You couldn't even walk. Like I was trying to walk to the door to get into under the door jam. And it was hard to even walk across this, you know, ground. That was a feeling like waves. It was really weird. So, you know, that kind of started, I guess it started way back then. And I've gone through the whole aerobic, cardio only to, you know, doing, [inaudible] doing, you know, weights, doing circuits. And I've ended up for the last couple years doing CrossFit. And I really love CrossFit because it's, it's super varied and it's short and intense. And yeah, I, as long as my body can do it, I think I'll be doing CrossFit. And I don't it's, CrossFits not crazy. Like people think like I used to think, Oh, I could never do CrossFit and you can modify everything.
Robyn (
13:08
):
And I just like the fact that it's always different and you never know what you're going to get. And I, he know what I also love is always look at the workout and I will go in and I'm thinking, this is going to be so easy. Like what, 12 minutes that I can do 12 minutes. And I always walk out going on my gosh, how did I think that was going to be easy? And it kicked my butt. So I I really love CrossFit. That's how I go to relieve stress. I've also, I've also done some meditation in the last couple of years, so, you know, that that helps. And of course the Kundalini helps in the breathing. Okay. What is the one common myth about your profession or field that you want to debunk? Well, I always laughed when I was the horse trainers wife and I still am, I guess, but you know, in the competition world, everybody's jealous of the horse trainers wife, because they think that this is the myth.
Robyn (
14:04
):
They think it's all roses and that your horse is going to get, you know, premium treatment. And, you know, it's for one, it's really hard to take lessons from your spouse. We say that it's really hard to teach anybody you've seen naked. So, you know, that's just a rule for everything and it, it's not true that your horse is a priority. I'm sorry, but the pain customers, horses were always the priority. My horses were always last. So, you know, they would always be the ones that got written last or got put off for the next day if there wasn't time. So, you know, the fact of the matter is that it's not everything people think it is to be the horse trainers, wife. It's kind of like the son, right. You know, they are wearing the, you know, the Holy shoes and, and things like that.
Robyn (
14:58
):
I'm not saying that it it's awful. It's great. And now that work doesn't train for the public it's, you know, yes, my horses do get better treatment. I could basically ask work for help at any point. And he would help me. He also has learned to leave me alone and let me do it myself. And I will ask him for help when I want help. That actually leads into the next question in the last five years. What have you become better at saying no to, it's not an, and that's just one thing, you know, he understands that I'll ask him if I want help. And he's a lot better about offering help in a way that I don't reject it, but also better at saying no to. And this isn't just in the last five years, but I have learned over the years That I just don't, there's just certain
Robyn (
15:55
):
Things or certain places sometimes that I just don't want to go. And I know that if I say yes and I go, I'll feel resentment and I don't want to do that. I don't want to feel resentful or anything. And you know, this, this lends itself to some of the travel there. It's hard for me to make the decision to go somewhere. You know, I feel a great sense of responsibility to every animal that we have on our place. And I'm super grateful. We have our own place, but, you know, with that, it was much easier to, to go places when work was training out of Gillware Gates, because if we owned any horses, you know, they're taken care of. So, you know, they have they're fed and cleaned, you know, by the PA they'll buy the employees of Gillware Gates. Well, we are our employees.
Robyn (
16:45
):
So whether people understand that or not, you know, we don't hire people to clean anything or, you know, we don't even have a gardener. So we take care of our six acres by ourselves and we love doing it, but it is a lot of responsibility. And, and to leave it in the hands of others, even though I know that they are very capable for the most part you know, it's still really weighs heavily on me. So I have become better at saying no to travel that I just add that I just don't absolutely want to do at the bottom of my heart. So, you know, things like, well, New Zealand, I always love going to New Zealand. It's one of my favorite trips every year. And Morocco last year was amazing. There are a few really, you know, bucket list things I want to do.
Robyn (
17:46
):
Like I want to see the Northern lights and whether, if in Alaska or Norway or Iceland, you know, I want to go see the Northern lights, you know, war, it keeps trying to talk me into Africa. I really don't want to go to Africa, nothing against Africa. It's just a really long couple of flights and it's really far away. And it's a little scary to me. And, you know, I will see if all, if all, when that one or not, I know it would be amazing and I know I'd really, really enjoy it. But but at this point I'm still saying no to that. What quality do you admire in a most, in a person? I admire someone who follows through who does what they say they're going to do. That's really important to me. Yeah, that's really important to me. What is your relationship like with fear?
Robyn (
18:39
):
Do you run towards it or find that you play things closest to the chest high? It depends. You know, I guess I have a conflicting relationship with fear, you know, I guess some things that would be fearful to other people, like my sister always says how brave I am, because, you know, I moved across the ocean and then moved back and, you know, I, I'm not, and I do go travel whether or not it, it makes me fearful because I am, I don't love the travel part of it, like the actual getting on the airplane. And once I'm on the airplane and we're in the air, it's, it's better. But, you know, it's the lead up to that is not easy. So, you know, my sister stays close to home and you know, she doesn't get on airplanes and, you know, so there's a lot of things like that, that she thinks I'm just so brave to do. And I guess in a way, you know, I, I guess I am, because I do it even though I don't, I am afraid of it, but then there's other things that, you know, that I do run away from and I just don't do, or I, you know, I don't know, I'm not going to bungee jump and I'm not going to jump out of an airplane. You know, those are hard nose for me. So yeah, I'd say I kind of have a dual role
Robyn (
20:10
):
With fear. I don't want to let it run my life, but, but there's also things I'm just, I'm just not interested in doing. Alright. Do you have any regrets that you're willing to share with the world? What did you learn from those regrets? Well, you know, I mean, I guess really one regret is, and it's not really a regret. It, I really felt this when in the last five years. So and that is having only one child. We had one child for a lot of reasons, mostly because we were traveling a lot at the time for horse and, you know, it was hard with just Tyler and and we didn't feel like it was fair to then, you know, split our, our attention to another child. If, you know, if we were splitting our attention with the horses and the clients and the, you know, go, go, go, go, go.
Robyn (
21:06
):
So that was the main reason we decided not to have another, I always joke that we just got it right the first time. And we weren't keen to get a little girl who was a hell on wheels. Cause that's what we would have gotten. And I don't, I didn't re you know, it's not like I'm full of this regret that I didn't have a second child, but when Tyler went away to school, you know, to college, it would have been nice to have that hell on wheels, little girl around, and then, you know, he comes back and then he leaves again. So, and then he came back and then he moved to Hawaii. So, you know, it would be, I think there's some regret there that, that there wasn't another child. We are really looking forward to grandchildren, not right now, cause he's only 23 and I think he's a little young, but you know, we can't wait to have grandchildren and we really hope that whoever wore whoever Tyler, you know, Mary's likes us enough to, you know, share their grandchildren with what's the luckiest thing that has ever happened to you.
Robyn (
22:16
):
I think the luckiest thing that ever happened to us was that I forced work to move back to the U S and I am taking credit for it. Dammit. you know, he had to start over and I was, at that point in time, I pretty much told him I've got my job back and you're on your own. I'm not, you know, you're, if you're gonna do this horse training thing, it's your business, it's your, you're doing it. So I didn't, you know, I didn't do a lot of stuff for him for a couple years. And then it was just, you know, when things started going crazy after YouTube started going crazy, and then we started the subscription and, you know, then it got to a point where I, you know,
Robyn (
23:05
):
We were like, is this really happening? Like if this keeps we'll be happy, if it just like in 2014, we were like, if we did, if we can just sustain this level of, you know, subscribers and whatever, gosh, you know, if we could just sustain this, this is going to be awesome. And then it's just been crazy. It's just, we're like, we feel super lucky that people are supportive and works able to, to evolve and change. And you know, none of this has been with he's, we've never sat down and said, okay, here's the strategy. It's just people ask about our, our strategy. And I, we say it's fly by the seat of our pants strategy. Like it is authentic. It's just, we're putting out there what we believe people need to see and need to hear. And, and with all the changes that were made in the last couple years, you know, we didn't know how people were gonna receive it.
Robyn (
24:11
):
And, but it never, like that was never a question. It wasn't like, Oh, should we shouldn't we, he just did. And it's actually been so well received and yeah, I can't imagine being any luckier than we are right now. We're super grateful, just, yeah. So lucky to be doing what we love and meet all the people that we get to meet. And and you know, when we were, when work was training for the public, back in the early two thousands, we had this incredible group of people and they were like our people, you know, they were our, we loved them. They were like family and they were friends and whatever we could do together, we did. And it was just this great tribe of people. And we never thought we would have that again. And now we have it on such a more massive scale.
Robyn (
25:08
):
It's, it's kinda crazy. And we, we we are so lucky. Okay. What did you want to be as a child? Well, like I said, I wanted to be, I thought I wanted to be a journalist. I still don't know what I want to be. Honestly, you know, I don't, one of the questions I skipped earlier was what did you think your purpose is in life? And, you know, I still don't know. I think maybe doing what I'm doing by supporting work, you know, that's, I guess that's my purpose at this point in time, but I think your purpose can change. And I think you just have to, you know, if you find something that you're passionate about and you can stay true to yourself and that kind of leads into the, one of the other questions is what do you think it means to be a leader and a follower?
Robyn (
25:58
):
I mean, as follows as, as, as far as a leader, I think if you can, if you're passionate about something and you can explain it and create people who are passionate about it and stay authentic and stay true to yourself, I think that's a leader. I think when you start plotting and manipulating and doing things for reasons other than to be helpful, I think I don't know. I would rather, I aspire to be a leader like th like what I explained, you know, be authentic and passionate and have people around me that feel the same way and are positive and uplifting. And life's too short to be surrounded by, you know, people who are negative. And I know I can get negative sometimes too. I'm working on it all the time, but I can't explain to you how, if you're around those type of people, more than you're around positive people, I encourage you to look for those positive people because you will notice a difference.
Robyn (
27:17
):
And those are the types of people that I want to be around. And I want to spend my time with alright. And the last question, do you have a favorite horse? And I've had several throughout my life. I think I counted the other day, how many I've had, and I think I've had 20 horses and I'm 51, so that's okay. Right. That's like, I don't know, one every other year from birth, but my first horse poco has a special place in my heart because he was, he was more than just a horse. You know, I was, that was probably when I was from like seven to think he was, we put him to sleep when I was like 15 or 16. He was old when we got him, but he was super old when we had to put him down. And we bought him as an exhale barrel racing horse, and he could do all of the events.
Robyn (
28:13
):
You know, I was, I started out in four H and, you know, he could do the pleasure. He could do the act. He could do the trail, he could do the showmanship, he could do the English, he could jump, he could do everything and then he could run barrels. So, you know, he could do everything, but, but more than that, you know, that I had him like late seventies, early eighties. And at that point in time where we lived, you know, kind of rurally he was my transportation, he was my friend. He was my companion. You know, I remember taking him into the garage and grooming him in the winter. And, you know, using that said, you know, water free, you know, shampoo to wash him. And, and it was of the time when you would tell your mom in the morning, I'll see you at dinner and just take off with your friends on your horse.
Robyn (
29:06
):
And I think we had that connection that kept me safe. And so he probably holds the, you know, the biggest place in my heart, but certainly smart, like smart was, was an incredibly special horse as well. He's the, he's one of the stallions we took with us to Australia and he was, he was awesome in every respect. I wish I wish I had been more of a 10 year old girl with him. And, you know, I think knowing what we know now could have improved his life, although he was a pretty well adjusted stallion little timid, but yeah, he was pretty cool. And of course, you know, PD and Sherlock, and now Oscar, you know, when we bought Oscar, we bought him in Cooper at the same time. And, and we said, we'll just, we'll buy them with the thought that, that we'll we'll, we will resell them.
Robyn (
30:15
):
And I even had somebody in mind to buy Oscar after the world of crushing games and, and that fell through. And again, it comes back to everything happens for a reason. And now I can't imagine him not being with us. I mean, I guess I have come to contemplated it some and really contemplated it. And again, had a really perfect place for him, but I just can't do it. He's part of the family. And he's a horse that you could put anybody on and trust him with anybody. And yeah, we, we have this vision for you know, a future place that we may have. I don't know where, you know, in California, maybe Texas, maybe, I don't know where maybe our Australia, I don't know, but it will have big pastures and it'll have pastures with trees and a Creek growing through it.
Robyn (
31:17
):
And whenever we see something like that, we call it a PD forever paddock. And w someday we'll have a PD forever paddock and it'll have PD and Bella and Sherlock and Oscar and probably chants. So we just keep collecting horses. Are I keep collecting horses? I forgot Bundy, of course, Bundy. So, you know, favorite horses, they just keep adding up. They all are very special. And the more I find out about their mental States and such, you know, the more I keep collecting special ones that I can't imagine they be anywhere else. You know, that's one thing about Oscar he's so mentally stable. That's really the only reason I ever considered that he could go somewhere else because he's just so good minded. I don't feel like I have to protect him. You know, PD is very sensitive Sherlock also. And, you know, Bella actually, she's very sensitive to, she's just such a lovely mayor that I've fallen in love with her.
Robyn (
32:28
):
And I want her to be the mother of, of some of our babies. So, you know, they're all my favorite now. But poco did hold a special place in my heart. Okay. Well, that's the end of the questions. Hopefully you didn't mind that I took over or ex podcast for the week and he'll be back next week. I'm sure. Talking to somebody. Fabulous. And I look forward to meeting you when I go to the places that you are at. And I choose to go to those places. I look forward to meeting, meeting you there, if not, I'll see you online and until then journey on.
Speaker 1 (
33:18
):
Thanks for listening to the journey on podcast with work Schiller Warrick has over 650 full length training videos on his online video library at videos dot [inaudible] dot com. Be sure to follow Warrick on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, to see his latest training advice and insights.