For the last nine years, Durham resident Chris Lombard has traveled the northeast helping people and their horses to build the trust that will allow them to be safe and have fun in any type of training or riding they choose. Through his weekly one-on-one work with his regular clients and his weekend clinics, he works with around 15-20 horses a week and more than 200 different horses each year. Examining each horse-human relationship he encounters in depth has allowed him to understand the dynamics between horse and human.

Lombard, 39, recently published a book, “Land of the Horses,” which chronicles his journey from the small town of Kezar Falls to California, Arizona and eventually back to Maine, where he has lived for the last 11 years. Lombard first worked as an apprentice trainer at the Van Nostern Arabian Horse Ranch in Colorado. He worked with Arabian horses of all ages, from young colts to champion stallions, and from there he moved on to the Sunset Ranch in California, where he worked as a wrangler. He led trail rides ranging from fie to 30 riders, including Sunset Ranch’s night rides. He also worked as a riding instructor, teaching both English and Western riding. He is currently engaged to Ashley Hutchinson of Durham.

Lombard recently spoke with the Tri-Town Weekly on why horses are spiritual, the reason why he wrote the book, and when he realized that working with horses would become his life’s calling.

Q: What were your thoughts on horses growing up, and did I already have a passion for them?

A: Horses were not in my life growing up. The first time I touched a horse, I was 26 years old. But I was an animal lover, and it seemed it was inevitable I would someday be around horses. And that first time I was around them, when I was 26, ignited a spark and a passion that still drives me now, almost 15 years later.

Q: Where did the spiritual awakening that is talked about in the book come from?

A: In my time working on the horse ranches out West, being around the horses allowed me to see in-depth how they lived, and my time working with them allowed me to see what type of attitude they connected to. Pretty soon, I was noticing they took to humans who were relaxed, positive, confident, loving and trustworthy. It didn’t take me long to figure out that these are the qualities that lead to a good life, as well. Soon I realized while I was training horses, they were training me for life.

Q: Why did you write the book?

A: I wrote the first draft in 2003 because I wanted to remember all that happened out West during my time working on those horse ranches.

Q: What about horses fascinates you so?

A: They are beautiful in their physical form, they have a great balance of power and grace. They are also very smart and each one has its own distinct personality. But what really fascinates me is how strongly they can connect to other living things. I have felt every emotion from them that there is to feel, and they do not try to hide anything. And when you connect to them, there is nothing they will not do for you.

Q: What types of horses interest you?

A: I have worked with many breeds and types of horses and love them all. Each horse has something to give, something great about it.

Q: Talk about your journey from Maine and back.

A: I was 26 and living in Portland, and not much was going my way. I realized there was no inspiration in my life and I was headed nowhere. But I was very happy when I was having my one-hour horseriding lesson I had once a week. So I decided to leave everything behind and pack what I could into my car and drive out West to find work on a horse ranch. I ended up working as an apprentice horse trainer in Colorado, as a dude ranch wrangler in California, and a cowboy in Arizona. It was an amazing adventure and I learned a lot about myself and horses, but in the end, Maine is home and always will be home, and I decided it was time to come back.

Q: What did you learn about life from this experience?

A: Horses are beautiful and spiritual creatures that have a very important connection to humans in all ways. They are the best teachers on how to find a good attitude toward life that I have found. To make a connection with a horse, you have to cultivate respect, confidence, good communication and trustworthiness within yourself. Pretty soon, you realize you can take out the word “horse” and put in the word “life,” as all of these qualities help you to live a good life, as well. As any horseperson will tell you, it starts off as us training them, but in the end, the greatest lessons are those given to us by the horse and what they respond to.

Durham resident Chris Lombard with one of the many horses he worked with at the Van Nostern Horse Ranch in Colorado. Lombard recently published a book, “Land of the Horses,” chronicling his journey from Kezar Falls to California and back as a horse trainer.