The People

Highland Horsemanship is run by me, Ailsa Duncan, along with my incredible husband Liam. I grew up in Vancouver, competing on the local hunter/jumper circuit and spent six years teaching at a lesson barn in Southlands. Five years ago, I met one of my best friends who happens to be a proficient natural horsemanship trainer. She introduced me to an entirely different way of being with horses, and I haven’t looked back since. I left Vancouver in 2022, and spent a glorious summer working as a trail guide in Osoyoos. Liam and I then decided to make the move to the Island, so I googled “natural horsemanship vancouver island” and found a wonderful barn to work at in Qualicum Beach. We are thrilled to be embarking on our own business journey now, and we couldn’t ask for a more perfect location to do it in.

The Farm

Our business is run on our multi-generational family farm, just north of Qualicum Beach. It is 24 acres of paradise, with some open grassy areas and a lot of dense forest. We only moved to this farm at the beginning of February 2024, so we are hard at work doing improvements/upgrades. We have just had a fantastic new riding arena built!

The Name

Highland Horsemanship is named after my heart horse, Highlander. We have been together for 11 years now, and he has been by my side for every step of my riding/horsemanship journey.

The Dream

Our goal is to offer a slightly different horse experience than what you would find at a traditional lesson barn. Lessons focus on creating understanding, communication, and partnership between horse and human. Not only does this ensure that it is an equally enjoyable experience for the horses, but it also creates a much safer environment all around. Horses are sensitive creatures, who can communicate extraordinarily well through energy alone. Our program is designed to introduce people, especially children, to the fulfilling world of horses.

We have big dreams for this farm, and eventually plan to offer experiences with other animals as well. As a couple, we have been privileged to have some incredibly meaningful relationships with all sorts of different farm animals and our mission in life is to facilitate those experiences for as many other people as possible.