Certified Master Hoof Care Professional Steve Hebrock began his career as a technical educator in 1978 when, as an undergraduate at the State University of New York earning Bachelor’s degrees in Music Theory & Composition and Sound Recording Technology, he was asked to teach electronics in the Physics and Sound Recording Technology departments. Since that time, Steve has been actively involved in the technical education of a wide range of subjects at several universities, including the University of Colorado Denver, the University of Akron, and, most recently, The Ohio State University ATI, where he taught hoof care and farriery, equine marketing and facilities management, and a number of engineering and other technical classes, for nearly 20 years. During his tenure there, Steve also completed his Master of Science in Engineering degree at the University of Wisconsin.

After completing his undergraduate education, he worked first as a sound engineer at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY, and then as Chief Engineer of the famed Caribou Ranch recording studio in Nederland, CO. Most notable among the people Steve’s worked with include Ella Fitzgerald, Dan Fogelberg, Debbie Reynolds, Harry Chapin, Amy Grant, Sarah Vaughn, Sheena Easton, Tony Bennett, John Denver, Kris Kristoffersen, Phyllis Diller, and Eddie Rabbitt.

His focus then shifted to pursuing the design and manufacturing aspects of professional audio, accepting positions with Audio Dynamics Corporation in New Milford, CT; BSR USA LTD. in Blauvelt, NY; Altec Lansing in Oklahoma City, OK; and Audio-Technica U.S. Inc. in Stow, OH, where he was Engineering Manager of a nine-person engineering, quality control, and service department. In 1988, Steve left Audio-Technica U.S., Inc. to found Renaissance Technology Inc. – his design company creating electronic and electroacoustic products, one-of-a-kind test solutions, and acoustic recording & performance spaces for companies across the country, including Panasonic, Sea World, Consumer Reports, USS/Kobe Steel, and many others.

Steve’s passion for hoof care and hoof care education began in 1993 after acquiring his first horse, when his frustration with the illogical ideas and practices that continue to dominate hoof care prompted him to begin an intense study of trimming, shoeing, and movement theory. In early 2000, he discovered the seminal hoof work of Jaime Jackson documented in The Natural Horse, and began studying with Mr. Jackson shortly thereafter. Steve became a certified hoof care professional and booting specialist in the American Association of Natural Hoof Care Practitioners (AANHCP), and continued on to become a certification examination instructor, workshop leader, and field instructor as well. In 2008 he was invited to join the faculty of Liberated Horsemanship, LLC, led by Dr. Bruce Nock, and was a lecturer, advanced trimming instructor and field instructor for that organization.

Steve now focuses his time and energy on his hoof care practice and consultations, ongoing hoof research and equine product development, educational outreach efforts via “Enlightened Equine” – a blog dedicated to bringing science to horse management and hoof care – and through his various teaching efforts with Enlightened Equine Workshops, which conducts hoof trimming training clinics both domestically and internationally for horse and zoo ungulate students from all over the world. Steve is a frequent presenter at the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association conference, the Equine Affaire, and other regional horse events.

Austrian-born Licensed Straightness Training Instructor Dora Hebrock began her horse career as a teenager, tending horses and ponies on a farm in the Italian countryside. She later studied equine management at the Austrian Landwirtschaftliche Fachschule Tullnerbach (Agricultural College Tullnerbach) while obtaining her licenses in dressage, jumping, and driving, as well as her instructor’s license in vaulting. During research for her graduation thesis on the natural asymmetry of the horse, Dora discovered Marijke de Jong’s Straightness Training program – an innovative dressage training program based on the teachings of the European Grand Masters of the Art of Riding, comprised of five distinct training components (groundwork, longeing, work in hand, riding, and liberty) – and began her studies with Marijke in 2013 while simultaneously undertaking the pursuit of becoming a Certified Hoof Care Professional through Liberated Horsemanship. In 2016, she married a fellow Hoof Care Professional, moved to the USA, and qualified for training to become a Straightness Training Instructor. In 2017, she completed her certifications as both a Hoof Care Professional and Straightness Training Instructor, and is now one of only thirteen ST Instructors worldwide and one of only two in the USA. Her training education experiences include attending clinics in Austria, the Netherlands, England, Germany, Spain, Scotland, and the USA.

In her teaching career, Dora has taught Straightness Training throughout the USA, Canada, Austria, and Slovakia in person, and also teaches a worldwide community of students and training instructors in the form of online lessons as an Evaluator, Academy Coach, and Mentor Instructor. In 2019, she was invited to become a Field Instructor for Liberated Horsemanship, where her experiences included one-on-one trimming instruction in her daily practice as well as group instruction at Liberated Horsemanship’s international clinics. To deepen her understanding of the rider’s seat, she also obtained her certification as a Seat Instructor under Hanna Engström, a riding seat specialist native to Sweden.

For the past several years, Dora has co-taught hoof care classes to Horse Management program students at The Ohio State University ATI, and to veterinarians and doctors of animal chiropractic at the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association’s annual conferences, with her husband and hoof care practice partner Steve Hebrock. She also spends much of her time at her ever-expanding hoof care and riding instruction practice in northern New Mexico, and is a regular consultant to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado.