⭑Presenter Bio Mona Illerbrun⭑
Mona Illerbrun is the owner and facilitator of Partner Up. She lives off grid in the remote picturesque Blackwater Valley 65 km west of Quesnel, BC, with access to several heritage trail networks from her doorstep (AMT, COTT, Canyon Trail, LHTAKO Trail, Musquash Trail).
Mona’s 60+ year connection and love affair with horses began at birth. She found herself always striving to make it better for the horse and this path lead her to the realization that she, as the human, was the key.
At a very young age she was honing her skills energetically and using energy to communicate with horses while at the same time utilizing her curiosity, visual acuity and awareness to decipher what the horse was saying. This led to her fluency in horse and dedication to do “with” her horse instead of “to”.
Mona spends her time during the summer riding in the rugged outdoors and sharing her passion for trail protection/clearing riding. Over the winter months, she uses teaching as a voice for the horse through the delivery of her 60+ hour Partner Up Program which is offered Online.
Her Partner Up Program focusses on building a connected partnership with your horse by increasing your awareness of your horse and what they need from you to become trusting, confident and willing partners and by empowering you to strive to be the best you can be so you are able to be what your horse needs in every moment. Discover your honesty, authenticity and acceptance, gain confidence, kick “foe” fear to the curb, and harness your power using energy.
Because Of The Horse...
I strive to be the favourite version of myself each and every day.
Mona Illerbrun’s 2025 Presentations
DAY 1
★ Are you missing these subtle horse expressions?
Having connection with a horse requires 2 main elements. The first is levels of awareness of oneself and the ability to openly receive what is presented in each moment with no judgment. The second is levels of awareness of the horse, its language, its values, and its requirements to trust and have a sense of safety.
In this video, I break down the subtle signs horses give—signs that, when missed, can lead to those "out of nowhere" reactions.
Izzy has learned to shut down to tolerate saddling. This isn’t a saddle fit issue—it’s trauma. If I don’t give her time to come back to awareness, asking her to move can trigger a big reaction. When she first arrived, just seeing a saddle sent her into full panic mode. Now, she stands quietly at the mounting block and is safe under saddle, but I still have to work where she’s at, expanding her comfort zone on her terms.
Izzy is a great example of why patience, presence, and staying in the moment make all the difference.
DAY 2
★ Connection: Magic or Illusion?
In this video, I talk about the importance of connection to create a partnership. A Partnership where both involved are equally vested.
I demonstrate in one of the clips how important providing the horse with the sense of safety changes how they react to outside noises. In this case the snow that had them bolting out of there when it slid off the roof, did not phase them at all once they felt connected and safe.
From my perspective the absolute best gift you can give yourself and your horse is learning the equine language and all its subtle signs while also learning how to communicate back so your equine companion feels seen, heard, felt and understood.
Where You Can Find Mona Illerbrun
