Sargent Julie Payne

Equine, First Responder
My name is Julie Payne and I am the Rider Trainer for the Austin Police Mounted Patrol Unit in Austin, Texas. I became a Police Officer in July of 1997 and proudly joined the Mounted Patrol Unit in June of 2002.

I started my journey with Parelli in 2006 when an article I read in a horse magazine inspired me. Pat and Linda Parelli explained in the article how you could achieve true success with your horse while still allowing the horse to have dignity. Dignity?!? Never during my years of being a stable hand, trail riding, riding lessons or mounted patrol did anyone mention dignity! In my heart, I felt that dignity was what I was missing, and that Parelli Natural Horsemanship was the light at the end of my force, fear and intimidation tunnel.

The idea of becoming a Parelli Instructor occurred to me early in my Parelli journey. I was already an Instructor with the Austin Police Department, and found joy in sharing information and inspiring others. Throughout my journey to becoming a Parelli Professional, I experienced what it feels like to be a student that is empowered by wonderful teachers. I want to share that feeling! And I have been blessed to share it with the leadership at Henry’s Home over the last two years, doing workshops and getting to know them as friends.