Get to Know Natural Lifemanship®
Leading the future of Equine Assisted Services
We envision a world where connection is seen and felt
in everything we do.
We help people and animals form relationships
to overcome stress and trauma.
Tim Jobe
Tim was born in Tucumcari, New Mexico. He was the third of six children.
Bettina Shultz-Jobe
Bettina was born in Amarillo, Texas. She is the oldest of four children.
Reccia Jobe
Reccia, Tim’s first child was born in Tucumcari, New Mexico. She is an NL trainer and co-founder of Pecan Creek Ranch, offering Equine Assisted Psychotherapy in her community.
Tanner Jobe
Tanner, Tim’s second child was born in Tucumcari, New Mexico. He works full-time for NL and wears many hats within the organization.
Tim and Bettina’s relationship with horses begins very early in life.
The Evolution of NL
1986: Tim begins the official development of the foundations of Natural Lifemanship while working with at-risk youth at West Texas Boys Ranch in San Angelo, TX.
1990: Somewhere else in the world Bettina begins her journey in therapeutic riding with her youngest sister who has Down Syndrome.
1997: Tim moves his program to Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch where he teaches the principles of NL to staff, houseparents, and at-risk boys and girls.
1999: Tim is asked to help form the Equine Assisted Growth & Learning Association (EAGALA).
2002: Bettina is trained and certified in Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) through EAGALA.
2004: Tim and Bettina’s paths cross
2005: Bettina works with Tim at Cal Farley’s as an intern while pursuing a Master’s degree in Counseling.
2006: Bettina accepts a position as Program Director for an outpatient EAP and therapeutic riding program in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, called Rocky Top Therapy Center.
2006: Bettina becomes certified through NARHA, now called The Professional Association for Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH).
2008: Bettina returns to Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch where she and Tim continue to refine the practice and process that would eventually be called Natural Lifemanship.
2009: Tim retires from the board of EAGALA.
2010: Word spreads amongst the EA community that Tim and Bettina’s work is a game-changer and demand for trainings across the nation begins.
Tim and Bettina’s friend Elizabeth Clark designs their first logo, and they set up an LLC and a website and plan a wedding in the same three week period.
2010: Tim and Bettina get married and officially start Natural Lifemanship! In fact, they spend their honeymoon teaching the first ever, official, NL training.
2010: Tim and Bettina move to New Mexico where they build an NL program working with wild horses and a variety of clients, including veterans and their families.
2011: Tim and Bettina move back to Texas to run and build an outpatient counseling program utilizing NL to serve primarily children and families at Spirit Reins in Liberty Hill, TX.
2013: Tim and Bettina train and hire the first NL trainers
2014: Cooper, Tim and Bettina’s first child together is born.
2015: In the fall of 2015, the first team members are hired.
2015: In the fall of 2015, the first team members are hired.
2015: Tim and Bettina begin serving primarily adults through intense therapy experiences that take place over several days.
2016: The Natural Lifemanship Certification process is initiated and the first certification students start. National boards approve NL as a provider of CE hours.
2017: NL hosts its first conference, offers its first online course and expands its offerings of in-person trainings and online learning content.
2018: Mabel, Tim and Bettina’s second child together is born.
2019: NL hosts its second semi-annual conference, Deep Dive 2019.
2020: In response to the global pandemic, NL evolves its online trainings and courses which allows professionals to train from home.
2020: NL hosts its first online conference, Interconnected 2020, bringing global connection and community when it was needed most.
2021: NL hosts its 4th semi-annual conference with practitioners joining from around the world to discuss topics related to love, loss, and grief.
The NL Story
In 1986, Tim Jobe winessed the power of relationships when both parties did the right thing because it’s the right thing to do, and not because they were simply afraid not to.
This became a guiding principle for the work we do.
While teaching at-risk youth to partner with horses, Tim learned that students behaved better at the barn than anywhere else. This began his journey to help these children transfer what they were learning from the horses to other areas of their lives.
With a strong desire to move from power, domination, and control to healthy connection with people and horses, Tim shifted the way he trained horses, transferring the principles underlying his techniques to healthy human relationships with self and others.
This is what allowed the children to find success in other areas of their lives, and what has ultimately helped countless others to do the same.
THIS was the foundation on which Natural Lifemanship was built.
In 2005, Bettina Shultz, a clinical intern, partnered with Tim to refine his training principles based on the science that was informing the field of trauma-informed care.
Together, Tim and Bettina sought to understand the magic of the horse/human relationship. The horses and youth involved transformed under their combined efforts.
Word spread amongst the equine assisted community that their work was a game-changer and demand for training across the nation began.
In 2010, Tim and Bettina got married and founded Natural Lifemanship. Today, NL is a leader in the field of EAS and teaches professionals from various backgrounds to practice and embody the science and art of connected relationships.
Where our journeys connect
You have walked the path of supporting others in their healing process, yet recognize that as the world evolves, so too must your practice.
Our process is one that values personal growth as a foundation for supporting clients, and uses science-based techniques and practices for forming deeper connections.
Connections that will ultimately create the cornerstone for your life and practice.
Wherever you are on your path, our team is ready to introduce you to a more effective and principle-based approach to helping others, with a community to support you.
Will you walk with us? Take the quiz to decide your next step.