This may give you some insight into my story and journey of how I went from a horse crazy girl who dreamed of becoming a vet, to instead doing a full 180 after high school.
I’ll share some of the struggles that I experienced while in high school and how they’ve likely influenced me to where I am today.
Transcription
Hey there, I’m Janice Bennett, and welcome to Off the Line.
I wanted to start this first episode by sharing a bit about who I am and what brought me here. My journey’s been a mix of tech, creativity, and horsemanship — and somehow, all those worlds have intertwined in ways that continually surprise me.
I’ve always had a knack for understanding systems and seeing how things connect. That started early in my corporate life — I was the one who’d get pulled into projects to help make sense of complicated setups or bridge communication between departments. Over time, I realized that what I was really doing was translating — helping people see the bigger picture by connecting the smaller pieces.
That same mindset followed me into my love of horses. I discovered Liberty work a number of years ago, and it’s completely reshaped how I think about communication, leadership, and relationships — not just with horses, but with people, too. When you work at Liberty, you can’t fake connection. You can’t hide behind tools or control. It’s about trust, timing, and awareness — things that also happen to be at the heart of great teamwork and technology projects.
It’s funny — for a long time, I kept my “work world” and my “horse world” separate. But over the years, I began to see how much overlap there really was. When you’re in tech, you’re constantly navigating systems and problem-solving. When you’re with horses, you’re reading body language, understanding pressure and release, and communicating without words. Both require clarity, respect, and the ability to listen more than you speak.
The name Off the Line actually comes from Liberty work. In the beginning, when you’re training a horse, you often work with a line — a lead rope or lunge line — that gives some guidance and connection. But the real magic happens when you can take that line off and still maintain that connection. When your horse chooses to stay with you because they trust you, not because they’re forced to. That’s Off the Line.
And that idea — of being connected by choice, not by control — is something I’ve been building into everything I do. Whether I’m helping a client with their business systems or working on my own creative projects, it’s always about connection. How do we stay engaged and aligned even when the structure isn’t there?
Over the past few years, I’ve been working with individuals and small businesses to help them simplify their tech, streamline their systems, and bring their ideas to life online. I love helping people see how all the pieces fit together — because when you can make sense of your tools, you can actually spend more time doing the work that matters.
But at the same time, I’ve also been deepening my understanding of communication and energy through Liberty work. My horse, Ozzy, has been one of my greatest teachers in that. He’s shown me more about patience, boundaries, and presence than any leadership book ever could. When things weren’t working with him, I had to take a hard look at myself. It wasn’t about “fixing” him — it was about becoming the kind of person he wanted to connect with.
And that reflection carried into my work with people. When a project wasn’t working, or a system was failing, it wasn’t always about the tools or the technology. It was about alignment, communication, and understanding. Just like with the horses.
That’s what this podcast is really about. Off the Line is a space where I get to explore those parallels — between tech and trust, systems and relationships, leadership and connection. I’ll share stories from my own experiences, lessons learned from the barn, and conversations that bridge the practical and the personal.
Because whether it’s a horse, a team, or a client, the foundation is always the same: awareness, clarity, and genuine connection. When those are in place, everything else flows.
So as we go through these episodes together, I hope you’ll find pieces that resonate with you — whether you’re a business owner trying to wrangle your tech, or someone who just loves exploring how we communicate and connect in different spaces.
That’s the heart of it for me — finding the balance between structure and freedom, logic and intuition, control and connection. Learning how to take the line off — and trust that what’s meant to stay, will.
Until next time, be oz-some!
