Welcome to the ST Community, one of the most inspiring and generous group of riders on the planet!

We’re living the most extraordinary time ever in equestrian history!

Wherever you are we can connect through the internet.

And whatever you dream, you can achieve thanks to the internet!

Straightness Training and our online programs are there to help you up your game, create health and happiness for your horse, go big, and impact the world!

And through the ST Community on Facebook, you can connect with an amazing community of big-hearted STudents from around the world, as well as ST Instructors and Marijke de Jong.

We’re excited to help you becoming a better version of yourself, and the best horse trainer you can be, so you can fulfill your dreams!

Now this is only going to happen as the ST Community steps up to its full potential, and as such, we’ve created 10 founding values and guidelines for our ST Facebook Groups:

These are the 10 values that make this ST Community work, and in this video, the community values are outlined for the ST Scholars Facebook  FB Group, but the values apply to all ST Facebook pop-up groups as well:

Besides the 10 community values, we also have a group policy for all groups of the Official ST Facebook Community.

Group Policy

Maybe you too have had the experience that it is hard to find a place on the internet where you feel free and confident enough to express yourself and get support on the subject of your interest - in a friendly and constructive way. Now we decided to change this, for the benefit of all of us.

We are dedicated to creating an environment for the growth and joy of the riders who have truly committed themselves to take taking Straightness Training and their personal growth seriously. Therefore, we will take care of our ST Facebook groups for your benefit - as if it was our own stable with our own horses. That means that this caring must be expressed by some basic rules and disciplines, and within these policy, you are free to express yourselves. It will make the ST FB groups a real joy to visit! 

So please understand that this policy is based on 'caring' and not 'repressing' anyone's opinions or ideas -  it's just that if we don't set some fundamental ground values and rules then within a few months our inspiring FB groups could be deteriorated beyond repair. Thank for understanding and your cooperation!

We commit to creating happy, active, vibrant local communities which create accessible, welcoming opportunities offline and online to connect, share, support and make friends. Our policies apply to all ST communities and Facebook groups and are the guidelines used by local community admins. This official ST Facebook Community consists of the following Straightness Training (ST) Facebook Groups:

Customer ST FB Groups:

• ST Scholars FB Group
• ST Instructors FB Group (ST Instructors only)

Public ST FB Groups - Specials:

• Time-limited Masterclass Facebook Groups
• Time-limited Bootcamp Facebook Groups

Archived ST FB Groups:

• The ST Country FB Groups, Members, Evaluation, Events, Tack and pop-up FB Groups have been officially closed and archived. Members can still consume the content in those groups.

Here’s what we recommend to the members of those groups, if you want to engage with our community moving forward: 

1. Reach out to members in the group that you’ve connected with so that you can stay in touch after the group closes. This is the perfect time to segue your relationships to ones that are closer and more meaningful. 

2. Look out for any popup groups we form in the future. As you’ve probably seen, we create free masterclasses and bootcamps every few months and may create some limited-time Facebook groups that you can be part of for some intensive learning and relationship building. 

3. Join our email list, which is the first place we’ll announce any future events, masterclasses, bootcamps, or communities we decide to form. You can join by signing up for the free eBook or free training on the website: https://www.straightnesstraining.com/ 

 4. Tune in to Weekly ST live, every Thursday @ 8am PT/ 11am ET/4 pm WET. This is my weekly live broadcast on Facebook where I share inpiring Stories, empowerng Strategies, and the latest news and updates. Weekly ST is the place to be to engage, connect and interact with like-minded people who’d love to talk about ST. Go check it out: https://www.straightnesstraining.com/weekly-st/ 

5. Or join the Scholars Program and the Scholars Community where you can interact, engage, participate, and share your own ST experiences and contribute to the ST journeys of peers and instructors. 

The Scholars Facebook Group

The Scholars Facebook Group has been created to provide a positive community for peer to peer support for anyone starting ST or is active in our Get STarted or Scholars program. The group is a safe, accepting and positive space for everyone to connect, create, share, and inspire.

ST Pop Up Groups

Connect in the ST Group for the right reasons. The ST community exists to help you learn. It's a place to get support and to offer support to each other.

It’s not a place to passively consume, or find customers, or recruit people to other programs or groups.

Therefore, here are few ground rules to make sure we’re all on the same page:


2. T.H.I.N.K. FIRST, POST LATER

Always remember the T.H.I.N.K. policy before you post. Ask yourself:

• Is this True?
• Is this Helpful?
• Is this Inspiring?
• Is this Necessary?
• Is this Kind?

We cannot monitor our FB groups 24/7, and naturally, we don’t want to spend our time checking or adjusting posts, so we’re here to ask for your partnership, your understanding, your kindness and your support so we can have an incredible community together.

The ST FB Community is an environment to serve your highest ambition, so we ask anyone who can’t be supportive, inspiring, empowering or kind, to be quiet. We strive to keep all ST FB Groups to be a positive, collaborative and empowering place, so we ask you to encourage and support your fellow STudents.

If you disagree or have an opposing viewpoint to share, do it with respect, honor and from a place of compassion. Constructive criticism is welcome, but if you are frustrated or not happy with the ST platform, please contact us directly at [email protected] so we can help you out.


Never make anyone feel unwelcome or judged. Don't put anyone down, be it other programs, teachers or people. Criticism of other horsemen/ horsewoman and their methods/ techniques will not be tolerated as we can still learn from those that we don't necessarily admire even if that means we learn 'what not to do'.

In the ST FB Groups, we have a zero tolerance policy for negativity, drama, gossip, trash talk, tantrums, or other toxic energy. We will not tolerate speculation, veiled threats and accusations or unethical and malicious behavior of any kind. We will not tolerate disrespectful comments about ST, the programs, ST Instructors, ST Evaluators, Crew ST or Marijke de Jong. 

Violation of these rules can be grounds for immediate and permanent removal from the ST FB Community.

So T.H.I.N.K first, and before posting, ask yourself: 

• Is it inspiring, helpful or interesting info?
• Does it create conversation in the group? 
• Could it spark friendship or lead to meaningful connection? 
• Could it improve the lives of some of our STudents or their horses?
• Could it help someone feel a sense of belonging? 

3. NON-PROFESSIONALS 

The ST FB Community is not a professional support group, and opinions, advice, and all other information expressed by fellow STudents in discussions or comments are those of the author. You rely on such information at your own risk.

STudents are urged to seek professional advice for specific, individual situations (for example through the Mastermind Sessions or the ST Evaluation Program, or a private lesson with an ST Instructor) and not rely solely on advice or opinions given.

The ST FB Community is also not a place to receive accredited therapy. Love and support might be shared in a kind and healthy way, but this is not the environment for in-depth psychological counselling.

Take responsiblity for your own horse. If you ask about issues or problems that you have with your horse, know that you take any advice at your own risk. Research any advice given. For complex issues, working directly with a professional face-to-face is often the surest path to success.

4. NO TAGGING - NO PM -  NO DM

Please refrain from tagging or private or direct messaging ST Instructors, Academy Coaches, or Marijke de Jong. 

For questions or feedback, always reach out to [email protected].

5. GROUPS ARE NO ALTERNATIVE FOR CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Our ST FB groups are NOT an alternative for customer support or to get technical support for one of our online programs. Please do your own diligence by viewing our FAQs and the SUPPORT MODULE in your library that contains the answers to most questions.   

If you have any issue with one of our online programs, again, please contact [email protected] directly as we can help you faster and more efficient one on one.

If you see a fellow member asking for technical support or any program related support, please direct them to contact [email protected].

6. PROMOTIONS ARE NOT ALLOWED 

Promotions of services or products are not allowed in our ST FB Groups.

The primary intention of the groups is to stay connected to your fellow STudents, share ideas, support and form genuine connections. It’s not a place to sell tack, horses, find customers, or recruit people to other programs or groups. This is a no go in the groups. It’s also a no go if you use the comments to let people know that you’ll PM them with more information.

So keep your posts and comments free of promo info, website links and contact info. If we feel it’s actually a veiled promo, or there are links being shared in the post or in the comments, or info about PM-ing STudents, we will remove the post or comment. And if you keep posting things for the purpose of veiled promotion to other programs, products, or services we might remove you from the ST FB Community.

7. SHARING LINKS TO THIRD PARTIES IS NOT ALLOWED

We do not want to get off-topic in the ST Groups. Posting or sharing links from and to third parties not directly related to the interest of ST students is not allowed, such as:

• Blog posts,
• Funny Youtube videos
• Social media profiles
• FB pages
• FB posts, videos, quotes pictures

Posts that do not comply with this guideline will be removed.

This is because you're either distracting the ST Community with information that is neither important nor urgent, or it takes them off the main group wall by asking someone read a blog post, watch a video, check a quote from a third party etc.

However, if you’d like to share your blog post, a funny Youtube video, or a quote from third parties, please do so on your own FB profile or FB page.

8. REMOVING POSTS AND COMMENTS

We reserve the right to remove posts without notice if they are:

• Distracting  
• Off topic
• Offensive
• Negative
• Promotional (directly or indirectly by letting people know that you’ll PM them with more information)

So if your post has been deleted, it’s probably not an accident:

• Either your post violates our guidelines or policy
• or other STudents have reported it because it is unsuitable or inappropriate  
• or it has started to cause problems in the group

As a result, it might have been removed by an admin. 

The most common reason a post is deleted is if it violates our guidelines in regards to being too distractive (things that are not urgent and not important such as a funny cat video) and/or taking people from the main wall.  

If your post is a grey area for us, assessment is at the discretion of Crew ST.

The reason we say ‘without notice’ is that we really want to put our time and energy on creating more amazing things for you.

So if you wonder why your post has been declined, as yourself:

• Is it an advert? 
• Is it self promo?
• Does it include an external link? 
• It is unrelated to ST? 
• Is it violating the group rules and policy?

​These are the most common reasons a post is not allowed on the wall. 

We hope you’ll understand and learn from the experience.

9. REMOVING MEMBERS 

We reserve the right to remove any members without notice who repeatedly or severely do not comply with the group policy, values, or guidelines, as we take the ST FB groups and the ST Community and its members very seriously.

Violation of any value, guideline or policy is grounds for permanent or temporary suspension of a community member:

• We reserve the right to suspend membership to the ST FB Community for any member at its discretion.
• We reserve the right to deny any request for membership to the ST FB Community at its discretion.

For example, we might remove you from the ST FB Community:

• If you keep posting things for the purpose of veiled promotion to other programs or services.
• If you post or comment below posts to let the ST Community know that you don’t agree with the ST concepts, techniques, or philosophy and want to compare with or promote your favorite way, technique or method of training horses.
• If you create confusion by chasing more rabbits a time. (See community value 5 “We chase one rabbit at a time”.
• If you keep distracting the ST Community by posting things from third parties that are not urgent and not important (See community value 6 “We embrace total immersion)”.
• If you make disrespectful comments about ST, the programs, ST Instructors, ST Evaluators, Crew ST or Marijke de Jong. 
• If you don't follow to rule to sent criticism of any kind to [email protected] in case you feel frustrated or not happy with the way things go, and instead choose to do it publicly by starting posts that attract negativity, accusation, speculation, drama, gossip, or other toxic energy. 
• If you withdraw with a refund from (one of) our online programs. 

If you paid for one of our Online Programs, you will remain to have access to it, but if you cannot participate within our values, policy and guidelines, you will be removed from the ST FB Community without refund.

Now the ST Facebook Groups – both customer as public groups - are not mandatory or a given. So if you cannot or will not agree to the values, guidelines and policy, we recommend that you do not join or that you remove yourself from the ST FB Community.

10. ELIMINATION OF AN ST FB GROUP

We don’t own Facebook, so if they change their terms or decide to start charging for Facebook groups, that may limit or remove our ability to keep our ST Facebook Groups open and running.

Similarly, if there is lack of activity, lack of interest or group guidelines are not honored and upheld, an ST FB Group may also be paused, archived, or eliminated.

Therefore, each ST Facebook group is a complimentary bonus, not part of a paid program.

11. CREATING ST SUBGROUPS NOT ALLOWED

The ST Community is about learning how to become better horse trainers, not turning our members into your customers.

The primary intention of each group is to stay connected to like-minded STudents, share ideas, support and form genuine connections.

It’s not a place to find customers, or recruit people to your or other programs or groups.

With this in mind, we ask that you do not create ST spin-off groups or subgroups and instead, focus your time and energy in the excisting groups that we’ve created (see the list under policy item 1.) to support you on your ST journey with the best coaches and ST Instructors around.

The reasons we don’t allow for outside subgroups are:

1. We have a support system in place in our current ST groups to get you further on your ST journey in the best way possible. We’ve found that outside groups become a distraction.
2. We are not able to regulate and vet the members to ensure that they are ST students in good standing.
3. We are not able to regulate the quality of content and behavior in the group.
4. Using the Straightness Training / Marijke de Jong names without our approval is copyright infringement.

With all of this said, we absolutely support STudents making personal connections and if you would like to keep in touch with people based on location or vocation, we recommend you do so by phone, email, whatsapp, or private Facebook message.

12. FUTURE UPDATES


We reserve the right to change the ST Community Guidelines and Group Policy or to impose new conditions on use of the ST FB Groups from time to time, with or without notice.


Also the general Terms & Conditions apply to this group policy .

If you have any questions about our guidelines or policy, please write to us at [email protected].