Horses have always been a part of my story

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When I was young, I read every horse book I could get my hands on and spent every opportunity I could at Diamond T, a local dude ranch. When I was 12, I discovered I could volunteer there. I started biking five miles each way so I could spend time at the ranch, help with the horses, and take guests out on trail rides. It was the beginning of what would become a lifelong education with horses.

 

At 15, I bought my first horse, Chardonnay. I wanted him badly enough that I worked two jobs to pay for him and continued working to make sure I could keep him. Owning him taught me early on that having a horse wasn't just about riding—it was about responsibility, commitment, and figuring things out along the way.

 

 

Finding My Way With Horses

 

When I moved Chardonnay to Winterhaven Stables, I was fortunate to come under the guidance of Vickie Tyler, the owner. It was there that my education with horses really began to grow.

 

My second horse, Jebez, played an especially important role in that journey. I co-owned her with Vickie, and another girl at the barn, and working with her sparked my love for Dressage. I began reading everything I could find about it and spent as much time as I could learning from Vickie and developing my understanding of the discipline.

 

That eventually led me to a grooming position with a local Dressage trainer. I chose to build my education through hands-on experience rather than following a traditional college path. I worked as a groom for Dressage trainers, a jumping trainer, and a polo rider, gaining experience in many different types of barns and learning something from every horse and every person along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Turning Point in My Horsemanship

 

One horse in particular changed the way I looked at training.

 

When I moved to a farm to manage, I wanted to find a horse I could eventually teach lessons on. I went to a local auction and found what I thought was the perfect horse—a gorgeous flea-bitten gray Quarter Horse named Comet. He was built like a tank, incredibly quiet, and reminded me of my first horse, Chardonnay. I bid on him and won.

 

A few days after bringing him home, I realized there was much more to Comet than I had initially seen. Over the next year, I used the training methods I knew and had been taught, but nothing seemed to truly reach him. He was incredibly sweet, yet at the slightest trigger he could become aggressive. It became clear that he wasn't going to be a lesson horse.

 

Instead of giving up on him, I started looking for different answers. I sought out alternative training methods and trainers whose approach was more focused on the horse. That search led me toward a more horse-centered way of training and changed the way I looked at horses.

 

I began paying closer attention to what the horse was communicating and looking for relaxation, understanding, and willingness rather than simply trying to make the horse do what I asked.

 

It transformed the way I trained horses.

 

Comet was eventually rehomed with a dear friend and trainer who had more tools at that point in time to help him continue his journey. Although he didn't become the lesson horse I had originally envisioned, Comet ended up teaching me something far more important: sometimes the horse isn't the problem to be fixed. Sometimes we need to change the way we're communicating.

 

That experience became an important part of the foundation for the way I work with horses today.

 

 

Reiki & The Other Side of My Work

 

Horses aren't the only part of my journey that has shaped the way I work.

 

I became a Reiki Master in 2013, and over the years Reiki became another important part of my life and my work. I began working with both people and animals, and I found that horses naturally became a beautiful part of that practice as well.

 

Reiki taught me even more about slowing down, being present, and listening without always needing to fix or change something. Those lessons have carried over into the way I work with horses and people every day.

 

Today, I work with people and animals through Reiki, with a special love for working with horses. For me, it isn't separate from the rest of what I do. It's another way of creating connection, presence, and space for healing.

 

 

 

Bringing It All Together

Having my own farm has always been a dream of mine.

 

For years, I had the horses, the experience, the business plan, and a pretty good idea of what I wanted to create. What I didn't have was a place of my own to bring it all together.

 

Then I found the place that would become Soulstice Stables.

 

I also found the right business partner to help make owning this farm possible, and a dream that had been sitting in the back of my mind for years finally became real.

 

There is something pretty special about looking around now and realizing, this is mine. I built this.

 

Soulstice Stables is more than a place to ride horses. It's a place where I want people to slow down, learn, connect, and feel comfortable being exactly where they are.

 

Whether you're learning to ride, working through something with your horse, spending time learning about horses, or coming to the farm for a different kind of experience, my goal is the same: to create a place where people and horses can connect, learn, and grow together.

 

I'm still building and growing this place, and I have plenty of ideas for what I want it to become.

 

But for the first time, I'm not just dreaming about the place I want someday.

 

I'm standing in it.

 

And I'm so grateful you're here.