I have always had a passion for horses, from the first time I sat on a pony as a 3-year-old to drawing, dreaming , and devouring books on horses. I was part of a military family, so owning horses and riding were not a possibility as a child but horses were always in my dreams

The dream started to unfold in for me at 14 when my Dad bought a hobby farm. The farm came with a resident Haflinger pony named Captain. There was no money for riding lessons or much of anything for that matter but my Dad bought me a pink and turquoise bareback pad, found an old bridle somewhere, and I taught myself to ride. It wasn’t pretty. I bounced on the ground a lot but it was fun and became my happy place.

When high school ended I moved off the farm to go to college, leaving Captain and riding behind. I loved sciences and really wanted to be a veterinarian but I could not afford university tuitions at the time. Practicality at that time had me go to college instead. I went to Algonquin College and took the 3 years Medical Laboratory Technology program with the idea that I would work for a bit and then go off to university to pursue more science and go to vet school. Although I loved the science ( still do, I am self professed nerd) I quickly discovered I did not like lab work. It was boring. However, I needed money to live and fulfill my dreams so I ended up getting a job with a laboratory supplies and instrument company. This married my passion for science with a discovered talent for sales. Who new!

I did not look back after this and the dream of vet school faded away.

Life flowed. My career was flourishing so I did what most women of my age did. I got married.

Jeff and I then began our lives together. In my early 30’s as we were trying to start a family I was diagnosed with cervical cancer ending any possibility of having children. Did this stop us…..No. We immediately researched adoption and in 1995 we adopted our two boys who were toddlers at the time.
It was the life with our children that motivated us to move back to farm roots. Jeff came from a large farm family and my time living on a hobby farm as a teen was firmly embedded

We did some searching and decided on an old farm outside of Merrickville, Ontario. The dream of raising our kids on a farm came to fruition. Very soon we were raising all sorts of livestock, including cattle, chickens, pigs, ducks, and sheep. Then the horses came…………..

Dapper and Prince, a team of Canadian geldings were the first. I quickly realized I needed more experience to really ride. My self-taught skills needed considerable honing. I always loved being a student. I became a student of horses, a student of riding, and a student of horsemanship. Many lessons, clinics, showing, and horse adventures followed. One horse leads to another. I partnered with many horses over the years, Cricket, Cash, Nookie, Max, Zephyr, Jazz, and Rush to name a few. I then became a student of dressage competing in local shows and fairs. I travelled all over trail riding and discovered the joy of horse camping. My life was full. Corporate life, farm life, family life, and of course horses.

Then a life-changing moment. After 25 years I was downsized out of my corporate job. I was ready to leave this world. I self identified as this executive. I bounced around for a couple of years, doing some contract work and other corporate gigs, but then realized I did not have a passion for it anymore. Being in my mid 50’s, I was feeling the effects of ageism and lacked confidence in what the future would look like. After a significant loss of income, I decided to take on some horse boarders to help pay for my habit. I realized how much I much I loved running the stable. I had more horses and lovely horse people around. This morphed into a lovely little horse community and Rideau Breeze Stables was born.

During this time I was also going through crisis in our family. The trauma of trying to support and save my youngest son from addiction, crime, and homelessness became overwhelming. I became his enabler, his rescuer, and sometimes his victim. This was a relationship of co dependency and emotional abuse. It was swallowing me. I was self-medicating with too much alcohol and that needed to stop. The death of my heart horse Nookie during this time really broke me and I knew I needed help. I intuitively always went to the horses, just sitting with them and being did help. You could cry, you could talk to them and they would hold space. All of that being the case I needed more help. So I found a therapist. She helped my crawl out of the hole I was in bit by bit and I stopped the cycle of co dependency with my son. I needed to set a boundary, so I set one with love. This opened up space in me which was previously filled with fear and anxiety. The space started to guide me to healthy practices in mind and body. I continued to go to the horses, sit and breathe. I discovered the beauty of yoga, started journaling again, reconnected with nature, and started to view my horse relationships in a different way. I reconnected with myself through these practices. I brought yoga to the stable. Why not! I had a beautiful space for it and my boarder family embraced it. Horses, yoga, and overall wellness made perfect sense. The cloud was lifting and my purpose was emerging.

By chance, ( or more likely universe intervention) I re connected with Liz , a woman I knew from the horse community. She was practicing Equine Assisted Learning with at risk youth and invited me to her stable. I followed my curiosity and my body was “telling” me to go. I watched her facilitate a session with a young man and an old chestnut mare. To say it was profound was an understatement. It was like a flood of light and knowing came into my body. This is what I am meant to do. Afterwards Liz told me I was glowing green….. A green aura means “healer”. I found my purpose.

I then discovered Facilitated Equine Experiential Learning (FEEL®) Program through Liz. Liz was enrolled in their program for the fall and she encouraged me to enrol. So I did, we went together and an amazing journey started.

FEEL® has opened me to a true energetic connection with the horses, helping people heal, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

I can attest to the powerful healing of horses in my own life.

How interesting it is when I reflect back that I always would go to horse, intuitively. Now I really understand the “why” and how to bring the gifts of this profound beings to others.

I am eternally grateful for the horses