My Story
I rode a horse for the first time when I was 2, and I was hooked! But growing up a city girl meant that horses weren't going to be part of my life, so I settled for getting my fix through the pages of the horse books that I spent all of my allowance on. My best friend in high school had horses, and I hounded her relentlessly until she finally took me riding a few times. Fast forward a few years, and I started a family so all my free time was spent chasing kids instead of dreams. After ending up as a single mom, I didn’t have the means for any of us to spend much time with horses.
When the kids grew up and moved away to go to college, I finally got my chance. I bought my first horse – a 3-year-old mustang gelding renamed Argent (more about him below) with the barest minimum of training – just a few short months after dropping my youngest daughter at college. I spent hours and hours developing a bond with him, trail riding, and benefitting from his healing energy - though I didn't know about that magic at the time.
During 2020, like many people, I was looking for a way to stay connected to people and find a sense of purpose. I started volunteering at the ranch where my horses are boarded guiding kids through their first riding lessons and soon discovered that my Fortune 500 corporate job wasn’t as fulfilling as it used to be. I continued to volunteer at the ranch and became the primary leader of the Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT) activities for the Pinal County Sherriff’s Office Juvenile Redirection Program. This EAT program is designed to provide a safe and positive space where the teen participants can focus on empathy, confidence, self-efficacy, emotional regulation, trust in others, social skills, and behavioral/emotional functioning. The fulfilment I felt from working with these kids and horses prompted me to start searching for that next career. I wanted to create a life around spending time with horses that would also allow me to connect with my community and help bring light to a world being taken over by negativity. That discovery came after I began volunteering to handle horses for a women’s group and was introduced to Equine Gestalt Coaching and Touched by a Horse®.
The Equine Gestalt Coaching Method® was developed by Melisa Pearce, a core founder since 1989, of the horse-human healing movement. The experiential nature of the method involves the horse as an active partner with the coach in the client’s exploratory process. The integrative approach of the equine’s interaction combined with positive coaching, somatic awareness guidance and Gestalt methodology, assists the client in examining their life and choices made with a focus on designing a positive future.
Meet The Equine Coaches
Argent
Argent is a 2005 Kiger mustang originally from one of the BLM herds in Oregon. He had a bit of a rough start in his first year off the range, but after 3 other places didn’t work out he found his forever home with Laurie. His unusual grullo (gray dun) coloring and big dog personality make him a favorite around the ranch, and he loves babies – especially human ones! He is still gaining confidence in his coaching abilities but his curious nature and love of puzzles instill in him a lot of try and willingness to help. He enjoys a medium difficulty trail ride and mastering obstacles, and snacks of all kinds when he's not coaching.
Wyatt
Small but mighty, Wyatt the mustang has lived at Saddle Sore for many years. His humans stopped coming to visit so he didn’t get much attention… until he became part of Laurie’s small herd. We don’t know much about his history, but whatever his experience has been it is clear he loves being involved and being around people. He is very opinionated and demonstrative, especially in his reaction to negative energy. He is a master at detecting when people are too much in their heads and not expressing themselves from the heart. He enjoys one on one grooming sessions and loves to run fast.
Blue
Saddle Sore's Blue is a friendly, stout, blue roan QH who excels at trail course/obstacle competitions, but now goes for rides only occasionally. He has a big heart and is drawn to people who are authentic and who meet him with an open heart. He doesn’t hesitate to get right up into your personal space if he feels you are in need of his special brand of healing energy and could use some vibrational alignment. In his free time, he enjoys a good grooming session, crunching on horse cookies, and playing in his water trough - if he could fit his whole body in it, he would.
Shorty
Shorty is a bay QH who spends a lot of time at Saddle Sore taking care of kids who are just learning to ride. When he was young, in addition to learning how to work with cows, Shorty was also trained on herding buffalo! Through these early lessons dealing with such large animals, he developed some very strong opinions about how people should act and doesn’t have a problem pushing (sometimes literally) them to show their most authentic selves. Some of his favorite things are playing tag and other games with his gelding buddies and neck scratches.
Daniela S. - Union, NJ
"Laurie connects magic with a very solid, earthy sense of safety. She manages to create an environment that opens her clients to connect with both rooms of their presence and allows them to voice their emotions and thoughts without any sense of judgement. She catches them safely and guides them gently on their path of healing."
Jordan K. - Omro, WI
"Laurie is an amazing coach. She holds space in the presence of pain. She provides creative experiences in a safe space to process the emotions that come up. I highly recommend her as a coach!"
Marcia S. - Cowley, WY
"Laurie has a strong intuition and holds such a strong attention and safe place for her clients. She is a great coach!"
Kari C. - Grand Rapids, MN
"Laurie’s coaching and presence is kind, caring, and safe. While sitting across from her, I immediately feel a level of connection and support that allows my heart to open and be vulnerable in full safety."