I have loved horses for as long as I can remember, yet for nearly three decades they remained out of reach. In May 2021, while navigating full-time executive leadership, raising two young children, and the collective exhaustion of the COVID era, an unexpected opportunity changed everything. I participated as a practice coaching client through the Center for Equus Coaching and by the end of that session, something cracked open—a hard shell around my heart I didn’t even know I carried. I signed up for Equus Coach training right away!

With a background in hospitality, tourism management, and executive-level leadership development, I already knew how to design meaningful experiences and facilitate groups. Learning to co-facilitate with horses took me to an entirely new level. Through my training as an Equus Coach and Master Facilitator, I learned the power of allowing rather than telling—trusting what emerges when space, safety, and relationship come first.

As my equus work deepened, another longing resurfaced: riding. I hadn’t been on a horse since I was nine. Relearning to ride as a mature adult was profoundly empowering and sparked a larger vision. That vision became Bridle Up Hope San Diego, a nonprofit riding program inspired by an international foundation serving girls and women through horses and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

In March 2025, I gathered a small team of Equus Coaches to attend a weeklong training and we were certified to open a Bridle Up Hope location in San Diego. At the exact same time the ranch where we planned to operate was put up for sale, leaving San Diego’s equus coaching community without a ranch to work from. In response, I took a leap of faith, sold my home, and found a small horse property that became Equivana Farm in July 2025.

Today, Equivana Farm is evolving into a dedicated space for equine-facilitated learning for individuals and groups. In October 2025, Bridle Up Hope San Diego welcomed its first student and hosted Soul Camp, our inaugural Equus Coaching workshop.

Through the Center for Equus Coaching, what began as a personal calling has evolved into a new home with six horses and two mini donkeys, a heart-centered business, and a shared place of learning, connection, and hope.

To learn more, visit equivana.com and follow Bridle Up Hope San Diego on Instagram or Facebook.