The People

Ariana Strozzi, Master Somatic Coach

“I have never experienced a coach/guide with more energy and commitment to each person’s growth than Ariana.  Not only did the horse work give me a piece of myself back…maybe the heart of who I am…but her intuition, her presence with each of us waking up offered a model of fierce compassion that I will do my best to live into as I grow myself as a coach.  She is my first living example, of what those old Zen Masters must have been like.  Fierce compassion and unwavering commitment.” Nancy Wonders-Dearing

Ariana’s business acumen and keen ability to help individuals excel is easily noted in her numerous accomplishments as a recognized leader of Equine Guided Education and Change Leadership. Her approach is truly original and has proven to be an exciting force in self-development and leadership training.  As a Master Somatic Coach, she has worked with more than five thousand leaders, coaches, shamans, healers, artists and other individuals since the late 1980’s. She is the founder of Leadership & Horses™, visionary and co-founder of the Equine Guided Education Association and Strozzi Institute (Center for Leadership & Mastery) and adjunct faculty at Institute for Women’s Leadership and Enterprise Performance.

With innovative vision, Ariana blends equine psychology, biology, somatics, animal behavior and leadership savvy into an experiential format that trains emotional intelligence, self-responsibility, non-verbal communication, authenticity, and intuition. She is the author of two books, “Horse Sense for the Leader Within,” “Planning Your Business in the Horse as Healer Teacher Professions,” and a DVD,” Intuitive Horsemanship™” and has been published in the anthologies, “Being Human At Work” and “Horse Crazy,” as well as Somatics Magazine, NorthBay Business Journal, Press Democrat, San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle, Ride Magazine, Western Times, Strides and Raptor Release.

She is a pioneer in the field of ‘Horse as Healer/Teacher’ (which includes the common acronyms of EGE, EAL, EFL, etc) beginning in 1989 with Leadership & Horses™ and eventually coining Equine Guided Education in 1999. She has been training other professionals how to incorporate horses into their professional offers since 1998.

She began pioneering this work in the 70′s training horse and rider in a variety of disciplines (winning champion awards in dressage, jumping, eventing, gymkhana, reining, and working cowhorse) when she realized horses were listening to subtle forms of energy, intention and imagery. She expanded her studies of animal behavior at UC Davis where she graduated with a degree in Zoology in 1984.

Ariana spent several years working with birds of prey and other wildlife at the UC Davis Veterinary School and other rehab centers, going on to manage several animal and equine facilities. The birds and wildlife taught her many of the same lessons that the horses had and she began to feel a need to bring the magic of animal communication into the world of people. She began studying human dynamics–aikido, leadership and somatics-and became a Master Somatic Coach in 1996. The seemingly separate worlds of horsemanship and self-mastery began to blend together and ultimately shifted her orientation from traditional horsemanship (in which we control the horse’s behavior through a system of cues and orders), to seeing the horse as a sentient being who can actually guide us into a deeper connection with ourselves and our whole lives.

In her words, “I enjoy sharing my love of animals, land and nature with anyone who crosses my path. My mission is to re-connect people to the natural world for the sake of saving the Great Mother Earth and all of her creations. I believe that time is of the essence. We need to take the reins in our own hands, form herds of like-minded people, share our dreams and stand tall in the face of adversity. We need to awaken our spiritual longing and inter-connectedness to all life and encourage possibility and hope in a time of uncertainty.”

Hallie Bigliardi

Hallie is a certified EGE professional and instructor at SkyHorse since 2010. She brings over twenty five years of horse experience and grounded knowledge. She is intuitive, articulate and grounded. She facilitates her clients in both private 1 on 1 coaching and public programs and is able to help people from all walks of life to re-connect to their passion and sense of purpose.

Kansas Carradine

Kansas Carradine, CEGE brings to SkyHorse a successful career as a trick rider and naturalist. She has performed for as a member of the Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls Western Performance Team throughout the states and internationally. She has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Western Horseman, Cowboy and Indians, and the LA times.

Also a natural lasso artist, she has been featured in Hidalgo, ESPN, CBS and countless sporting events around the world. Kansas moved on to a career with Cavalia for many years. She discovered Equine Guided Education and began studying with Ariana in 2008. She offers a unique balance of expert horsemanship, parenting, EGE and a spiritual mindset to her offers with SkyHorse.

Lucinda Newman

Working with individuals and groups on leadership development, team building, empowerment and new ways of being in work and life, Lucinda Newman, CEGE, has employed Equine-Guided Education as a non-traditional coaching approach since 2005.  With her herd of five horses, she has moved hundreds of individuals, managers, groups and teams to embody higher levels of performance, increased job satisfaction, personal growth, and career development.

Lucinda holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Law and Policy and for over a decade has led Newman Consulting, LLC, a consultancy of organizational and funding development with clients from the nonprofit, ngo, small business, entrepreneur and government sectors, specializing in natural resources, agriculture and business.  She is adjunct faculty to the Vermont Technical College Equine Studies program and holds various training certificates for conflict resolution, leadership development and emotional intelligence.

Eleanor Criswell-Hanna

Eleanor Criswell-Hanna, Ed.D., is Director of the Novato Institute for Somatic Research and Training and editor of Somatics Magazine. She is an emeritus professor of psychology, Sonoma State University and former chair of the Psychology Department.

Founding director of the Humanistic Psychology Institute (now Saybrook University), she is currently a Distinguished Consulting Faculty member for Saybrook University. Her books include Biofeedback and Somatics: Toward Personal Evolution, How Yoga Works: An Introduction to Somatic Yoga, and Cram’s Introduction to Surface Electromyography (editor.). She is a California licensed psychologist, biofeedback practitioner, yoga teacher, and somatic educator. A horse owner since 1975, she developed Equine Hanna Somatics, an adaptation of Hanna Somatics for horses, in 1997.

 

Manuela and Carsten Essig

Manuela and Carsten believe that as humans we are an integral part of nature and thus are intertwined with creation, connected to every part of it. Over the last ten years at various international companies, they have learned the causal connections of our systems and decided to find new ways they can contribute to a better tomorrow. with the intention of supporting a shift towards a more sustainable society, where ecological values play a prominent role, they traveled around the world interviewing visionaries of this paradigm shift. Manuela is a Certified EGE professional and Carsten is a permaculture enthusiast and together they created the non-profit organization, Seventh Generation and continue to bring the concepts learned in EGE and permaculture their homeland in Germany.

Whitney Hischier

Whitney is the Assistant Dean for Executive Education at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley.  The Center provides non-degree open enrollment and customized programs for organization with the goal of achieving personal and organizational transformation through experiential education.  Whitney has worked with horses and riders for over twenty years and was thrilled to discover EGE as a way to marry her love of horses with professional education.

Wesley Strozzi Smith

Wesley does it all and always with a great smile and big heart. She supports every endeavor here, whether it be feeding people, overseeing logistics, doing all of the behind the scenes preparations, or just supporting her mom. She is intuitive and grounded like the animals here and has an equaninimous approach to life, which helps to create a positive learning environment for all of our guests. You will often see her accompanied by the youngest member of the SkyHorse staff, chance, her son, who reminds us of our most important task– to make the world a better place for future generations.

Jack Strozzi

Jack is truly inspired by the ranch and the natural surroundings. He loves ranch life and helps with all aspects of the ranch including raising sheep, chickens, fixing fences and pasture management.

Ashley Smith

Ashley brings to SkyHorse her experience as a photographer  and human relations expert. She was certified in EGE in 2010, and combines creative inspiration while developing self-awareness and clarity, as well as sharing her love and respect for animals and the natural world. She grew up in Maryland and Virginia, traveled extensively in Africa, and spent many years in Washington State before relocating to Skyhorse Ranch in the fall of 2012. She welcomes visitors of any kind, knows the rain is essential but still prefers sun, and will wear a hat out to dinner now because she can.

Ashley’s passion is in growing the understanding of the horse-human relationship. Whether you are 5 or 75, whether you want to ride or are afraid of horses, she is eager to share the experience of meeting and building a rapport with a horse and connecting people with their core selves, the dirt, the sky and everything in between.

Amanda Kent

details coming soon

Click here to see a photo gallery of the people at SkyHorse Ranch