An equine-assisted leadership development workshop will be held from 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 26 at Loretto Historic Mansion and Copper Crest Farm in Wytheville.
“Whether you’re interested in personal, organizational or societal change or whether you’re a leader in the public or private sector, this workshop offers tools to help you and your organization grow to the next level of excellence,” the announcement from the organization said.
The event begins with a two-hour Lunch & Learn at Wytheville’s Loretto Historic Mansion for networking, lunch and an interactive discussion on the topic of change, facilitated by Mary Jane Umberger.
The group then moves to Copper Crest Farm for a three-hour workshop to allow participants to interact with a stable of gentle horses and trained equestrian facilitators, Pam Umberger and Cheryl Bess, to experience the phenomenon of change.
The workshop is grounded in the Heath brothers’ book Switch – How to Change Things When Change is Hard. Key learning objectives include identifying three surprises about change, exploring a framework for change and examining and applying the Switch metaphor to change behavior.
The intuitive nature of horses equips them with the unique ability to mirror the actions and intentions of their human counterparts. In the hands of capable facilitators and trained horses, such as those associated with Mirror Horse Interactions, equine-assisted learning is an excellent resource to assist participants in becoming more aware of how they communicate and discover ways to create greater alignment between their words and actions.
This method of experiential learning is being incorporated into a number of medical schools around the world to heighten self-awareness and strengthen interpersonal relationship skills among medical professionals. The University of Kentucky has conducted a pilot research study on “The Effectiveness of Equine Guided Leadership Education to Develop Emotional Intelligence in Expert Nurses.”
No previous experience with horses in necessary. This workshop involves groundwork with horses; horseback riding is not involved.
Space is limited. Registration is $99 on or before Sept. 26, $109 after Registration is required by Oct. 16 for the October 26th workshop. For more information and to register, contact Mary Jane Umberger at hralliance@embarqmail.com or (276) 620-1618.