Transformative Equine-Assisted
Experiential Learning, Coaching, and Therapy

Hello!  My name is Sheri Scurr.  I am a certified equine-assisted experiential learning professional and connection-based horsemanship coach. (My experiential learning certification is through the Equine Experiential Education Association - E3A.)  My goal is to help people seeking personal or professional growth experience the special gifts of horses and to help horse owners deepen their relationship connection with their horses. Horses are master teachers if we learn to listen to their wisdom.  My hobbies include trailing riding, horseback archery, and ceramics.

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Dedicated to personal growth. I am a life-long student of personal growth and spirituality, the self-discovery journey and the horse/human relationship. My work is based on a wealth of resources I have tapped over the years and is devoted to helping us move beyond an intellectual knowledge into deep experiential understanding whereby we learn to embody our true selves, treat ourselves and others with compassion, and feel empowered to let go of ego and embrace authenticity. Personal growth does not occur in a vacuum. We need connection, relationship, and belonging.  We need the "herd". And so the horses are profound teachers on this journey. Horses seek authentic connection and teach us to accept ourselves as we are, now.  This is the paradox of personal growth.  It's only when we accept ourselves as we are and feel our inherent worthiness, only when we let go of trying to "fix us", that we experience transformation. As one of my favorite authors/speakers Brene Brown writes in her book Daring Greatly, “Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.”   

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Horsemanship philosophy. Although my horsemanship journey has included many styles and disciplines, my approach in horsemanship coaching is to create true connection where horses choose to be a willing partner. I have personally studied with some amazing people, such as Federic Pignon and Magali Delgado (Cavalia), Karen Rohlf (Dressage Naturally) Linda Kohanov (Eponaquest), and Caroline Beste (The Tao of Horsemanship). I also study and closely follow Carolyn Resnik, Warwick Schiller, Linda Tellington Jones, Mark Rashid and Dr. Stephen Peters (neuroscientist and horseman). The core of all of this learning for me is connection.  Thus, my horsemanship coaching is not about method or technique, it is about learning how to connect with the horse.  To be authentic and connected with a horse, you need to show up authentically and congruently inside yourself. As we work with the horses, you experience the dance of listening and asking, of noticing and being intentional, of leading and following. It is this attunement in relationship that creates trust and responsiveness. As Mark Rashid says: "“Horsemanship is the art of mastering our own movements, thoughts, emotions and behavior. Not the horses.” 

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Professional experience.  I have more than 30 years of experience as a nonpartisan research analyst and bill drafter for state legislative services, during which I facilitated numerous executive sessions and many types of task forces and working groups. I served 13 years as an officer in the Army Reserve and National Guard, providing command-level briefings and facilitating strategic and tactical decision making. I also raised two beautiful daughters who now have families of their own. Since my retirement in 2021, I have facilitated numerous equine therapy retreats and equine-assisted experiential learning workshops, which have included training for therapists and students. I was also honored to develop an equine therapy curriculum for a prominent inpatient addiction recovery center. (See the Gallery and Testimonials.)

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Approach. Becoming self-aware and congruent in body, mind, and spirit is not only essential to intuitive connection and heart-centered horsemanship, but also to personal and professional growth. This is why my programs are also informed by research about emotional intelligence, heart-brain coherence, bioenergetics, neuroscience, and nervous system regulation, such as taught through HeartMath Institute.  I also apply practices informed by Dr. Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory, which explains the nervous system states of regulation, fight/flight, and freeze. 

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I founded Heart Connections Horsemanship to make these tools for personal and professional transformation accessible to you. Through my carefully crafted programs, the horses will help you see through your masks, shed your limiting beliefs, and establish healthy mind-body-spirit connections to move you powerfully forward on your journey of self-discovery. 

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