Leadership & Team Building Testimonials

Kathryn Pepper

on November 23rd, 2014

I’ve been meaning to get back to you with some feedback from our leadership day with you.

In talking with each of the girls individually over the past few weeks, they have all stated how much they enjoyed the experience with the horses. That final activity with the girls keeping the carrots away from the horses, helped every one of the girls feel empowered because they were able to give guidance, or control, such a huge animal. It gave them all a sense of confidence that they can do more than they initially thought.

For me, watching them go through the obstacle course, I saw a change in a few of the older girls, most notably in their gate as they walked. One girl in particular, was so hesitant early in the day…but by the obstacle course activity, she was striding forwards, engaging the horse, fully expecting him/her to follow. I’ve seen some changes in the way they take on their leadership responsibilities as well. They seem far more confident in their abilities around the younger girls.

This is what our Leadership program is all about…helping grade 7’s and up realize they have abilities to take charge and lead. Empowering young teens makes for stronger girls as they enter high school and enables them to stand up to whatever comes their way.

So thank you and Chris so much for your insights and activities. Everyone absolutely enjoyed the day.

Andi Petito

on December 11, 2011

Thank you so much for this wonderful experience. It was such a fun way to gain important insight into our non-verbal communication skills.

Chris Travis

on December 11, 2011

Overall very insightful! Loved being with the horses. I wish we could have spent more time with individual horses. Just got comfortable with one and was moving to another. Overall a very effective set of exercises that can be used in my daily dealings with my clients. Keep up the good work!

Ananth Raman

on February 23rd, 2011

I attended a Team Building exercise with Dynamic Herd at Storybook Meadows. I have been to many training courses and have conducted some myself during my career. I did not expect much out of it as I did not feel that a horse could teach me anything (I have never been around animals all my life) at my age (I am 55).

My group comprised of a team of three people. The other two in my team were to do some prep work on the horse and I was to finally lead the horse to a designated place. We were assigned 15 minutes. After 10 minutes, the other 2 people in my group were nowhere close to finishing their task. I kept smiling externally and kept motivating them to finish their task. What was going on internally in my mind was different. I kept telling myself that my other team members will not be able to finish their task and that the whole exercise would be a total waste of time. The horse, which was co-operative till then, just bolted to another area in the farm.

At the end of the session, Trish, the Equine Training Coach, asked each one of us what we were actually thinking during the process. I explained to her how frustrated and negative I was feeling in my mind that 10 minutes had gone by and we were no closer to completing the task than when we started it. Trish said that the horse bolted from our team as it picked up on my internalized negative thoughts and energy.

That was an eye-opener to me. I realized that, in the past, in many situations at work and home, people may have picked up on my internal thoughts and negative energy although I maintained an external demeanor that was calm and positive and assumed that others could not pick up on my “Actual” internal thoughts. This has really changed the way I behave in a team (work or family) now. I am aware that, unknown to me, if my thoughts are at odds with what I am actually saying, others are able to perceive the energy.

Simply outstanding. I would love to go back to Storybook Meadows for another session soon.

Ananth Raman
President
Tiny Matter, Inc.

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