Lisa and Dan Holden bring a wealth of experience
to their equine coaching work.
Lisa Holden
Equine Coach
Lisa Holden is an executive leader in healthcare and has extensive experience in nonprofit leadership, government affairs, state and national public policy, coalition building and managing high-performance teams and their outcomes. Trained as a nurse, with experience heading up domestic violence coalitions, she brings astute observational and analytical skills to her coaching work. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s Integral leadership Program and a founding member in The Refiners’ Playground, a national spiritual development community. Above all, Lisa is an avid horse woman through and through. She is even more at home in a herd of horses than she is in a corporate boardroom or speaking with legislators in Washington. Her love of horses began as a young girl but came to fruition as an adult, when she came to appreciate the unique gifts that cultivating individual relationships with horses offers. She brings a mind-body approach to helping others attune to and experience the rich connection available to them with horses. Lisa is especially adept at helping her clients see the parallels to their own lives that their time with horses opens up. Lisa is a graduate of Kathy Pike’s Academy for Coaching With Horses, year-long certification program in equine facilitated learning certification.
Dan Holden
Equine Coach
Dan Holden is an executive leadership coach and organizational consultant with over 30 years of private practice. His corporate work has focused on the deep work of releasing the power of culturally diverse teams while helping leaders learn how to stand in the swirl of impossible challenges and create more of the sustainable results they long for. He is gifted at helping his clients see the inevitable gifts they possess — the gifts they must offer — and discover ways to move forward with greater power, grace and ease towards this offering. Dan is on the faculty of the University of Notre Dame’s Business School. He is co-founder of The Refiners’ Playground, a spiritual development cohort and the author of Lost Between Lives — Finding Your Light When the World Goes Dark. You can download numerous articles of his on leadership development from his website, danielholdenassociates.com. He is one of the original users of The Leadership Circle 360 and has led certification workshops for coaches and organizational consultants around the world in this assessment technology.
Dan is a longtime lover of ‘horse power’ (motorcycles, sports cars) and came to the world of horses later in life. Or, as the horses say, right on time. He is a graduate of Kathy Pike’s Academy for Coaching With Horses, a program he initially joined to see whether horses could enhance his work with clients. The answer was a resounding YES! A military veteran and ex-paratrooper, Dan brings the excitement and curiosity of a new beginner with horses to a legacy of individual and team transformation work with clients around the world.
Mesa
The Inspiration
Mesa is a female horse with light tan coloring matched with contrasting dark mane, tail and lower legs. This color horse is called a Buckskin and both Mesa and Regalo are beautiful examples. Mesa was born and raised about an hour west of Milwaukee and was used mostly for trail riding. We are her second owners. Mesa developed a spine condition that makes it painful for her to be ridden. She became the inspiration for ESPÍRITU and is now used exclusively as a teaching horse in the program. She is as strong and powerful as she is beautiful, and quite an amazing horse and teacher!
Corazón
Gentle Warrior
Corazón is a retired cart racer who spent time on an Amish farm after his racing days were over. He was rescued from a kill pen when he could no longer be ridden or used in other ways. We are delighted to have him join us. Tall, handsome and gentle, Corazón’s way blends curiosity and playfulness with the understated resolve of one who has survived challenging transitions.
Durango (In Memorial)
The Trusted Wing Man
Durango is a male horse rescued after years of work as a ranch horse out west. He is every bit as sweet as he is strong and sturdy. He and Mesa have known each other for many years and always work as a pair in our coaching programs. His way with people is gentle, often helping clients settle in and “own themselves” more completely, i.e., dropping the self judgements and accepting themselves as they are. Emotional congruence, enhanced self awareness, body-centered confidence and clarity are hallmarks of his coaching work.
Regalo (In Memorial)
The Accidental Surprise
Regalo is a male Buckskin who was born in Illinois and worked for years as a ranch horse out in the Plains states. Retired now from ranch work, Regalo has made a wonderful trail horse. When we began our coaching with horse work, we originally saw Mesa as the only horse for the program. Regalo, however, had different ideas! From the beginning he was ‘locked in’ on our client sessions. He watched every minute of every session, never turning away to graze or mingle with other horses. Soon, we began inviting Regalo into these sessions and found to our delightful surprise that he was an unusually gifted teacher in his own right. Tall, strong and supremely confident in who he is, Regalo joins Mesa as the core teaching and coaching partners with us. You will meet other horses as well when you join us.
