Meet the Team
Heather McNeil , PhD
Program Development
Program Facilitator
Parelli Natural Horsemanship Instructor
Energy Work Practioner
Heather is a self-described introvert who is authentic, highly intuitive, warm and fun. Born loving all creatures great and small, Heather has always had a special connection to horses that has only deepened over time. With over four decades of equine experience, she is living her dream bringing horses and people together to support their minds, bodies and spirits.
Heather holds multiple degrees; Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Education, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Veterinary Infectious Diseases. During her years as a research scientist, honing her skills to be a good observer, Heather changed her professional trajectory after observing that something was missing from the life path she had chosen --a freedom she had known working with horses and the meaningful connection felt in the bonded partnerships that allowed her to teach and show successfully.
In 2003, in what Heather calls a "divine intervention", she met her mentor, Larry Stewart, who introduced her to Parelli Natural Horsemanship. Later, in 2008, while advancing on her Parelli training, she would next meet Loesje Jacob, an extraordinary mentor, teacher, and medicine woman. Meeting Loesje opened another door that would pair Heather's scientific background with an alternative form of medicine that facilitates communication with the body's own innate healing wisdom.
Today Heather is an exceptional, fully licensed three star Parelli Natural Horsemanship Instructor, Equine Facilitator, and Intuitive Energy Work Practitioner.
Nicole daSilva
Meditation Facilitator
Yoga Instructor
Student of Equine Gestalt Coaching
Student of Natural Horsemanship
A former visual artist and dance teacher, Nicole is happiest when she’s creating, in the company of animals, surrounded by nature, and immersed in the sound of water.
Nicole's early connection to horses revolves around a lifelong journey toward healing. Her relationship with horses began in her teenage years at a small ranch in Brampton, where she took riding lessons and volunteered as a handler on weekends. Though too young at the time to understand it, she now recalls that it was the only place where she truly felt at "peace." After achieving Rider Level 3, Nicole moved to downtown Toronto, and horses would not reenter her life again for many years.
With a natural curiosity for the metaphysical, Nicole has explored various tools for improving well-being, including yoga, meditation, sound healing, QiGong, Tai Chi, shamanic journeying, HeartMath, sacred geometry, Reiki, crystals, and more.
In April 2022, during a two-month hiatus in Costa Rica, Nicole found an unexpected friendship with an old mare named Chispa, meaning "spark." The time she spent on the ground with Chispa profoundly impacted Nicole, reconnecting her with horses in ways she never anticipated and sparking a curiosity for natural horsemanship and equine-facilitated healing.
Nicole returned to Costa Rica later that year and spent the next two years learning about how and why horses help humans heal. The very "healing" she had been searching for had found her instead, and the impact horses have had on both her and others has been nothing short of awe-inspiring.
Nicole is currently working towards becoming a certified Equine Gestalt Coach and facilitates meditation for Cimarron Circles. She is also a certified yoga instructor and a student of natural horsemanship.
Meet the Horses
“Where in this world can man find nobility without pride, friendship without envy, beauty without vanity?
Here, where grace is laced with muscle, and strength by gentleness confined.
He serves without servility; he has fought without enmity.
There is nothing so powerful, nothing less violent;
there is nothing so quick, nothing more patient…” – Robert Duncan
Trixie
Zen
Cassidy
Darling
Liberation