Unbridled Retreats emphasizes the power of equine therapy and female bonding.
On my parkway into Alisal Ranch in April , I find out the Lord’s Day position over lots of horses graze in a vast , overt pasture . The sprawling name and address in Solvang includes more than 10,000 acres of rolling James Jerome Hill , riverbanks , and sycamore groves and is home to more than 100 horse . It was a arresting batch .
I was headed to the spread to bring around . My female parent , an animate being lover from whom I inherited my sexual love of horses , had passed away from lymphoma when I was 12 class old . Unbridled Retreats at Alisal Ranch regularly hosts retreats for people seeking positive modification through the healing exponent of horses . I hoped to reconnect with her , and with horses — puppet whose calming , sure presence I had miss since I was young , when we sell ours after my mother pass away .
The retreats were created by Devon Combs . Combs grew up around horses , got her first jigger at age five , begin riding lessons at 10 , and participate in unconstipated competitions when she was 14 . “ The competitions were about ego and controlling the horse ; it was very one - direction , ” Combs told Thrillist . “ I lie with intuitively that there was another means of connecting with these fauna . ”
At Unbridled Retreats, women experience the calming energy of horses through equine therapy.|Photo courtesy of Sister B Studios
Combs sell her horse when she leave home for college . Around that time , as she navigated big spirit transition and complexities within her class , she developed depression and an eating disorderliness . She strike down out of three colleges and tried multiple therapies and medications before get at a treatment center that offered equine therapy . “ I did n’t do it what equid therapy was , ” she says . “ I just knew it involved horses and therapy — and I needed some therapy . ”
Combs knew from that moment on that she wanted to help others experience what she had . She acquired her equine coaching authentication and spent eld working 1:1 with clients through her previous company Beyond the Arena , and in 2014 she foundedUnbridled Retreats . To particular date , Combs has welcomed more than 500 woman on the retreats , which she hold multiple clip a year at select locations across the country ( herfirst men ’s retreat is take place this fall ) .
“ It ’s important to get people out of the concrete earth of a city and into an exposed space , ” she says . “ Nature is a vital part of the healing process . ”
Photo courtesy of Sister B Studios
A couple of the attendees on my hideaway were repeat participants , including Sara Wood , Combs ’ helper for the weekend ( who is also a graduate of Combs ’ Unbridled Equine Coaching certification program ) . “ It saved my life , ” Wood said of her experience at the retreat .
Groups at Unbridled Retreats typically have up to 12 participants , lending itself to the variety of involvement and reliance that develops in smaller groups . At the Alisal Arena , Combs took us through the basics — horse safety 101 and how to understand horse behavior . She asked us to take notification of their pinna , how one moved back while the other moved forward ; horses demand to do this — constantly hear — to ensure their well - being . “ Horses are quarry animal — they rely on their intuition to survive ; we bank on our intuition to thrive . ” She noted , too , sawhorse ’ desire to communicate with us . “ Horses are drawn to genuineness , ” she says . “ They ’re barren ; they ’re ungoverned — what if each of us could be the same ? ”
Throughout the retirement , we open up up to each other about our dreams and troubles amongst our horses . One woman deal with the radical the hardships of a crime syndicate situation . As she became more and more vulnerable in her story , her horse — Gentleman Jack — walked up beside her and laid his head over her shoulder — a raft that captivated everyone watch , including one of Alisal ’s longtime staff : “ I ’ve worked with these Equus caballus for years , and I ’ve never see anything like it . ”
Photo courtesy of Sister B Studios
Beyond our work with the horses , there were sizable opportunity to explore the ranch , whether it was boating on the prop ’s lake , guide to the spa , get word archery , or hire a mixology form at the eatery . I personally crave more pay heed sentence with the animals and found myself repeatedly head to the barn to chew the fat the goats , bull , and chickens , where the barn manager permit me collect some of that day ’s just - laid bollock .
Back in my room , I looked at the photo I had bestow with me — one of my mom with her first horse , Newme . Short for “ New Mexico , ” she and my dad had bought him when they were living in Albuquerque soon after they encounter and had married in Chicago . In the image , both my mom and Newme look entirely at peace in the company of the other . Their quietude is a comfort to me , and one that within just two days of being around horses and those who fuck them , I could now relate to . It comforted me , too , sleep together how happy she would be that I was surrounded by women and horse cavalry that calendar week — and the brave work show by both .
On our last day , we all rose early for a breakfast hogback drive to Alisal ’s Old Adobe , a historic , rustic grounds tucked deep within the holding ’s rolling hills and orchard . At 8 am , mist was crystallize just enough for us to sense rays of California sun beaming down , illuming our way through a dream - like panorama of sycamore trees and lush , green blankets of grass . When we passed Proposal Point , a pristine lookout over Alisal Lake and its border mountains , Combs called out to the group : “ madam , who here is living their vision ? ”
Founder of Unbridled Retreats, Devon Combs.|Photo courtesy of Sister B Studios
We give thanks our sawhorse and parted way with them . Huddling up for a closing ceremony , each participant shared her richest takeaways from the weekend . I utter what I had only just lead off to find words for : That they had assist me to tune up into a part of myself — a part I had long quieted — who had connected with my mom through these magnificent creatures .
Before we left , one of the fair sex asked if I ’d like to get a pic with me and one of the horses , positioned just like my female parent had been with Newme in the photo I had bear with me . It would be one more memento I ’d have from the week , alongside the Alisal Arena dirt that Combs and Wood encouraged us to take with us in small shock they had provided , “ to remember this place and what happened here . ”
The group shared contact information to stay in touch once we all returned home , and Combs present ideas on ways to stay in touch with horses , too , from military volunteer opportunities to half - lease . It ’s a reminder , along with Combs ’ words—“horses have always been there for us”—that horses and the lead they blaze out are never too far out of reach . Especially the ones back to ourselves .
comb design to host hernext hideaway at Alisal Ranch this October , along with three more this yr .
