Women’s Retreat
THE ALCHEMY OF EQUUS: Coming home to your True Self
November 6-8, 2026 | 9am – 5pm
Dove Creek Ranch | Canyon, Texas
RELEASE • REMEMBER • RECONNECT • RECLAIM
Alchemy is the ancient art of transformation – turning one state of being into another.
At Dove Creek, the alchemy happens through Equus – the horse.
The herd becomes our wisdom teacher. The land becomes our sanctuary. Ceremony, movement, creativity, and community become the vessels through which we listen more deeply, release what we have been carrying, and reconnect with what is true.
We are not coming together to become different women.
We are coming together to uncover the women we already are.
That is The Alchemy of Equus – the transformation that becomes possible when women step away from the noise of everyday life and enter into relationship with horse, land, body, spirit, and one another for 3 full days.
THE FOUR DIRECTIONS OF THE ALCHEMY
The Alchemy of Equus Wheel is a guide for returning to wholeness. Like the horse, we are constantly responding through mind, body, emotions, and spirit. When one part becomes rigid, disconnected, or overwhelmed, it affects the whole. The four directions of the wheel invite us to explore four essential capacities:
North
Mental Flexibility
We loosen old stories and habitual and limited ways of thinking. Through the herd, meditation, talking stick circles and nature-based teachings, we become curious about what else might be possible.
East
Spiritual Expansion
We create space for mystery, intuition and a deeper relationship with something larger than ourselves through ceremony in nature, sacred land, drumming, meditation and the wisdom of the horses.
South
Emotional Fluidity
Rather than holding, suppressing or judging what we feel, we learn to allow emotions to flow instead of holding them. Horse sessions, emotional-release practices, art, circle and community create opportunities to feel, express and release.
West
Physical Stability
We return to the body. Yoga, movement, breath, time outdoors, and embodied experiences with the horses and sound healing invite grounding, presence, boundaries, and a felt sense of being here.
And at the center – the horse.
The horse brings us back into relationship with the whole of ourselves.
Mind
Body
Emotion
Spirit
That is why the retreat isn’t simply a collection of activities. Every experience serves the alchemy.
Your sessions with the herd, ceremony in nature, Talking Stick circles, nature-based teachings, emotional-release techniques, yoga and movement, drumming, meditation, art, time on the sacred land of Dove Creek Ranch, and delectable meals prepared on-site all become different doorways into the same process:
$1600 – Price includes meals, lodging, teachings, and handouts.
Logistics: Fly in Thursday – Uber to ranch, leave Monday. Lodging at Dove Creek Ranch house. First come, first served on lodging – 1 king room downstairs with private bath, 1 queen downstairs with private bath, 1 queen room upstairs – shared bath with 1 twin room. Upstairs Bunk room – sleeps 8 people. Upstairs Media room with sectional – fold-out bed with private bath.
No refunds after Oct 15th.
Our Facilitators
Laurie Higgins-Kerley
Founder, EAL Coach | Leadership Specialist
After losing her husband of 25 years in 2008, Laurie found strength and healing through her faith, family, and the horses at Dove Creek. Her experience with grief led her to create a place where both humans and horses could heal together.
Laurie founded Dove Creek Equine Rescue in 2012 and became a Certified Equine Coach in 2017 through the Academy for Coaching with Horses and the EAL Academy. Her approach blends contemplative Christian formation, yoga, and ancient spiritual practice to help clients rediscover wholeness.
Rebecca Hoehne Ehrsam
EAL Coach & Facilitator | Certified EFLC, EFL & Performance Coach
After a successful 30-year career as an entrepreneur, business leader, management consultant, and performance coach, Rebecca followed her passion for helping people create meaningful change through experiential work with horses. For more than a decade, she has partnered with horses to support individuals and groups in developing greater self-awareness, confidence, connection, and personal growth.
Rebecca is certified in Equine-Assisted Learning and Equine-Facilitated Learning and Coaching and holds certifications in Legacy Coaching and Performance Coaching. She lives in Southern Arizona, where she coaches alongside her beloved herd at Rancho Piedra in Tubac.
For more questions on the retreat, email Laurie at laurie@ledbyhorses.org
