“Horses have been my dearest guides, most profound teachers, and my sweetest and most trusted confidants on life’s journey,” writes Melisa Pearce, founder of the program, on Touched by a Horse’s website. “Many people spend enormous amounts of energy explaining what man can teach the horse. I believe that the point of their existence may have been misinterpreted, for if we enter their presence in stillness, we find it is they who are the teachers.”

A psychotherapist who has raised and shown horses for more than 30 years, Melisa leads the session. The women seated around the circle trust her implicitly. They have traveled to central Montana from all over the country, looking for the strength to make a drastic career change, to lessen their grief of having lost a loved one, or to escape a bad relationship or another seemingly insurmountable life challenge.

While Melisa doesn’t solve these situations per se, through a technique she pioneered in 1986 called the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method, she empowers people to let go of their anchors, or more accurately, load them onto a horse and then move on. The program at Bonanza Creek Country is one of a number of locations that Melisa, who has her own ranch in Colorado, visits each year.

 

About Bonanza Creek Country

Montana ranch hands have roamed the range and worked cattle along the banks of Bonanza Creek since the 1870s. More than a century later, very little has changed. The only difference is that now there’s a place at the table for you. Here, personal attention is the norm, with only 8 to 12 guests invited per week. The demand to conform to strict routine simply floats away on the Montana breeze. Hospitality and friendly atmosphere, responsive horses, challenging cattle work, tasty home cooking, comfortable cabins and loads of fun are just a few of the reasons guests come back year after year.

The horses are ranch horses and are chosen for you by your level of ability. There are new riding opportunities every day, with a wide variety of terrain and landscapes to experience. What better way to see Montana’s beautiful Big Sky Country than from horseback. You’ll participate in real cattle work and have a chance to try the sport of team penning. Best of all—no head-to-tail riding! It is a true adventure for your riding holiday.

If you’d like to spend some time out of the saddle, we have many options including fishing, hiking, massage, hot tubs, a ghost town, and the much sought-after peace and quiet.

 

Bonanza Creek Country

553 Bonanza Creek Road

Martinsdale, MT 59053

(406) 572-3366

[email protected]