THE BACKGROUND

Refined over many years, your team will be able to appreciate the nature and behaviour of horses and watch how horses mirror human behaviour. This is the key to improve communication skills and confidence.

With professional horse trainer, riding instructor and mentor, Scott Brodie and Senior Corporate Leadership Coach and life-long equestrian Linda Bracken at the helm, the training program is easily learned with no prior horse experience.

Both the location and the horses provide a harmonious union to support the program. The docile and calming nature of the Shire breed is very well suited for human interaction.

Some of the skills taught in barranca‘s Equine Executive Leadership program relate to day-to-day life skills and attitudes. For example; if you approach a horse in an aggressive manner the horse will run away. Likewise, if you lack confidence and presence, the horse is likely to ignore you. Participants soon learn to approach horses and humans in a calmer, less aggressive way encouraging the use of engagement rather than force.

PERFECT FOR

Our Equine Executive Retreats are created for executives, boards, teambuilding and for those wishing to improve their communication skills and gain confidence. In the program, you will learn how you can convince the horses to look to you as an authentic and effective leader based on trust, empathy and clear, consistent communication.  Skills that are the basis for great leadership in the workplace.

You don’t need to have any prior experience with horses. There is no riding involved. Many people are quite nervous about being around such large animals, that’s ok, we will help you with that, that’s part of the program to build confidence and awareness.

THE BENEFITS

The skills developed in the program can help to improve participant’s insight into their own behaviour which ultimately will result in improving their productivity, health and wellbeing. Some of the benefits include:

* Developing empathy
* Reading and interpreting body language
* Utilising body language as a means of communication
*Problem-solving and calm decision making

THE PROGRAM

The program is tailored to the duration of your stay and your organisational objectives. We will work with you prior to understand exactly what you are hoping to achieve and we have a number of modules and exercises we can use.

The longer the stay, the deeper the immersion and experience. However, you will find even a one day course transformative and memorable. The program will begin with an explanation of why this work with horses has proven to be so effective for team building and leadership. This also includes a briefing on how to safely interact with our horses.

We very quickly move onto the first hands-on experience which is designed to build confidence around horses. This is a very simple exercise but is amazingly effective. We build in time after each exercise for reflection and to discuss the key takeouts and how they relate back to the workplace and the individual. It should be noted that we are not asking people to ride any of the horses during the program. This is why the program is equally effective for people with no previous experience with horses.

At the conclusion of the program, the aim is to have the horse to be innately responsive to you – and for you to be mindful and aware of your effectiveness as a leader and communicator. For longer programs, teammates will start to take on the role of coach, helping guide and support their colleagues through the exercises. This is a very powerful team-building component.

ACCOMMODATION

We have luxury onsite accommodation for up to 12 guests in their own rooms and up to 24 guests sharing. Depending on the number of participants in your group you will have the choice to stay in Ferndale, Willow, Jacaranda or Banksia. There are also a number of other neighbouring accommodation options if your group becomes larger.

Click here to see our villas

THE TRAINERS

SCOTT BRODIE is an outstanding horseman and trainer. A former NSW Mounted Police Officer, he has made it his life’s work to coach both horses and humans to realise their full potential.

Scott currently runs his own equestrian training centre south of Sydney. Along with his high-level dressage credentials, he is also known for his work training and rehabilitating retired racehorses giving them a second career. Scott has also led pioneering work in Australia using horses to help prison inmates and returned defence force personnel with PTSD, turnaround their lives. This remarkable work has been adapted to influence the creation of the Flying Change Executive Equine experience.

LINDA BRACKEN has had a long career as a Senior Media Executive with the ABC including being the Manager of triple j and the Head of Audience Strategy. She has a reputation for creating high-performing teams and developing managers and on-air talent.

Part of her portfolio at the ABC included the Training Unit for ABC Radio and part of the team leading to the ABC to be accredited as an RTO. She has had a life-long association with horses as an owner, trainer and competitor. She is a Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chair of the Australian Horse Industry Council. Her love of coaching high-potential people, combined with a life-long equestrian background led to the creation of Flying Change Leadership – a corporate executive program based on the principle of horses helping make better humans.

MORE DETAILS

For more information and package prices, please tel: 02 4465 1147 or email events@barranca.com.au
+  click here to find out more about barranca‘s Equine Program