Meet Louise

Louise is co-founder of Grazia and the Equine Facilitator in charge of horse and human safety. She also sits on the board of directors for Grazia.

Louise grew up in Albemarle County on an orchard and can’t remember a time when she wasn’t horse crazy. Her family wasn’t horsey but they had plenty of room for horses and a pony, Happy, who entered Louise’s life when she was eight. Ponies, horses, donkeys and mules have been a part of her life ever since.

Louise started working on a horse breeding farm when she was fifteen and has been involved professionally with horses ever since. In 1985 she graduated from Hollins University, where she was on the Intercollegiate Horse Show team. After graduation, she began her career as a trainer-manager on a thoroughbred breeding farm. In the 1990’s, with two young boys at home, Louise pulled away from horses, but not completely, to teach elementary school for a few years.

In 2007 Louise accepted a position at Sweet Briar College to be a riding instructor and coach, where she coached the Field Team and taught riding, concentrating on field riding, natural horsemanship, and towards the end of her tenure, Equine Facilitated Leadership.

Louise became fascinated by the field of Equine Facilitated Learning-Therapy and pursued her Epala Instructor’s certification, which she completed in March of 2018. She moved on from Sweet Briar in 2018 as well, and shifted her focus entirely to finding a way to promote the power of healing that horses posses. and ways to share this power with others. Louise’s mission is to empower people through assisting them to form interpersonal relationships with horses that teach awareness, confidence through understanding, compassion, and leadership, that starts with self-leadership.

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