2025 DATES COMING SOON

Join us Friday evening and all day Saturday and Sunday at Awake Ranch, Mulino, OR

Brad Lande-Shannon (Co-Owner & Leadership Coach) and Megan Pugh (Head Trainer) will be co-hosting this weekend workshop. Gracie Stark (Assistant Trainer) will also be supporting. We will begin with a gathering Friday evening at 5:30 pm with dinner included, then return to the Ranch Saturday and Sunday for the full-day workshops from 8:30 am until 5:00 pm. Andrew Lande-Shannon (Co-Owner) will be preparing, with love, food to keep you nourished throughout the experience with several ingredients grown directly on the land at Awake Ranch. 

Join our mailing list to be notified when dates are confirmed.

This experience is most powerful when done in community, as a herd, so we ask that each person participate in Friday's gathering and stay for the full arc of the day, both Saturday and Sunday.

This is a very unique and intimate opportunity that will be highly impactful. We have space for only six rider registrations and six auditors (non-riding) allowing us to create a sense of community and connection in the workshop group. Our unique attention to the needs for safety and belonging, accelerates the learning process for both the humans and the horses. 

We're excited to offer this holistic (mind, body, spirit) program, focused equally on improving your riding ability and your own personal growth. We will engage in exercises to help you deepen and transform the relationship between you and your horse. 

Over the course of the weekend, you will receive two dressage lessons from Megan. You will also have several opportunities for a new approach to groundwork with your horse. Megan and Brad will facilitate sessions on the ground that help you identify where you want to unlock your personal growth or where you might be stuck or imbalanced in your riding goals. The work done over the two days will show you how our interpersonal world deeply affects our riding and our relationships with our animals. 

Our approach as facilitators is both deeply personal and refreshingly practical. What you will learn with your horses in these two days will be applicable to both your riding and every aspect of your life. 

A 15-minute screening and introductory phone call with either Megan or Brad is required before confirming your registration. We want to ensure you are in a place in your life where you are open to this kind of experience. We also would love to share more and hear how you want to show up and the way in which you can contribute to the culture and community we work to build with participants around the weekend. If you have not already yet spoken with Brad or Megan, we encourage you to email [email protected] to find a 15-minute time to connect. 

We are offering this program for $950 for riders and $700 for non-riders. Dates for our next workshop will be determined soon. You can purchase ahead of time, check back and register once dates are published, or you can join our mailing list to be notified when dates are confirmed.

We have stabling available from Friday to Sunday for those who have horses and are traveling and/or trailering in. Also, if you have living quarters or want to camp, you’re more than welcome to stay on the property.

Testimonials

When asked about the first thing that comes to mind about this workshop...

“The Equine Natural Leadership Clinic is like no other riding clinic you will ever take. It is profoundly exciting without being overbearing. I had so many breakthroughs in my understanding of the promise of human/horse connection, both technically through expert riding instruction and emotionally through the insights I gathered about myself, that it was like falling in love. Glorious, exciting and addictive in the most healthful way possible. You will never think about yourself and your horse together again in the same way.”

Deirdre

“Anyone interested in beginning to understand and unlock the power of true leadership should attend this clinic. Coupling introspection with learning from others provided a unique opportunity to see how conventional leadership tropes often lack vulnerability, empathy, and openness. Working with horses in true partnership demands learning how to carry all of these characteristics concurrently. This clinic made me a better rider and a better human.”

Dina

“Megan, Brad, Gracie, and Rune crafted an incredible two day experience where we connected with our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. This immersive experience provided spaces where we continued to strengthen our relationships with ourselves, our horses, and our fellow equestrians. By cultivating a space of safety, awareness, and communication, the facilitators encouraged participants to explore, experiment, and ultimately awaken to the possibilities available to them. A truly life changing experience.”

Khrystal

“If you are looking to build your relationship and connection with both your horse and yourself, both on the ground and in your riding, this is the clinic you want to attend. You will carry what you gain and concepts you learn with you to outside our equine world and into every day life experiences. This clinic is so good for your mental health and well being! ”

Dani

“What an amazing weekend with Circle up! I learned a lot in my lessons with Megan and felt that my second ride could hands down been the best ride I ever had on my horse. My time with Brad was impactful and so valuable for me and my horse. Our relationship runs deeper after this weekend with more trust and connection.”

Laura

“Life changing, inspiring, a celebration of emotional connections and discoveries. Peak experiences of heart and soul…"Let your horses heart reveal what's in yours!"”

Diane

“This workshop is an amazing opportunity to work in community to deepen the relationship with your horse and promote awareness and gratitude. The horse, as a teacher, facilitates self realization through mirroring of human emotion. ”

Janet

Here's a bit about what to expect:

  • Focus equally on improving your riding ability and your own personal growth

  • Engage in exercises to help you deepen and transform the relationship between you and your horse

  • Participate in 2 dressage lessons with Megan

  • Learn new approaches to groundwork with your horse

  • Take advantage of discounted introductory pricing

  • Help us learn and shape our program

Instructors

Megan Pugh

Head Trainer

Megan Pugh is a Grand Prix dressage rider who has engaged in multiple other disciplines, with dressage her main emphasis, as it is the greatest foundation. She is the Head Trainer at Awake Ranch and Retreat Center, in addition to being an L Program graduate and active clinician. Megan’s training motto is, “Ride well and find the exhale.” This entails setting firm boundaries, but finding a soft place between those boundaries. The ultimate goal of dressage is to find an elastic partnership that promotes self carriage in the horse. Megan achieves this by understanding what every individual needs and then finding a toolset that works well for each partnership. She emphasizes the riders’ position to be clean, independent and correct, which better allows the horse to find its balance and relaxation. Megan brings a sense of cohesive community that promotes a true love for the horse and sport.

Brad Lande-Shannon

Owner, Head Leadership Coach

A long-time C-suite executive himself, Brad Lande-Shannon has a first-hand understanding of the pressures and stresses that face company founders, leaders, and high performance teams. This is partly why he first turned to Natural Leadership as he faced his own professional challenges.

Brad's passion for horses has been a life-long pursuit. Having competed with the National Cutting Horse Association as a youth and now as an adult amateur dressage competitor, he’s combined his deep horse expertise with his executive leadership coaching. Over the course of his career, Brad has guided thousands of leaders on values, purpose, emotional intelligence, and well-being.

Certified in the 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership and following training from The Center for Equus Coaching (formerly The Koelle Institute), Brad enrolled in the Natural Leadership program. Compared to other programs, Brad says Natural Leadership is, “deceptively simple and multi-dimensional in its use cases to apply and teach.”

Brad has an equestrian facility that offers Natural Leadership facilitation, coaching and programming at Awake Ranch, near Portland, Oregon, which he acquired with his husband in late 2022. “We are home to 16 horses, three goats, and two cats surrounded by Pacific Northwest trees and on farmland that regularly displays exquisite sunset and sunrise views.”