Open House & Natural Leadership Demonstration

at Awake Ranch, Mulino, OR

Join us on Sunday, November 22, 2026, from 11 am to 1 pm to view our facilities and chat with us about our work. Registration is required so we can be prepared for our guests who must sign waivers before arriving.
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Awake Ranch Open House & Demo

WHAT TO EXPECT

Join us to see our space, chat with us about Awake Ranch and its facilities, and learn more about our work. Refreshments will be provided. We invite you to view the large, sheltered and mud-free paddocks, barn, and indoor facilities. 

Brad Lande-Shannon (Co-Owner & Leadership Coach), Andrew Lande-Shannon (Co-Owner), Gracie Stark and Megan Hinkle (who run our Equestrian Training program at Awake) will be co-hosting this Open House. 

Throughout the year, we host both dressage clinics plus clinics and retreats focused on human/horse relationships and personal development. As part of the day, Brad will lead a Natural Leadership demonstration, which is a short, interactive, equine-assisted personal development session. 

What is Natural Leadership?

Natural Leadership is a leadership framework. It is our innate mammal capacity, as HUMAN ANIMALS, to take care of our NEEDS and to function in an interdependent relationship with others. When we are accessing our Natural Leadership, we can:

  • Sense nonverbal signals and attend to our needs and the needs of others.

  • Adjust to pressures, stresses, and changes in our environment.

  • Find EASE quickly and efficiently.

  • Create relational systems which allow us to negotiate needs and share resources so we can survive and thrive individually and in trusted groups.

Instructors

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.”

Gracie Stark

Head Trainer, Natural Leadership Coach

Gracie Stark is a professional dressage trainer, certified Natural Leadership coach, and facilitator dedicated to fostering authentic partnerships between horses and humans. As the Head Trainer at Awake Ranch, she draws on a lifetime in the saddle to help riders and horses of all levels build trust, deepen communication, and achieve meaningful growth. Gracie brings a gentle, passionate, and deeply welcoming presence to her work, creating a safe, grounded environment where clients can develop emotional clarity, confidence, and true self-trust both in and out of the arena. Certified through the Natural Leadership program, Gracie seamlessly bridges riding principles with equine-guided personal development. She believes the horse serves as a powerful mirror for human awareness, offering immediate feedback that helps riders establish balance, steadiness, and mutual respect. Whether coaching riders through dressage movements or guiding individuals through transformative leadership experiences, Gracie’s approach centers on creating clear, compassionate connections that allow both horse and human to thrive.

Megan Hinkle

Training Supervisor

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 Training Supervisor 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.