Koelle simpson biography of rory
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This feedback enables the student or client to deepen their awareness of themselves.
With a 1000+ pound, highly sensitive animal that cannot be coaxed or coerced—both positive and negative communication patterns very quickly become apparent!
The feedback we receive from horses is so direct and honest, it leaves people with nowhere to hide. Those early challenges required me to anchor much more deeply into my commitment and to cultivate new patience for, simply, sharing one Equus Coaching experience at a time.
The reward has been well worth it.
Martha became a dear friend and mentor—offering me a new level of understanding on how to help others live a more meaningful and joyous life.
After moving to Arizona, and apprenticing with Martha, demand for this work grew until I started the Koelle Institute in 2006 to further share this work with others.
This style of facilitated work with horses, now called Equus Coaching, is really unique because it provides clients with a safe, non-judgemental learning environment to witness their relationship patterns as they are mirrored back to them by a horse.
We’re living in a time where our yearning for safe, genuine connections with others, yet clients come to me reporting how they’re feeling more lost, more disconnected than ever despite lives full of activity.
Whether you (or someone you know) have struggled with disconnection or relationships, communication or leadership, or have struggled to move beyond traumatic experiences—I encourage you to discover the power of Equus Coaching.
I believe that when we take the time to learn from other animals—especially horses—we quickly discover that they can offer us a powerful road map for restoring our own essential wisdom, heal relationships, and change patterns to help us create meaningful, lasting positive change.
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Founding and Values
The Koelle Institute for Equus Coaching was founded byKoelle Simpson.
The safety, honesty, and wisdom she witnessed in these powerful four-legged teachers offered a profound and playful roadmap to reconnect with her own inner wisdom.
Early in her journey, Koelle was able to apprentice with an internationally recognized equine trainer.
I struggled to trust other people, and the world around me.
Around that time, my mother became engaged to a man who owned a large sod farm in the middle of Florida. I am also the founder of an internationally renowned Equus Coaching Movement. Within the session, they are able to embody the energy of the relationships they yearn for, and as a result, the effects are immediate!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory is definitely that moment I shared earlier, when I stepped into the field with those horses, on a sod farm in Florida.
It’s because of them, and Mother Nature, that I’m able to be here sharing this remarkable, healing work.
Although this can feel exposing, both the horse and the Equus Coach act as compassionate guides to create a safe and open environment for learning.
Clients often think they will witness a unique or surprising side of themselves while trying to interact with a horse.
But what we have found, however, is that when people are excited, confused, scared, frustrated or yearning for acceptance, they typically have the same reaction and use the same life coping strategies in all situations.
She then went on to complete a direct apprenticeship with best-selling author, life coach, and O Magazine columnist, Dr. Martha Beck. It must be experienced!
People openly wondered how a horse could help them to improve their relationships with other people, let alone heal from difficult experiences. In 2006, I founded the Koelle Institute for Equus Coaching, where we have trained over 200 coaches, around the world, to now also facilitate this powerful work!
However, my journey of learning from horses began much earlier, when I was nine years old.
Today we’d like to introduce you to Koelle Simpson.
Koelle, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am a life coach and horse whisperer—and I’ve dedicated my life to helping others reconnect with their own inner wisdom and create meaningful change through a unique, transformative style of facilitated work with horses that I’ve developed in my own journey towards healing.
I’m an advanced Somatic Experiencing practitioner through Dr. Levine as well as a DARe Attachment Theory practitioner through Dr. Heller. Once more people started spending time, experiencing this work with horses, the word spread as more became incredibly fascinated with just how effective working horses could be.
A second major challenge came in finding other equine facilities to host workshop events.
I travel two to three times a month to facilitate Equus Coaching retreats around the world, which means that—instead of having my own facility in a permanent location that people could come to—I have to go to them and find facilities (and horses) there.
In the beginning, facilities owners were curious but cautious.
I’m honored and excited to share the magic of Equus Coaching with local clients, and get to know this incredible community.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
While this work has gained awareness and merit over the last several years, when I first began to share and teach Equus Coaching—it wasn’t something that many people had heard of.
Given this work is such a visceral, hands-on learning experience—it was often challenging to help people understand the value and impact of this work by merely describing it.
Over the years, it has evolved into a remarkable community of compassionate
and highly skilled Equus Coaches dedicated to facilitating transformative encounters with horses.
To learn more about and find ways to connect with Koelle, go to KoelleSimpson.com.
Koelle Simpson
I am a life coach, horse whisperer, spiritual mentor with more than 20 years of experience.
Koelle’s own work has been featured in O Magazine, BBC Business Report, the National Journal, the OWN Network and TEDx. Over a few years of trial and error, I eventually came to realize that the horses were not interested in my attempts of bribery. I hoped I would be able to uncover steps I needed to take in order to further heal and restore my own sense of trust in myself, and others.
It was a time of profound learning.
There is no riding required. In 2020, Koelle transferred
ownership of the Institute to Erin Cutshall, and in 2022 it became the Center for Equus Coaching. Clients began sharing their own personal transformation stories with friends and family.