Private Retreat in Costa Rica

with Wendy Murdoch and Callie King 

​ Transform your riding, Relax your mind, and Rejuvenate your body ​

Imagine an entire week to devote to your riding with daily lessons, trail rides through tropical forests, along rivers, and across beaches, morning yoga to calm your body and mind, and Feldenkrais sessions to discover new ways of moving and riding with ease.

All while enjoying the beauty of Costa Rica, with it's clear blue water, natural sandy beaches, brilliant green jungles, and luxury accommodations at the villas. 

Through this whole experience Wendy Murdoch and Callie King will be your personal coaches, taking your riding to a new level by breaking through unconscious restrictions and changing old habits and patterns in your riding. 

Take a break from the busy hustle of daily life and join us at Equisol Holistic Equestrian Retreat Center in Nosara, Costa Rica. 

This will be a small, intimate retreat so you can have the full attention of Wendy, Callie, and the Equi-Sol staff. 

Spend the entire week focused on what you love and allow this immersive experience to transform your riding as you relax, reflect, and rejuvenate your body in a tropical paradise with delicious healthy food and daily yoga – not to mention meeting some amazing people and horses! 

During this retreat you will experience the best from each of us as your hosts here.

In the mornings, Wendy will lead you through unmounted exercises and Feldenkrais sessions to discover ease in movement, and help you understand new ideas for your riding. Later in the afternoon, you can put this new understanding into action during your lessons as Wendy helps you discover exactly what you need to take your riding to the next level.

Callie will be your guide in the round pen and during groundwork with your horse, as you learn about observing and finding connection with the horse in liberty work that transfers directly to your communication while riding.

​The unique experience of a retreat allows you to immediately take what you are learning during the lessons in the arena and round pen out on the trails and onto the beaches, practicing your new riding skills and your new awareness of your horse in different situations right away. 

Finding Balance... In Riding and Life

We live in a busy world. There are constant distractions and demands for our attention. It is easy to forget what stillness feels like, to become disconnected from finding calm.

But it is perhaps from rediscovering this place of stillness and calm that we can best focus, learn, and find change.
When life gets busy and hectic it is easy to forget about what truly matters most – Connection.

Connection to others, connection to ourselves, connection to our horses. It is from a connected place that we can know what is best for us and that we can sense what is true.

It is too easy to get pulled into satisfying the demands of others, of doing what we think we should do, or what we must do, but neglecting the simple joys that light and fill us up.

This retreat is designed to help you take a break from the business of life, to reconnect with what you love, to spend your days with horses and in the beauty of nature.

Each element of this retreat is carefully designed to create an experience for you that focuses on riding, but touches all areas of your life – through allowing you to rest, rejuvenate, and reconnect.
 

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A Holistic Retreat

​One of my favorite horsemanship quotes comes from an author and horseman I respect greatly, Mark Rashid.

In his book, Horsemanship Through Life, Mark states “the qualities required to be good with horses are the same qualities to be good at life in general...”

Riding is not just about how to sit on the horse or how to use your aids, or about understanding collection and leg yields.

For many of us, we are drawn to riding because we are intrigued by the challenge… the challenge that is physical, mental, and emotional.

Within the retreat, we look at riding from this holistic perspective. That is what makes this trip so much more than a riding clinic, this is truly a retreat, a time to slow down, reflect, and focus.

This begins with the morning yoga, working on both the physical body as well as the patterns of the mind. It continues with the riding lessons with Wendy, while participating in unique exercises you learn to pay attention to yourself as your own best teacher. 

Then in the round pen with one of the Criollo horses, each having their own distinct personality, you can practice connection, noticing the horse, reading their behavior, and learning about yourself through this experience.
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The trail rides are a time to let down, a time to take for yourself observing the incredible flora and fauna of Costa Rica. They are also an opportunity to get more time in the saddle, get out of the arena, boost your confidence in your skills, and maybe check off that bucket list experience of riding on the beach!

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The Perfect Start to Your Riding Day

Yoga is the perfect complement to riding as yoga develops both strength, flexibility, and body awareness, but also keeps attention on mental as well as physical patterns. 

Just as we form physical habits or patterns, in the way we sit, move, and stand, we also form patterns in our thoughts and responses.

Observing one’s thoughts is a challenge all its own, but noticing thought brings awareness to those stubborn, ingrained mental patterns.

When we are aware of our thoughts, we hold more power to change them, to control our emotions, and then to find and create better solutions to the challenge we are facing, whether that challenge is how far to push a particular yoga pose, managing feelings of anxiety riding an excited horse, or finding the words to speak up when a situation feels unsafe.

Here is where the important lesson from yoga applies. Yoga creates challenge through the difficulty of the various poses. The purpose of the yoga poses is not only to develop physical strength and flexibility, but also to observe the patterns of one’s mind.

An expression we often hear during morning yoga sessions as Heidi guides us through the class is “if it feels like too much it is too much”.
 
We are the only ones that can determine how much we are challenged by something, physically or mentally, and the only ones who can truly know if we need to push forward or back off.

We have to recognize how a challenge feels for us, regardless of how easy or difficult it may be for others. We are each a unique tapestry of experiences, skills, and knowledge. 
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Allow the guidance and prompts from all the teachers on this retreat to help you recognize your brilliance as a rider, beginning with the yoga sessions each morning.

It does not matter if you've never taken a yoga class or you are a dedicated yogi, Heidi's mornings classes will help you feel calm, quiet, and ready for the day ahead!

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Heidi Blackman - Yoga Instructor and Co-Founder of Equisol Retreats

​Heidi is originally from California and moved to Nosara, Costa Rica in 2012. Heidi has always had a passion for animals and grew up riding horses and spending as much time as possible at the barn.

Eventually she focused her love of animals and nature on the marine environment – earning her Master’s degree in International Environmental Policy and working on marine conservation issues in the Pacific region.

After several years working on in marine conservation, Heidi and her husband, Graham, decided to move to Costa Rica in search of a new lifestyle and Heidi started Equisol retreats along with cofounder Carrie Anderson.

Heidi has been practicing yoga for over 13 years and is a 500-hr RYT (200 hours of yoga teacher's training through YogaWorks with Kia Miller and 300 hours of SmartFlow training with Annie Carpenter).

Heidi’s quiet, easy way of instruction will make you feel comfortable right from the first class, even if you have never practiced yoga before!

About Nosara and the Finca, your Retreat Home

​From the moment you walk out of the airport your experience will begin as your shuttle driver will meet you to begin the scenic drive to the Finca.

On the private shuttle you can get to know a few other guests as you make your way down the road leading to Nosara, passing through small towns and local ranches on the way.

You will know you are getting close as the road narrows and then winds through the jungle, going up and down over a few small hills before beginning a climb up the mountain, glimpsing views of the valley below around each turn.

Finally, as you come to the top, you will spot the two villas of the Finca, your home for the next week! The sharp greens and reds and yellows of the beautiful native landscaping and palms are contrasted by the blue view of the ocean as you gaze out across the valley.

Your week has begun and in the next seven days you will experience where luxury meets local flair, getting to experience the “Pura Vida” lifestyle of Costa Rica!

Nosara is located in one of ten “blue zones”, areas in the world where people live the longest of all the places in the world.

In your week here, you will experience the elements of the culture that makes this such a special place, from the beauty and the bio-diversity of the landscape, to the fresh food, mango right from the tree, fresh fish cooked to perfection, and a few special local surprise treats!

Costa Rica is known for it’s strong community, with emphasis on family, warmth, and connection that extends to visitors as well.

On your free day, you will have the opportunity to explore the town, take a surfing lesson, kayak the mangrove forests, visit a local monkey rescue, among many other options! 

Your New "Home Away from Home"

Equisol provides luxury accommodations at the Finca, a beautiful 150-acre ranch in the hills of Nosara, with two villas, each with breathtaking views of the ocean, sunset, river and jungle below. 

The property features stables, an uncovered arena, a round pen, pastures for the horses, endless riding trails, waterfalls, basketball & tennis courts and an outdoor yoga space. 

Both villas have wifi throughout and cleaning and laundry service is provided daily.

The Horses

​One of the highlights of your trip with us will be sure to be the time spent and the connection made with the horses of Equisol.

You will get to meet a variety of breeds and personalities, and learn about the ruggedness and steady minds of the native Criollo horses.

The Criollo horses are of Spanish descent, a small horse known to be surefooted with great endurance – perfect for our trail rides along the ridges overlooking the ocean!
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You will be sure to fall in love with these incredible horses and learn something new from each one of them. 

​If you have been wanting to make a change in your riding, give yourself the opportunity to experience this Costa Rica Riding Retreat.

Give yourself the gift of doing what you love, of having the experience of a lifetime.

​ We would love to have you join us!

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Customize Your Trip 

​We have three different weeks to make this trip exactly what you need for your riding level and for what you most want to experience in this week.

Our first two retreat options are focused on learning – enhancing your riding education and skills, while our third week is our trekking week.

Here are the dates for each week:

Week 1: January 25 - February 1 *Currently Full*
Week 2: February 4 - February 11 *Currently Full*
Week 3: February 14 - February 21 *Currently Full*

Whether you are a new rider, a returning rider, or an experienced rider we have a retreat option for you.
There are also different room options to accommodate you, whether you want your own deluxe private suite or enjoy the social feel of a shared room.

This is an all inclusive retreat, transportation to and from the Liberia airport, as well as three delicious daily meals, are all included. Don’t worry if you are not a frequent traveler, you will be in good hands for your retreat!
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The next step is to fill out an application and tell me more about your riding and what you would love to experience or learn on this retreat.

Imagine yourself waking up on the first day of retreat – what would you most be looking forward to?

After the application we will schedule a call to choose the week that is the best fit for you (and I can answer any other questions you may have!)

Our 2020 Retreats are *FULL*

Room Options 

Shared Room with Twin Bed & Shared Bathroom

Private Room with Shared Bathroom

Private Room with Private Bath

Smaller Private Room with Shared Bath

Deluxe Private Room with Private Bath