About

 

Katharine Turner Mays

 

‘Allowing aliveness and wholeness through Horses.’

 

Katharine is a professional painter, somatic horse guide and emapth. 

She helps clients integrate Somatic Presence with horses via Equine Assisted Somatic Integration – E.A.S.I. 

Katharine moved to Austin in 2000.  Her riding sessions began when a psycho therapist friend who had never ridden before, asked for riding lessons with a somatic ‘horse whispering’ perspective.

Sally Swifts’ Centered Riding is the riding foundation.  Katharine introduces bare back and some dressage which builds muscle and interest for both horse and rider. 

Learning in a covered arena and under the canopy of tree covered trails and meadows in 1000 acres of parkland.

 

“Many years ago, I took lessons with Katharine, on Freedom. It’s by far the best horsemanship experience I’ve ever gotten. You see, when I started with Katharine, I already thought I knew it all. What girl-who-loves-horses doesn’t?  Well let’s just say, it’s been 10 years, and I am confident that my foundation and roots is all because Katharine took the time to teach me more than just how to sit in the saddle….Energy, empathy, balance, awareness, all the things that help you connect with the horse. Powerful. Meaningful. Intentional.
I am forever thankful.” – Shelly B

 

About:

Katharine’s Ponies to Horses Story

‘I loved spending time riding with my mother, getting our horses fit for hunting, before and after school, usually in the dark. 

At eleven, my mother leased my first pony Sir Percival Pink.  I will not forget the moment while walking through a large boggy field one spring afternoon, coming across a beautiful round, 13.2 strawberry roan pony.  I had no idea why we were there, but the moment I saw him, I fell deeply in love.  He was the kind of pony any horse loving child like myself would dream of having.  In the middle of this large field, as my mother and I stood staring at his portly, pinkness she said the immortal words: “This … is … your … pony!”

Pinky was my happy childhood.  He took care of me over huge jumps out hunting.  He taught me courage and was a joy to my heart and soul.  I went to sleep at night thinking of him in his enormous stable, full of hay and woke up the same way. 

After some years I grew too big for him, he went to my brother and I got to love and take care of a succession of equine friends.

We were a fox hunting family, our local hunt was Hursley Hambledon my mother a pink jacket, my uncle a master of the Silverton Hunt, Devon.  

I studied classical riding, later concentrating on the Baucher system from the classical school of de la Guérinière. 

Freedom my first horse in Austin was traumatized so I learnt a gentler way of interacting with him and found natural horsewo’manship.  I met and studied with Parelli and Monti Roberts for the next decade.’

 

About:

Austin Riding and Therapy Center

 

Equine Assisted Somatic Integration – E.A.S.I.

 

Transformation.

Returning to the power of The Presence through the pain that is held in the body.

This grows Consciousness.

The process transforms stuck trauma and returns it back to it’s original form, Love.  It is a simple, gentle way into Peace through the pain or contraction felt in a certain part of the body.  In time, this compassionate, heart felt regulating system returns us to the Power of The Presence, Stillness and Strength.  

• Katharine and the horses feel these contractions in each client empathically and navigate the pains together, eventually clients are able to do this alone.

 

– Being The Presence

– Feeling into the I AM … Being’ness

– Learn to feel into contractions eventually returning to The Presence, Empathic Power, Higher Power

– Sit in ‘the still small voice’

– Empathize with yourself (as opposed to victimize)

– Breathing techniques that work for you

– Meditation techniques that resonate and work for you

– Enjoy the Presence with the horses that appears as we slow down

– See unconscious patterns by working with the horses as reflections

– Notice a compassionate relationship via your compassion twd the horses

– By feeling horses empathic strength and learning to go into a Theta Meditation State with them you will learn to slow down your mind and know ‘the Peace that passeth all understanding.’

About:

Special Needs Riding 

From 2015,  I have worked with neuro-divergent and neuro-typical children and adults with different needs.  I am able to give gentle, sensitive clients simple exercises using E.A.S.I. something I developed, by working with clients on the ground and with the horses which helping with relational life challenges. 

 

About:

A Spiritual Shift 

I got sober in 1989 and after a few decades of different kinds of informal meditation and continuously transforming fear (trauma) back to Peace through somatic practices with the horses, in 2016 there was an energetic shift. 

Much of the fear based conditioning which used to lead took a back seat, no compulsive thoughts, no triggers, just Being fine with everything as it was.  This lasted for a couple of years.  

 

Katharine Turner Mays  Guide and Owner

• Director of Conscious Rider non profit and Austin Riding and Therapy Center 2000
• Created E.A.S.I. 2008
• The Peace Process
• W.H.C. Training
• Hursley Hambledon Hunt 12 years
• Three Day Eventer UK 10 years
• Special needs facilitator 2015
• Professional animal empath and psychic 1998
• Classically Trained Artist KatharineTurnerMays
• Kundalini Yoga Certified Instructor

 

Caroline Jackaman Teacher

• Shoshne Lodge Yellowstone
• Guided trail rides
• Over night pack trips
• Extensive Western horsewomanship
• Conscious Rider 5 years 
• Texas Horse Center
• Camp councillor
• Managing full care of 30 horses

Caroline is passionate about learning and being a strong horse woman. Her ambitions are to eventually be training wild horses and to continue enjoying teaching children and adults in sharing her equine knowledge, understanding and love. Started with Conscious Rider as a child.

 

Genevieve Kenny Teacher

• EAGALA Instructor
• Special Education Degree
• Special Education Teacher
• ABA Therapist
• Special Olympics Volunteer 

Genevieve has her own horse riding facility Miercoles Moon in Sante Fe, NM. She has been with Conscious Rider since 2010.