Horse-guided leadership development is a subject dear to us. This is why is a significant part of our recently finalised team-building activities offering (more than 8 modules to select from, with and without horses – check our corporate page for details: https://clicker.ro/potcoava/evenimente-corporate/ ). Horse Dream Romania is the designer of the activities and connects the place, the type of activity and your team’s circumstances for the best output.
Below there are several different opportunities to visit and enjoy our area at the beginning of summer:
- During the first weekend of summer school vacation, the 16th-18th of June, Haidook Summer Fest will happen here in Runcu. Haidook is an outdoor festival packed with fun activities, horse shows, a working equitation competition open for all riders, good music, and much more for the whole family to enjoy. This year, Haidook Summer Fest celebrates the 7th year of existence, and we invite you to take your family and start the summer in a relaxed open-air environment. Find out more on www.haidook.ro
- For the professionals in HR, L&D and other leadership roles, we extend another type of invitation: join us for a two-hour brunch on horse-guided leadership development. Where: Potcoava’s covered arena. The facilitators of the activities will be Madalina Vintu Popa, Horse Dream partner, and chief-charming officer and head-horse facilitator, Steward. The debrief will happen over brunch when you can ask Madalina questions about this method.
Mădălina is the most qualified person in Romania to talk about horse-guided education. She has extensive experience as a trainer, including designing team development activities with horses. She is also partner of Horse Dream Romania, the owner of the country license for the horse-guided leadership method developed by HorseDream Germany. So you can trust her to offer you the best advice about incorporating horse-guided activities in your team’s events calendar. Find some more details about the brunch – here.
What is Horse Guided Leadership Development?
We take topics from the leadership development world and we create exercises in the arena, partnering with horses. This way, we create a live and realistic context to test, learn and unlearn. For example, we propose the topic of Trust which is key in leadership and we propose activities on the Leadership – Followership axis.
With horses, this is incredibly straightforward as you either lead the horse, or you are led by the horse. Due to their nature, they will not allow the neutral point in this axis.
THE HORSE IS A METAPHOR
When he is following you, you learn about your leadership style.
When he is leading, you learn about yourself as a team member.
What is this Brunch event?
The Brunch on June 17th, 12:00, to be held at Potcoava Mountain Hideaway is an open learning event, part of the International Horse Guided Education week of 2023.
We want to show what is possible in the company of horses in terms of Leadership Development, Team Development so that you can import these concepts back into your business activity, for your team or for other teams you may consider suited.
Who is this for?
Being an open session, this Brunch is for all those of you who are in a Leadership, an HR or a Learning role, irrespective of the Industry or Vertical your company does business in.
You will experience first hand the HorseTouch competencies of designing and delivering a learning experience in the company of horses and you may take this back to your business life.
You may decide to include such an experience in your next Leadership development program for the end of 2023 or for 2024 and onward.
Why @Potcoava Mountain Hideaway, in Runcu, Dambovita?
This is our home. On a permanent basis, Potcoava Mountain Hideaway gracefully provides the physical space and the horse partnership necessary for all successful horse-guided learning experiences the Horse Touch teams design.
Why Horse Touch?
We are the Horse Dream GmbH regional partners, contributing to the development and reach of the horse-guided education approach that has one of the longest-standing histories in Europe and in the world.
Why now?
We want to connect this Learning Brunch with the beautiful Haidook Summer Fest, which is a family-friendly event, because the horse world encompasses many aspects: working together and competing together (working equitation), freestyle dressage, learning (horse-guided education), and others.
We also wanted to blend the fun of an outdoor event with that of leadership learning.
Who is Madalina? Who is Steward?
Madalina is the master designer of educational activities at Horse Dream Romania. She started her work in education in 2003 and has been designing and delivering training programs since 2007, across all industries and all age levels from high school students to worldwide corporate board members.
Part of her direct business background, she accounts for roles in HR, Credit Risk and Sales.
Steward is a Haflinger horse, our main partner on the horse-facilitators’ team. He has extensive experience in interaction with humans, as he has been participating in Working Equitation competitions, and has usually worked as a Trail Riding Partner. He is the first horse to have joined the Horse Touch equine team. He was born in 2006 in Tyrol and has been a member of the Potcoava herd from the very beginning.
What to expect?
We will meet, do a couple of leadership exercises with horses, based on either the scenarios we propose or on those you will suggest right there and then and we will debrief everything so that you can extract some insights for yourself and/or your team.
In addition, although the brunch is 100% non-alcoholic, a wine from Crama Serve will be our farewell gift, to accompany the stories you will tell your friends and colleagues about this particular experience.
Are there any requirements the participants must meet?
Anyone above 18 years of age can join us, provided that their general health status allows them to be in the company of horses and other people, meaning you are aware of yourself and your surrounding and you are free of substances (even medically supervised treatment) which impair you from correctly perceiving time, distance and the presence of people, animals and objects.
Alcohol is not compatible with horse related activity and is specifically excluded from the Brunch menu.
How many tickets are there available?
This brunch is designed for maximum 20 participants, so that everyone may benefit from a direct interaction with the horses.
Can you accommodate impaired individuals?
We can accommodate most locomotor impairments and all levels of blindness.
For this specific event, we are not able to accommodate individuals with neurologic impairments.
At this point in time we do not have on the team a translator for deaf sign language.
Please contact us directly for any other questions on this topic.
Will we ride?
No.
Horse Guided Education means partnering at ground level with horses. Everyone walks on their own feet. The maximum speed of any activity is our regular walking speed.
What other events are there that weekend? What can I do after the Brunch around there?
While you enjoy the Brunch, your family and/or friends can enjoy Haidook Summer Fest.
After the Brunch, you can join them for the spectacular shows usually scheduled in the afternoon @Haidook Summer Fest.
As a participant in the HorseTouch brunch, you will have access to the organizer’s tent at the festival for the whole weekend, so you can enjoy it in the shade.
Please check out the festival schedule through this link www.haidook.ro
I’m afraid of horses. Is this activity safe?
Fear is the perfect partner for most Development activities, thus we do encourage you to sign up, even if you are afraid of horses.
As all horse-related activities contain some risks we suggest you watch this video, to get a more realistic idea of what they are and then decide for yourself.
What is the fee? What does it cover?
The fee per person is 250 lei (VAT included) and it grants access to the following:
- the horse-guided experience (~2h)
- brunch on Saturday, June 17th @Potcoava
- a bottle of wine from our partners @Crama Serve to accompany the stories you will tell about it all later on
- complimentary access to the Haidook Summer Fest 2023 organizers’ tent for the entire weekend
How do I register?
RSVP to madalina[@]horsetouch.ro or 0724256410
You will then receive a payment link.
Confirmation of your ticket for Horse Guided Leadership Development over Brunch will be issued after payment.