Girls’ Night Out - Just Add Horses

Ever tried to cross a Piranha-Infested River, laden down by stuffed animals, buckets, rugs, hula hoops and a very patient horse ? Careful not to touch the river. The piranhas might just try to grab you or make off with something you're not touching. No? Not yet? Perhaps it's time to sign up for ladies' night at Horse Empower. One of several offerings, owner Kim Hardesty has for alternative evening fun. You're watching the Local News Network, brought to you by Ute Mountain Casino and The Phillips Team at Draper. I'm Hannah Robertson.

It's just a super fun avenue for them to get get together and get to know how they work and what makes each other tick. And always getting to know more about horses.

Hardesty opened Horse Empower in 2012 with the goal of partnering people with horses to create an individualized approach to therapy, team building, personal growth, development and more. Horse Empower caters to the individual, small groups, corporate groups, and others. The horses are companions in the process assisting with therapeutic practices as well as providing lessons on social behaviors through their interactions with other horses and humans.

Particularly what gave us the idea to offer ladies night, which is what's happening tonight, is we saw how much fun and how beneficial the programming was for the different groups, especially the team building and leadership events that we host for different businesses and whatnot. And it gave us the idea that we wanted to be able to expand our programming to serve our community in more fun avenues such as ladies nights, date nights, work like family programming. We are customizing birthday parties for adults and youth and private parties of any nature. Really. We are willing to customize any program just to give a fun experience in Durango. That's out of the box and creates lasting memories.

While each event is customizable, you can expect a few things from any Horse Empower Event. First and foremost, expect a lot of fun. You will meet the horses, get a sense of their personalities and learn how to safely interact with them. You'll participate in different challenges and games, with the opportunity to learn more about yourself and your fellow participants' leadership, teamwork and communication styles.

And I want to say this what makes the programming so unique and special in working with the horses, is that no one horse is alike. They are sentient beings, just like you and me, individually thinking, behaving with their own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. And so the way you approach a task with the horse, is you're always going to get a different outcome with another horse and you're going to have to adjust your communication styles and your approach for success.

You might be asked to put a halter on a horse or to figure out how to navigate yourself, your horse and a handful of miscellaneous items across a marked area without your feet touching the ground. If you are not careful, the other team might manage to snag a free item! Plenty of tasty food, drinks and good company are a staple of every event. In fact, you'll have so much fun. You might just forget that you are learning more about yourself and horses.

We are here to support you in having an out of the box, great time. We really want you to come and enjoy the horses and make connections and feel empowered. Work here to empower our community.

To learn more about Horse Empower, explore the different programs or just sign up for its mailing list, visit horseempower.com. Thank you for watching this edition of the Local News Network, I'm Hannah Robertson.

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