Senior Faculty
Linda Kohanov
Linda is an author, speaker, riding instructor and horse trainer who has become an internationally recognized innovator in the field of Equine Experiential Learning and a respected writer on the subject of Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy.
Her book The Tao of Equus: A Woman’s Journey of Healing and Transformation through the Way of the Horse was selected as one of the Top Ten Religion and Spirituality books of 2001 by Amazon.com.
Her second book, Riding Between the Worlds: Expanding Our Potential through the Way of the Horse, was published in 2003.
Both books have been used as texts in university courses across the country and have received appreciative reviews in publications as diverse as Horse and Rider, Natural Horse, IONS Noetic Sciences Review, Shift, Spirituality and Health, Animal Wellness, The Equestrian News and Strides (the magazine published by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association).
Among her numerous lectures throughout the U.S. and Canada, she was a presenter at the 2001 NARHA conference and was the keynote speaker at the 2003 NARHA conference. She was also a featured presenter at the 2004 International Transpersonal Conference.
Shelley Rosenberg
Professional Horse Trainer, Herd Manager, and Eponaquest Advanced Instructor
Shelley offers individual Equine Experiential Learning sessions that can include Passive and Active Round Penning, Reflective Riding, and Journey Rides. These sessions use both the human and equine instructor’s expertise in developing an open communication and strength of relationship with a horse that can engender the discovery of life skills to aid the human in all relationships.
In addition, as a United States Dressage Federation (USDF) “L” judge, and certified USDF instructor, Shelley provides lessons and training for riders starting at the very beginnings of their experiences with horses, up to the level of Grand Prix. She has over 30 years of experience training horses, teaching riders, and professionally competing in the art of dressage riding. She has taught all seats of riding—western, jumping, dressage, hunter—and also teaches and trains driving horses. Her experience with horse breeds spans from Arabians to Haflingers to Warmbloods to rescued Mustangs and horses recovering from abuse that require rehabilitation.
Shelley began riding at age 12. In her long career she has successfully competed for the long-list on the U.S. Olympic equestrian team, co-led with Barbara Rector to create and implement the adolescent care and therapeutic riding program at Sierra Tucson in the 1980s, conducted dressage clinics, and became President of the Tucson Dressage Club. She ran her own professional Dressage Center in Oro Valley for 18 years before accepting the position of Herd Manager at Eponaquest, where she carefully worked to maintain the well-being of the Eponaquest herd. Shelley continues to actively judge, train and show in Arizona.
Contact Shelley at 520-419-6467 or dressagecenter@theriver.com.
Carol Roush
Eponaquest Advanced Instructor
Carol has long been interested in studying the mind-body connection, beginning in 1983. She has studied massage and the mind-body connection at The Institute of Psycho-Structural Balancing in San Diego, California, and advanced massage therapy programs at the Desert Institute of Healing Arts in Tucson, Arizona. Carol has partnered with physical therapists, chiropractors, doctors, and psychiatrists to provide massage therapy and body–mind awareness for their patients. She has worked with a variety of emotional issues related to amputations, disfiguring burns, addictions, accident rehab, and survivors of childhood traumas.
In 2003 Carol combined her life-long love of horses with her healing practice by graduating from the Eponaquest Apprenticeship program. Upon completing the program she continued studying for another two years under founder and author Linda Kohanov and earned the status of Advanced Instructor of Equine Experiential Learning.
Carol currently teaches Eponaquest introductory and advanced programs, works with private clientele, and continues to combine massage therapy with these programs. She is also a member of the committee to interview and select appropriate applicants into the Eponaquest advanced study programs.
Find more information on Carol at www.carolroush.com.
Mary Louise Gould, EdM.
Eponaquest Advanced Instructor
Mary-Louise (ML) was drawn to the field of Equine Facilitated Experiential Learning by her long standing professional commitment to supporting healing and growth and by the mysterious arrival in her life of a wise and gentle Thoroughbred teacher. He has guided her to a deeper appreciation for all of nature and for the wisdom and practical value of “interbeing” relatedness in life and work—understandings she now brings to her endeavors with humans and horses as an Eponaquest Advanced Instructor.
As one of Eponaquest’s original Approved Instructors (2003), ML has taught the Eponaquest Approach™ in workshops throughout the country, has facilitated small groups in the Eponaquest Apprenticeship and EASE programs. Currently as an Advanced Instructor and Eponaquest Senior Faculty, she co-facilitates the Equine Facilitated Learning Apprenticeship Program in the USA with Linda Kohanov, Carol Roush and Shelley Rosenberg.
In all her EFEL work and private consulting practice, ML sees her role as a collaborator with people seeking to develop the EFEL training skills, address their fears, access and communicate authentic feelings, listen to the wisdom of the body, become adept at expressing unique and innate talents, and discover new pathways to intuition, creativity, and spirituality — or as Joseph Campbell puts it, as they increase their ability “to experience the rapture of being fully alive” in both their personal and professional lives.
Contact ML at ml@eponaquest.com.
Nancy Coyne, M.D.
Eponaquest Advanced Instructor
Nancy Coyne, MD, is a psychiatrist with many years experience working with people in all phases of life. An artist, she uses creative process — writing and drawing, yoga and bodywork, EMDR and equine facilitated psychotherapy, as well as talk therapy, to help people heal from whatever trauma they have suffered and to flourish in their lives. She is an Eponaquest Advanced Instructor, a lifelong yoga practitioner and teaches from a position of humility and beginners mind.
Contact Nancy at nancycoyne@me.com.
Support Staff
Sue Smades
Office Manager/Apprentice Liaison
Sue became involved with Eponaquest in August of 2007 as a member of the Epona Center staff, holding positions as a ranch assistant and apprentice trainer, and is currently the Eponaquest Office Manager and Apprentice Liaison. She completed the Eponaquest Apprenticeship Program in June 2009, becoming an Eponaquest Instructor. Since graduating, Sue has assisted in the facilitation of a variety of programs including workshops for Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans and their families, as well as teaching leadership skills to high level corporate executives. Prior to joining the Eponaquest staff, Sue spent more than 15 years in the client relations industry where she held positions in college relations, retail management and equine facility management.
Contact Sue at sue@eponaquest.com.
Elysa Ginsburg
Ranch Manager – Epona at Eagle Way
Elysa’s life-long love of horses, combined with her equestrian and psychology background brought her to her first Eponaquest workshop with Linda Kohanov. Feeling inspired and transformed, Elysa realized that she wanted to share the gift of this work with others and went on to complete the Apprenticeship Program at the Epona International Study Center. In 2012, Elysa completed advanced training with Linda and became an Eponaquest Advanced Instructor. Elysa is currently the ranch manager of Epona at Eagle Way in Amado, AZ, where she works with clients and also co-facilitates with Linda and the magnificent Eponaquest herd.
Special Guest Presenters
Steve Roach
With more than 50 recordings to his credit, Steve’s evocative soundscapes create an altered sense of time and space, stimulating the creative imagination and allowing subconscious insights to rise to the surface of the mind.
His music is popular among visual artists, body workers, and psychotherapists. Yoga Journal cited his Structures from Silence as one of the top 10 CDs of all time for doing yoga, and his music is widely used in Stanislav Grof’s Holotropic Breath workshops.
Find more information on Steve Roach at www.steveroach.com.
Rebecca Paradies
Rebecca Paradies is an Expressive Arts Therapist, graduating with a masters degree from European Graduate School in Saas Fee, Switzerland. She brings together her experience in the arts and her love of horses in a most unique way that engages the participant and enhances the equine encounter.