About Michelle
Hi, I’m Michelle, founder of Open Gate Equine Assisted Counseling. First and foremost, I am a mom to two wonderful boys. I earned my Education Specialist (Ed.S.) degree in School Psychology from BYU in 2015 and have since worked in the public school system, supporting students with academic, behavioral, and mental health needs. My professional specialties include behavioral concerns, Autism, ADHD, and anxiety.
Alongside my work in education and psychology, I have been deeply involved with horses for many years. Since 2015, I’ve had the privilege of teaching horseback riding lessons through Drage Second Chance Ranch, an experience that has further shaped my passion for growth, connection, and healing. Helping people—especially those navigating mental health and behavioral challenges—has always been at the core of my work.
Enter Apollo- the core of my story. In 2016, I decided to take a giant leap, face my fears, and embrace a lifelong dream of become a horse owner. I looked at many horses but was drawn to a KSL add of a little black horse with a questionable history and behavioral problems too big for his current family. We started our rocky journey together as we learned how to communicate with each other. He has taught me, and continues to teach me, new things about myself every single day.
In 2026, I took a meaningful step forward by combining my two greatest passions. I became certified in Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) and Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) under Greg Kersten, the founder of the EAP/EAL model. This work allows me to support clients in powerful, experiential ways that reach beyond traditional talk therapy.
One of the questions I am asked most often is, “Why horses?” My answer is simple: come experience it for yourself. Horses possess an extraordinary ability to guide us back into alignment with our truest selves. What makes them so effective in this work is their honesty. Horses respond authentically to both our verbal and nonverbal communication, offering immediate, unbiased feedback rooted in the present moment.
Their responses invite us to become more self-aware, grounded, and attuned to the “here and now.” Through this process, the gate opens to meaningful insight, healing, and change.
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY
We have worked with Michelle since 2020 and look forward to working with her every summer. Michelle has taught my girls many horse skills but most importantly life skills. She has taught them to be resilient and keep trying even though it’s hard. She has helped build confidence in themselves and their abilities. She teaches with patience and kindness. She encourages my girls to keep going and to try again. She celebrates all the successes in the pasture or accomplishments at home my girls share. Her positivity is contagious! I cannot thank her enough for her positive influence in my girls lives!
— Jenilyn m.
I came to Michelle as a complete beginner in my mid-thirties with no riding experience and more fear than I was willing to admit. What I found at her stable was so much more than horseback riding lessons. Michelle is the kind of instructor who meets you exactly where you are — not where she needs you to be, not where the curriculum expects you to be, but where you actually are on any given day. Her approach is grounded in the Parelli Natural Horsemanship philosophy, which means that before I ever worried about how to ride a horse, I learned how to communicate with one. That foundation changed everything. In eleven lessons (so far) I have overcome a fear of trotting that I carried in my body for over two decades. I have learned to regulate my nervous system in real time, on the back of a moving animal, in ways that no therapist’s office or meditation app ever managed to teach me. I have developed hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and body literacy that I genuinely did not believe were possible to build in my mid-thirties. And I have done all of it feeling completely safe, completely respected, and completely supported. Michelle is calm, direct, honest, and deeply gifted. She communicates with horses and with people the same way — clearly, patiently, and without pretense. She does not give empty praise and she does not rush the process. She builds real horsemanship from the ground up, one honest lesson at a time. If you are considering lessons and you are wondering whether it is too late, whether you are too old, whether you have too much fear or too little experience — I am here to tell you that none of that is true. Michelle will meet you exactly where you are. And she will help you become someone you did not know you were capable of being. I am living proof of that… And I am just getting started!
— karlee P.
“Open Gate is truly a sanctuary. The bond Michelle facilitates between human and horse is powerful, grounded, and deeply healing.”
— Elena K.