Shout Out Colorado Interview with Gina M. Barrett about Starting the Wild Baca Ranch Equine Therapy Program

Reprinted with permission by www.shoutoutcolorado.com

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gina M Barrett and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gina M, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I had started a nonprofit, Casa de Paz SLV, to respond to the need for holistic trauma support for asylum seekers, refugees and new immigrants. The original vision for the nonprofit was to provide holistic trauma support retreats on my ranch in south central Colorado. As I began to help my two rescue haflinger painted ponies to recover from their own trauma history, I also experienced my own healing. Specifically around having patience in life and not being so impulsive. Once the horses were settled enough and relaxed, I began letting other people work with them. These people were ranch hands who I trained to work with them. All were very interested in equine therapy and the mental health benefits of working with horses. The horses were very cooperative with them, so I felt it was safe to begin letting the ponies help others with equine therapy for mental health.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Wild Baca Ranch offers equine therapy for private sessions and retreats. What sets up apart from the rest is that Crestone, CO is a place where people come for retreats. It is very remote and there is an energy vortex here, which facilitates rapid transformation. There are many unique rentals to stay in for your retreat that are supportive and free of distractions. Attractions include many temples and sacred energy sites. The restaurants in town cater to those on special dates and we have an “award winning” health food store and cafe. Crestone is also within a 30 – 45 min drive to three unique hot springs. We also have two 14ners (mountains over 14,000′) you can access from the center of town, which many enjoy hiking as a personal goal.

Because, we live here, we are unique. Many of us live off grid and simply. We move through our lives at a much slower pace than those from say the east coast (where I am from). We focus on our creative and personal pursuits rather than on material things. We live here because we want to be our authentic ourselves. I often describe Crestone as Burning Man year round. Most residents agree. Residents include people who want to live in this remote and unique town, as well as creative off grid home builders, healers and many Buddhists.

When you participate in the equine therapy, you will experience the deep nature, wildlife and views here that provide medicine by themselves. The horses just make that experience even more transformative. Because the horses have experienced physical abuse and multiple driving accidents as a charriot racing team, they are very sensitive and will give you feedback immediately. They are also very sweet, loving, understand their job and usually enjoy connecting with clients. They also enjoy giving pony rides as a reward at the end.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would go to one or more of the hot springs of their choice. I like to take people to Valley View Hot Springs, but some don’t like that it is clothing optional. These hot springs and surrounding land trust land create quite a very natural oasis in this high alpine desert region.

We would of course hang out with the horses. I invite guests to engage with them and help with ranch chores, so they have an off grid ranch experience.

We might go to one or more of the local restaurants: The Bliss, Our Food is Art and/or the Elephant Cloud Cafe here in Crestone.

If my visitors ski and it is ski season, we go to Monarch Mountain Ski Resort. After skiing, we might hang out in Salida, CO, which is a small riverside town that offers unique boutique shops, cafes and restaurants.

I also take visitors to the sacred energy sites here in Crestone, which we keep secret. They are only shown to people who we know will respect them.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I am grateful to all my dressage teachers and barn managers at UMass Amherst and Xenophon Farm in Montague, Massachusetts who created a foundation of horsemanship within me. I am also grateful to the natural horsemanship (Parelli style) oriented horse trainers in the San Luis Valley who helped me to feel competent taking this step to offer equine therapy. Michael Lee, founder of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy and his faculty taught me how to facilitate emotional healing.

Website: https://www.ginambarrett.com

Instagram: @wild_baca_ranch and @gina_m_barrett

Facebook: Wild Baca Ranch and Gina M Barrett

Youtube: Gina M Barrett and Casa de Paz SLV

Other: tik tok: @ginambarrett

Bluesky: @ginambarrett

Image Credits
Lori Nagel

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