Dawn Oakley-Smith

Dawn has always had a strong sense of the workings of the human soul and its relationship with the universe. Equal to her passion for equines is her fascination for the subject of Theology, which she studied at Lampeter University in Wales.  At age 15, she met a woman who came to be her mentor, and who introduced Dawn to the I Ching and taught her Astrology.  These two ancient and sacred guides to wisdom have formed the essence of her path. Heartshore was founded when Dawn realised that traditional horsemanship methods did not sit comfortably with her and she began searching for other ways of being with horses. Along with teaching Natural Horsemanship, Dawn began to work with Autists and their families which she has done now for close to 20 years. Dawn’s experience and level of understanding is humbling and awe-inspiring. She continued to work with people and horses therapeutically and out of all this came a strong relationship with Somerset based charity, Key4Life. Key4Life’s mission is to reduce youth re-offending by delivering a programme to those in prison and those at risk of going to prison. Alongside this work is Dawn’s more shamanic, spiritual experience, such as Horse Dance, The Medicine Journey and The Equine-assisted Soul Experience, developed out of an association with Soul Support Systems, an organisation created by Flo Magdalena, author of ‘I Remember Union.’ In 2011 she qualified as a facilitator with IFEEL (International Federation of Equine and Experiential Learning), and is now a senior member of the teaching faculty.  IFEEL developed in the UK out of the work of Linda Kohanov and Kathleen Barry Ingram in Arizona.  The next chapter in Dawn’s work will be with children and adults who suffer from anxiety, with a London-based charity called The Garden School.