Hi {ContactFirstName},

Hard to believe it is August already.  The summer has flown by with many wonderful days spent with family and friends.

We have been welcomed back to do a 2-day Women's Leadership retreat for a client.  Last year we had a phenomenal time with these women exploring leadership with a herd of horses.  They walked away with many individual and collective lessons about themselves, how they show up in their leadership roles and in their relationships, the impact of their feelings on their actions, and a new awareness of how to utilize themselves in accomplishing their goals and dreams.   

The location for the Leadership retreat this year will be in Freemont Indiana at Wild Winds Buffalo Preserve.  I had the pleasure to visit Wild Winds last week with my mother and experience the beauty of this place.  It sets on 400+ acres of sacred land with over 200 head of buffalo, with many new born calves frolicking around their mothers and 15 horses.  

The owner of the preserve, John, showed us around in a 2-seater Polaris (4 wheel all train vehicle).  We entered the horse herd where I got to integrate and visit with each of the horses.  They cautiously and curiously allowed me to engage with them in just being together. 

Then we moved to the buffalo herd.  John instructed us not to touch the buffalo and to stay inside the Polaris.  He called to the herd and a large bull slowly approached him.  John pulled out a cut up apple and began feeding the bull.  The bull has been with John since the inception of this buffalo preserve and is the only buffalo that can be hand fed.  

As John fed the bull, another bull moved to my side of the Polaris and was soon within 10 feet of my arm.  Some of the mothers gathered around with their babies, and soon we surrounded on all four sides by buffalo.  It was a little intimidating to be so close to an animal that is wild yet it was a breathtaking and beautiful experience.

John soon ran out of apples and the bull started shaking his head (kind of like, oh no... I want more!), so we moved the Polaris away from them and watched them slowly walk away.  What an amazingly beautiful experience, one that will stay with me forever.

If you are looking for a unique experience to take the family on, check out Wild Winds Buffalo Preserve.  They offer tours of the buffalo herd daily and have a cafe where they serve meals of made from buffalo meat.  It's a short 3 hours drive on the turnpike from Cleveland, and is sure to be something you & your family will remember for years to come. 

We will be doing the Leadership retreat at the end of September.  I'm sure the serenity of the land, the sacred nature of the buffalo, the spirit of the horses and the collective group will provide each person a renewed sense of self, an appreciation of nature, along with some profound personal and leadership lessons.  

Wishing you all that is good in life! 

Sue E. Thomas

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