I am grateful for my good fortune in having Erin Menut assigned as my lead facilitator during my Equine Facilitated Learning training in the Eponaquest Master Herder Program.
Erin comes across as a very nice, quiet, reflective person. Ongoing interaction with her reveals a thoughtful, deliberative, kind and diligent person who pays great attention to detail. When asked to take on an extra task or shoulder an additional burden, I never heard her say no. For three months she showed a willingness to be responsive to multiple demands.
One of her greatest gifts is her ability to offer suggestions and corrections without any tinge of criticism. She made it easy to follow her lead, gentle as it was. She managed not only to supervise our two nine day sessions in Arizona, but also to guide us during the six week interim where our group assembled a presentation to be delivered in a group workshop presented to a local non-profit. Her job required oversight of our writing and keeping us on task while we were back home busy with our daily lives. In the end, our two day workshop went smoothly and successfully, in great measure because of the leadership she provided.
Our 18 days of intensive personal training in Arizona included many stumbles in our small group as we grappled with new information, a strict format of delivery and work with horses that was completely new to even the most experienced in our group. Erin always provided encouragement, recognizing success first before offering alternative descriptions to help us understand the new relationship we were creating in our horse work and to own the material in our own words for the classroom presentations.
I hold her in high regard as both a teacher and a leader. And I am happy to call her friend.
– Galen Miller, Venturing Awareness, Co-Owner & Operator of the Arabian Nights Dinner Show Program in Orlando, FL.
I’ve had the opportunity to work directly with Erin at Eponaquest for well over 20 days – first in a workshop she co-facilitated, and, later, through my 5 Roles of a Master Herder accelerated Equine Facilitated Learning certification. Erin was the lead instructor in the final phase of certification and led me and my colleagues through workshop preparation, practice, and the actual workshop facilitation.
Throughout my experience, Erin demonstrated exceptional leadership skills and advanced EQ (Emotional Intelligence) abilities. She created and maintained a safe place to learn, to grow, to make mistakes and to celebrate successes. As with any group, we were a diverse bunch, yet, we were a highly productive cohort – always maintaining respect and admiration of each other’s unique abilities. This accomplishment was because of Erin’s ability to listen, acknowledge and ensure the environment was always focused on the positive. Her facilitation skills are superb and I learned so much from Erin. She has a truly unique ability to be calm, patient and loving no matter what is happening in the environment. I cannot recommend her enough. In fact, Eponaquest itself is the highest quality equine facilitation program available today, there is no other that even comes close. I’m grateful to have found it and will be back for more.
-Amy Buck, Owner, Liberation and Leadership Coach at Wisdom Ridge Ranch, Fiddletown, CA
Erin contributed to my professional growth by being an example of what we were learning and practicing. More than words or verbal reasoning, her experiential examples in the round pen and paddocks gave us more information than any critical or positive feedback ever possibly could.
Her constant, sincere praise lifted my spirit and self-confidence.
Erin was always responsive, attentive, and compassionate with her detailed responses and suggestions. She never let one email go unanswered and payed attention to each member of our group with loving care.
Erin’s display of gratitude and gentleness in word and action in all of our experiential encounters and exercises offered benchmark examples of how to further my personal communication skills with both human and other-than-human beings.
The acceptance and joy of being in the present moment and “going with the flow” during conversation and one-on-one facilitation with the horses create and environment rich for learning.”
-Amanda Ball, Equine Therapist, Memphis, TN
