11/30/2025
November Client Spotlight: Shannon | Dala Ranch – Ellensburg, WA
This week’s spotlight is all about Shannon—an incredible horsewoman and business owner behind the beautiful Dala Ranch in Ellensburg. Working with Shannon has been an absolute joy. She brings dedication, grit, humor, and so much heart into everything she does with her horses and her facility. From thoughtful training conversations to plenty of laughs in the arena, she truly makes the work meaningful and fun. I’m honored to be part of her journey with Chief and Oakley and excited to share her story with you all. 💛
1. Give us a quick introduction about you and your horse(s)? Tell us your name, your horse’s name and age, and what their personality is like.
Hi, I’m Shannon and my horses are Chief and Oakley. Chief is a 10-11 grade gelding. Oakley is 5 Yakima Rez horse. Chief is a very smart, laid back, kind horse, who loves eating. His nickname is short round. Oakley is a very stubborn, curious horse, no personal space and will be the first to the gate.
2. How long have you been part of the M4X Horsemanship program?
We have been working with M4X Horsemanship since the beginning of May.
3. What first drew you to your horse, or how did you two become a team?
My husband actually found the ad for chief and my first response was you can’t buy pretty. (He has the bluest eyes) I went to look at him and he actually did show very well but I had a gut feeling. I got on him and we did a lot of circles, he was very green broke but didn’t offer to buck or act out when frustrated. I decided that this was a horse I could work with.
Oakley was more of an impulse buy. I had a friend that said these horses needed to be adopted. Turns out they were wild Yakima Rez ponies.
4. What’s something you and your horse have really improved on together during your time in the M4X Horsemanship program?
Leveling up. I think with Chief we got as far as we were going to get on our own. Without M4X horsemanship we probably would have gotten in a routine of doing the same stuff over and over with maybe some slight improvement on things. In this program we have highlighted gaps and focusing on our own goals as a team. She does a great job identifying like 5 small things to work on from each lesson that improve the whole riding experience with my horse.
5. What’s your favorite exercise, drill, or type of ride to work on as a team?
I think she has a million drills in her back pocket. I swear there is a new one each time.
Probably the ones where she draws it in the sand and I go in confused and drunk looking with my horse. By the end of it we are succeeding and it is no longer intimidating. That is definitely a great feeling.
6. What’s one challenge you’ve worked through with your horse?
Chief is very smart and lazy. That makes a challenging combo because he was an expert at finding ways to get out of work. I would feel like we worked through one thing and something else would then come up. Now we are fine tuning our communication and requiring more from Chief.
Oakley got a rough start under saddle with someone else, so we are restarting him. I have a lot of feelings and frustration, mostly directed at me.
7. If your horse had a superpower, what would it be and how would they use it?
Chief- I think of I dream of genie. Like he would wiggle his nose and food would appear.
Oakley- I think it would be to breathe under water. He loves playing in water.
8. What’s your 6-month goal for you and your horse, either in the arena or out on the trail?
Chief- I would like to be neck reining and have him better using his whole body properly.
Oakley- To be more confident under saddle.
9. What’s something your horse has taught you—about riding, patience, or even life?
My horses have taught me is grace and humility. Giving grace to both myself and them. Some days as riders we are having off days and some days they are having off days. I think horses are also the first to knock us down a few pegs. They are very telling animals, I think it’s very important to be reflective about how we interact and train with them. Normalize saying well that didn’t work and trying something new.
10. What’s your favorite part about working with your horse through the M4X program?
Mackenzie!! I love having someone to talk horses, philosophy, techniques and training with. It’s great to have someone confirm your thinking or approach it with a different perspective and ideas.
She does a great job of finding the balance of being a cheerleader, correcting and coaching. I don’t feel self conscious and am comfortable asking questions, even if they feel dumb. Most importantly we laugh and joke, it creates a lite atmosphere. I never walk away from lessons feeling less, I feel confident, happy and my brain going a mile a minute over all the things we did.
