Bodhi Tree Equestrian

05/20/2024

I love what I'm privileged enough to do!

05/02/2024

Love this!

05/02/2024

Proud ✨️ of my girl, "Icey" 🥂🧊 today!

I'm just so happy with how far she's come working with Apline Equestrian!!

05/02/2024

04/30/2024

04/29/2024

Once was just too much! 😅

04/29/2024

I haven't updated this page since 2020 and figured a photo dump of my beautiful horses, and some the horses I am privileged enough to love and care for, was very appropriate! 🥰

04/29/2024

✨️ My workplace, my home 🏡 away from home and 👩‍🌾 where my personal therapists/horses 🦄 live!


"Horses reflect our emotions, while at the same time they seem to know how to give us exactly what we need to soothe our pain." - unknown to me.

04/28/2024

Working ❤️ the young horses today!

Icey

04/25/2024

The Army has given an update on the poor horses and riders who were injured when the horses got loose on the streets of London this morning

Read more via link below

04/25/2024

My friend Lauren's Windy Ridge Farm is one of my most favorite places on this planet! Lauren has always made room for me and my horses when we need a place to stay. I love it out there so very much. Lauren has always made her farm feel like a home away from home for me!

04/25/2024

"Icey" aka Champagne On Ice 🥂🧊 representing her breed; a Tennessee Walking Horse (TWHBEA), a Spotted Saddle Horse (SSHBEA), and the Champagne Horse (ICHR).

04/16/2024

Bodhi Tree Equestrian has joined forces with Apline Equestrian!

With Apline Equestrian, I have found a mentor who is teaching me to see horses from a different perspective. I am enjoying learning all I can from Susanne Payne and passing our shared passion and knowledge on to my students!

While I worked at a dressage barn in Gig Harbor, I paid attention to the things that truly interested me in this equestrian lifestyle and industry. I found that caring for the entire horse is a true passion of mine. I love the sport of horseback riding, yet I love the horse more. I enjoy caring for the horse's spirit, their bodies, and their minds.

During the pandemic, *Icey and I were invited to stay on the native reservation in Indianola. I learned I enjoyed being as natural, yet realistic as possible about the care of my horses, and the horses I had in my charge.

My young, amber champagne *Tennessee walking horse, "Champagne On Ice" aka Icey is giving lessons when it's appropriate for both her and the rider(s). My newest horse, a Turbo/Barock Friesian named, "Scotch On The Rocks" aka Scotchy is slowly, carefully, and correctly being introduced into our program. Apline Equestrian has access to many wonderful horses we can use for horseback riding lessons!

Since returning to the equestrian community in 2019 I've run into old friends and have made many new ones! Such as students, parents, and other working equestrians like myself. I've been blessed to have many of these wonderful people return to me or follow me from another barn to my new barn; Stormy Acres Ranch!

I'm excited to be where I'm at!
Susanne and I are currently taking on students and horses! We would be excited to talk to you about what we can do for you and your horse!

- Julie Gibbs-Churchley
Bodhi Tree Equestrian
Assistant Trainer to Apline Equestrian.

__________ ☆_________
Pictured is "Calypso Breeze" at Stormy Acres Ranch this afternoon.

04/05/2024

I enjoyed my time spent with Kellenbrook Farms, the horses, and the clientele. I needed a place to start my journey back into the equestrian industry, and KBF was a great place to do just that. I came to love so many horses and humans there at Kellenbrook Farms and I'll miss them all so very much. I've found my path back into this world. I had a good place to start again that I'll never forget and I'll be forever grateful.

02/26/2024

Hands ✋️

01/24/2024

01/16/2024

"❄️Livestock owners❄️
🐄🐎🐑🐐🫏🐓
✅ Check in ✅
Animals good? You ok? Wanna talk about it?"

10/14/2023

Using outside rein to turn correctly vs. Inside rein ......

This is why we turn the horse with the outside rein while the inside rein just asks for flection to point him in the direction.

05/24/2023

Pleas help my amazing sister get through the next chapter of her life! Any amount will help! Please share https://gofund.me/518511a5

04/07/2023

Icee 🥂🧊 and I are ✨️ so happy at 🍃️ Windy Ridge Farm! 🚜

04/07/2023

Friendly reminder ☺️

03/16/2023

01/12/2023

Icee was SPICEY today! 🍾🧊

12/18/2022

Icee 🥂🧊 and I 💁‍♀️ hope y'all are having a wonderful holiday 🍾 season! 🥰

12/08/2022

🍂❄️ "Champagne On Ice" aka Icee 🥂🧊 has the rest of the year off to be a baby horse and just enjoy life!

11/26/2022

Remember the dread-headed cowboy from Chicago?

11/20/2022

🥂🧊 Icee has already settled into her new home 🏡 and she has also been in heat.. so Ice has been extra friendly towards the handsome geldings around her at 🍂 Windy Ridge Farm.

Both Ice and myself enjoy getting "off the farm" to go exploring 🥰 more than just about anything else we do together, but today we were given the opportunity to work on ourselves in the arena. Glad we took it! Ice reminded me that she's only three, with maybe 60 rides on her at this point. 👩‍🌾 I had already decided it was time to change up her training program, just a little, in all the right ways for where she's at physically, mentally, and for her breed type. Spending time in the arena again will give us the opportunity to refine ourselves, before Icee gets the winter off.

We're still going slow 🐌 and trying to be as light ✨️ as possible. A lot of walk work, and a little gaited work. We have also successfully cantered three times now, the longest being an entire 12 strides! Icee tried just pacing like a camel 🐫 and I had to push her into a ➡️ real horse canter. That will be enough cantering for the rest of the year.

Icee and I have ridden off the farm alone. We've gone swimming in the 🌊 ocean, the Puget Sound. We have hauled out a handful of times and riden with different friends, but we haven't done any arena work after the initial first 30 days of 🐎 training, and it shows.

Icee was spicey 🍾 heading into the arena! It was her first time in there. Ice calmed down after a few minutes. We did a lot of walk work and she was learning how to respond to the bit with a rider in the saddle. She kicked out at my heel when I tapped her on her side with it, after she was ignoring my leg 🦵 Icee seemed to find it annoying that I 🤣 laughed at her reaction and wasn't the least bit phased. We did do a little bit of gaited work as well, but not much. After 20mins she was done ✔️ I asked for a few more minutes, then let her be done.

Icee's 🦄 currently working/riding with a western saddle on her back and a loose ring snaffle in her mouth. We will be using the saddleseat saddle more in the arena. 💁‍♀️ We have more time to work with each other now, maybe we'll show a little bit this coming season?