Dunrovin Ranch transitions from SuzAnne to Maddie

Dunrovin Ranch is delighted to introduce you to Maddie Borntraeger. Maddie first came to Dunrovin Ranch in the summer of 2024 when she provided horseback riding lessons through her own business Flutterby Holistic Equine Therapy which she had started in the small community of Whitehall, Montana (about 160 miles east of Dunrovin). The distance between the two locations limited her involvement with Dunrovin at that time. However, she has since moved to Florence, Montana, which is only 15 miles south of Dunrovin. Hence, when she heard that Dunrovin Ranch owner, SuzAnne Miller, had become critically ill, she reached out to see if she could be of service. Little did she know that SuzAnne was looking for far more than some help. SuzAnne’s medical challenges are such that she needs to completely retire from owning and operating the horsemanship aspects of the guest ranch business, thus Maddie’s offer to help has turned into a full transition of the Dunrovin Ranch horse program from SuzAnne to Maddie.

As you might imagine, it is a complex, difficult, and emotional process to find the right person to trust with Dunrovin Ranch’s many years of building a business centered on quality horsemanship services and experiences for both people and animals, while simultaneously integrating with the DaysAtDunrovin social engagement platform. Neither Maddie nor Dunrovin take such a transition lightly. We have established a phased-in process to ensure both Dunrovin Ranch’s and DaysAtDunrovin’s legacies while also fully passing the baton to Maddie so she can unhesitatingly express her own creativity and expertise to sustain and grow the business.

SuzAnne is deeply grateful for the community interest and support Dunrovin Ranch has received over the past 25 years. She hopes Dunrovin’s long-time friends, clients and supporters will welcome Maddie with open arms, provide her with all the support and encouragement needed to ensure her success, and help her breathe new life into this little piece of paradise along the Bitterroot River that we all love.

Introducing Maddie Borntraeger

As you read Maddie’s bio below, you will see why Dunrovin Ranch is confident that Maddie is the right fit for carrying Dunrovin Ranch into the future. She shares our values about people and animals, she has successfully developed and operates her own horsemanship business called Flutterby Holistic Equine Therapy (see her Facebook Page), and she brings a whole new set of experiences, bag of tricks, and expertise to partner people with horses for the well-being of both.

Maddie’s bio in her own words

After a few years of traveling I was drawn back to equine assisted services and my passion for helping people. This led me back to Florida to acquire my Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor certification through PATH International at Hope Therapy. During my mentorship at Hope Therapy I was trained in Hippotherapy and gained experience in counseling and working with at-risk youth.

I enjoyed living, working and adventuring in many different states, especially ones with all four seasons after growing up in Florida. Strangely, I have always dreamed of riding horses in Montana as a child, yet it took me until 5 years ago for my travels and life to finally steer me here. I came to Montana the summer of 2021 to work on another guest ranch running trail rides, where I ended up managing the horse program and gaining a new (pinnacle and gorgeous) point of view. Before the end of my second summer in Montana I fell in love with and purchased my first horse. I also fell in love with Montana and have since grown roots and a whole herd.  

While starting and growing my personal LLC business, Flutterby Holistic Equine Therapy, in 2023 I decided to also acquire my ESMHL, Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning certificate, to further assist different groups in Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies.

My goal has always been to own and operate my own ranch and lesson program and I have been working toward this goal explicitly for the last 2 years. I look forward to flourishing with this new partnership while building new relationships and growing as a business as well as community.

In conclusion, I love sharing the magic horses hold with any and everyone, any chance I get!

**What is a CTRI**

The PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor (CTRI) is a credential for individuals in the equine-assisted services (EAS) profession who provide riding instruction and therapeutic value to people with disabilities. This may include mounted or unmounted work ethically partnering with an equine. PATH Intl. CTRIs have met established criteria and standards of practice in the field. They have demonstrated their knowledge of disabilities, equines, teaching and human-animal interactions.

**What is a ESMHL**

A PATH Intl. Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning (ESMHL) ensures the safety and well-being of the equine participating in equine-facilitated mental health and learning sessions. The ESMHL serves as the equine expert during equine/human interactions and works with mental health or education providers to ethically incorporate equines in their practice, within the scope of their profession. An ESMHL must be knowledgeable in horsemanship and understands how to collaborate with a mental health therapist and/or educator to best meet the client’s needs and keep the lesson safe.

Debi Lorenc – Website: RedEggGallery.com

ARTIST STATEMENT

I create. I most often use a camera, but also a pencil, a pen, a brush, or any combination of materials. It can be a hectic street scene, a deeply shadowed canyon, the curious glance of a stranger, or a worn and abandoned glove. Each image seems to be a story that hasn’t been told yet. Or if it’s been told once, it’s now already folded itself back into its own still and quiet mystery and is begging to be told again in another new and unexpected way.

CONCEPT STATEMENT

This is Aethon, it is an ancient Greek word that means “burning”, “blazing” or “shining.”

Helios (Ovid, Metamorphoses 2.153)

Meanwhile the sun’s swift horses, Pyroïs, Eoüs, Aethon, and the fourth, Phlegon, fill the air with fiery whinnying, and strike the bars with their hooves.

Smoke gets in your eyes and in your lungs and in your house and in your spirit. It clouds your vision, chocks your breath, dirties your home, and engulfs your soul. In western Montana, fire is a natural part of the landscape and plays an integral role in its ecology. Losing a home to a forest fire is a tragedy. Losing a life to fighting a fire is unspeakably grievous. Fire sweeping through the forest is part of nature’s renewal.

For many, many years, we humans thought we could control it, that we could keep the beast at bay, that we could infiltrate the forests without consequence or danger, and that we could make it our own. This is not to be. The vast green forests covering the eastern slopes of the Bitterroot Mountains that form our valley have been our windows’ scenic backdrop for over a century. It is part and parcel of our place, our home, our favorite hiking and riding trails, and secret fishing holes. Our hearts weep for their loss. Our hearts break for those whose homes have been destroyed and for whose lives have been turned upside down.

The smoke, the fire, and our responses to it now dominate every aspect of our valley. Our sense of danger has been on alert for over a month. We’ve endured countless nights without sleep. We’ve felt the ash, rather than much-needed water, rain down upon us and have scurried to get the hoses running lest the ashes turn to flames. We’ve hacked and coughed and covered our mouths with scarves. We’ve texted and tweeted and posted our needs for assistance and our availability to respond. It has been horrific.

So what now? As summer slides into fall, as temperatures begin to drop, and as winter rains and snows promise to relieve us of this fire, how do we accept it all? How do we grieve what is gone, let go of our anxiety, assess what is left, bind our wounds and heal our hearts, wrap our minds around the naturalness of it, and begin to embrace our changed landscape?

Dunrovin Ranch, together with Spirit Dance Equine Coaching, and Harlequin author Danica Winters, invite valley residents to come together in a retreat setting to begin the healing process by telling our stories, sharing our fears and frustrations, passing along the many small gifts of generosity and kindness that have accompanied our communal struggle, opening our hearts and minds to our new landscape, and seeing beyond the burn to the renewal.

The retreat grew out of earlier plans that we had for hosting a women’s Living with Passions Retreat. However, as the time drew near, both Lynn Baskfield and I felt the need to refocus and address the enormous impact of the fire on our lives. Here is Lynn’s beautiful explanation:

“Just a few days ago, I was part of a Sacred Listening gathering in central Minnesota. There I had the privilege of meditating as I held the hide of a small black bear. As I sat quietly and listened to her spirit, she showed me an image of the Montana fires and said, “My brothers and sisters are distressed. The wild animals are dying. We are having to leave our homes. More is being lost in the fires than you human beings can imagine. Instead of the retreat you had planned, you must go and offer medicine… to the animals, the earth and the people.”

In this way, I’ve been guided to change the nature of the Living with Passion retreat I had originally planned for September 8 – 10 to respond to what is actually happening. Instead, I am doing Fire Medicine, and I invite all who live near and far to come and use your passion to heal the animals and the land.

We will start with our stories—of animals saved or lost, of grief and the grace that is present within our losses as well. We’ll end the weekend with a medicine wheel we build together on the land, In ceremony, anchored at the four directions by the Dunrovin horses, we will offer our prayers and intentions for the animals and the earth.”

Retreat Schedule:

FRIDAY

Friday evening we will come together at 6 p.m. (please eat dinner before arriving) and make talking sticks in preparation for the stories people come to share. Each person who attends Friday night will be asked to bring a stick from your land, yard or from a part of the forest that has been burned. We’ll quiet our minds and decorate the talking sticks for the community to use the next day. Decorating materials provided.

The talking stick is an indigenous tool to help us speak honestly and listen from our hearts. In a circle, only the one holding the talking stick speaks. All others listen. With the talking stick, we make room for all voices, outgoing and shy alike. You can speak or not when the stick comes to you, and you will know if there is something there for you to say.

REGISTER HERE

SATURDAY

Saturday morning we will gather to walk among the horses, sit in the pasture, and listen to the heartbeat of animal and earth. We’ll spend some time “just being,” like the animals, attending to what we are experiencing in the present moment. We’ll do some journal writing as we reflect on the thoughts and feelings that come up.

Saturday afternoon we’ll tell our stories. Depending on the size of the group, we’ll break into small groups of 5 people. Each group will be given a talking stick to pass as a reminder to speak honestly and listen to self and others from the heart. When each group is done, a spokesperson from the group will share gems with the larger group. We’ll reconfigure into new groups of five and share again. Again, a spokesperson will share with the larger group. To close, we’ll ask for shares about what people learned about self and others from hearing each other’s stories.

Bring a bag lunch. Snacks and water provided.

REGISTER HERE

SUNDAY

Sunday morning we’ll create a Medicine Wheel on the Dunrovin land. You will learn medicine wheel teachings and experience a Medicine Wheel Ceremony, bringing your own prayers and intentions for healing in community with others.  The horses will be present to teach and guide us.

REGISTER HERE

Costs and Logistics:

Dunrovin Ranch, Spirit Dance Coaching, and Danica Winter are all waiving the fee for the three days. We are substituting love offerings to help defray costs. Our suggestion is $25 for each day. If you can’t afford that, offer what you can. Anything you choose to donate over that will be given to local organizations that have been protecting and evacuating pets and livestock during the fires.

You may come one, two or all three days. REGISTER HERE