Laurel Griffin – Chief Horse Officer
Laurel is the contracted Equine Service Provider for the Municipal District of Rocky View West. She works with thirteen schools in Cochrane. Laurel has had the privilege of working with the local schools for a number of years now. The combination of the horses and Equine Assisted Learning have had great impact for the students and schools.
Laurel Griffin has been around horses since the day she was born. She has an extensive background and history within the horse industry of Alberta. Though she grew up with a rich ranching background in the foothills of Alberta, Laurel has worked extremely hard to create the Spirit Winds Ranch concept. Becoming an Equine Specialist in numerous horse related modalities. Laurel has built a unique equine experience. She is the founder, and independent operator of Spirit Winds Ranch.
(NOTE: THOUGH SHE COINCIDENTALLY SHARES THE GRIFFIN LAST NAME IN PRINT, SHE IS A COMPLETELY SEPARATE ENTITY FROM THE GRIFFIN VALLEY RANCH).
Laurel honed her horse skills through the local Cochrane Pony Club and then moved on to a successful show career on the “A” circuit across North America . One of the high lights being a top ten Open Jumper finish at the World Paint Show in Reno Nevada.
Laurel has instructed ridding and horsemanship for the past 30 years
It is her more recent work with horses that she has deepened her relationships with them. Formerly a skeptic of natural horsemanship and alternative equine modalities, she is now known as the “Horse Sensei” around Spirit Winds Ranch and takes natural horsemanship and horse connections to a new level.
She has completely retooled her ranch to reflect these horse powered connections and is happy to share the experiences of connecting with horses in this new way.
Read more about Laurel on the Horse Spirit Connections website.
Our Team
The volunteers are a community of energetic experienced people. We are all inspired by the idea of bringing the power and magic of horses to benefit youth, families and community.
We are a passionate team committed to providing high quality and engaging programs. Our combined experience, love of horses, and training as Equine Assisted Learning facilitators enables us to provide positive impacts through our learning with horses programs.

