Helen Johnson
Owner & Trainer
The setting is the Nevada desert… young Helen is scampering to keep up with her geologist father. While his attention is focused on the landscape, Helen is mesmerized by a pack of wild mustangs. The focus that took hold on those trips with her father has never let go. A rider since the age of 7, Helen Johnson has always loved horses and the outdoors, so it was a natural step for her when she moved to the Northwest to purchase a piece of land in an idyllic forested area with a working horse stable on it. It was this property that she launched the BlackHawk Natural Horsemanship Center on.
With her passion for horses and ongoing learning, Helen gains a great deal of fulfillment from the opportunity to work with, teach and train people who share those passions. She has always had an instinct for Natural Horsemanship and has been studying Natural Horsemanship theory, techniques and practices for nearly a decade, studying annually with Bryan Neubert and Joe Wolter.
Helen and her family live on the BlackHawk property, enjoying the opportunity to be close to nature and horses every day. Her daughters have followed closely in her footsteps, being passionate about horses. They’ve got a great trainer and compete regularly in vaulting.
Caitlin Day Huntress
Head Trainer
Caitlin Day Huntress first gained notoriety for her work in Dressage, but it was her passion to understand horses and people that gave her the ability to teach so prolifically. Caitlin pulls from her life experience when she teaches. With analogies and story, she brings a focus of dance, body perception, personal awareness and meditation into the world of horsemanship. These practices are incorporated into her lessons and training, and have created the five principles of Huntress Horsemanship; Grounding, Creating Space, Listening, Flexibility and Development. By incorporating these principles into the lives of her students and horses, everything becomes possible. This is how Caitlin can guarantee her teaching and training results!