Espresso Energy & Equine Alchemy with Toronto Interdisciplinary Artist Julie Gladstone

As the EEC workshop space at LongRun Farm came to life with a striking new rug, EEC Facilitator Alexandra Rose invited Toronto-based Interdisciplinary Artist Julie Gladstone to visit. Julie's first encounter with the horses would spark an art piece to welcome future participants to the space. 

“I’m so happy to be able to share about my experience visiting LongRun Farm and experiencing a very inspiring session I had with the horses - with Hygge in particular.  I’m a painter, textile artist, musician, performer writer and mom and I’m also involved in the world of somatic healing and the alchemical / creative process through my online yoga school The Creative Altar. 

For me, art is an avenue I use to express the ineffable qualities of life, the multilayered inner world, intergenerational connections, non-linear qualities of time and the invisible energetic fields that I perceive as an energetically sensitive person. Working with the horses has been a very eye-opening experience for me: to encounter other beings who perceive the world energetically and communicate so directly.”    

-Julie Gladstone

Julie had experienced equine learning before, yet she described her time at LongRun as very different to her previous facilitated encounters with horses. She put perfect words to what LongRun and the retired racehorses awaken. The energy, as she experienced it, is very yang - athletic, catalytic, alive. 

At LongRun, every horse is a retired thoroughbred racehorse - horses known for speed, precision, focus, and forward motion - each coming from their own high-octane careers alongside top athletes. Their hearts are physically larger than those of other breeds, and their presence lands fast and deep. 

Upon arriving at LongRun and sitting down for an orientation meditation, Julie reflected that she was already simultaneously experiencing an assortment of emotions and activations - a sense of feeling fully online. She felt her body as buzzing with energy. She compared the feeling to a shot of espresso!

LongRun has that effect!

There is something particular about LongRun Farm, the horses and the facilitators - something difficult to name without experiencing it firsthand. It feels like a missing puzzle piece for people navigating a new era of choosing the freedom to truly create and author themselves and their lives. An era where we are shifting into choosing what we want and who we want to be fully. To move toward desire without hesitation, resistance, self-doubt, or self-sabotage. To go all in. 

After meeting the horses in the barn, Julie felt a special resonance with Hygge, whom she chose to work with in the round pen for a FEEL© (Facilitated Equine Experiential Learning) activity.

“After a heart connection meditation with Hygge, I set an intention that I wanted Hygge to show me how to move into the next phase of my career with a feeling of confidence and love. 

What came next was a very direct demonstration of how I needed to truly stand firm and hold my ground in the face of external influences.  At first I spent a few minutes in the middle of the coral, just observing and trying to figure out what Hygge was trying to express as he moved his body around in a somewhat erratic manner. 

I then decided to move myself to stand into the direction related to my future – and as Hygge repeatedly tried to move into my personal space I was called on to strongly state my boundaries and stand firm.  It was truly remarkable to me how quickly Hygge respected my boundaries when I drew a circle in the sand around me.  It showed me the importance of doing the same when it comes to mindset, setbacks in my career and not letting life challenges stop me from moving forward.”

-Julie Gladstone

Alexandra kept using one word to describe the feeling of Julie's visit: momentous! The day felt so charged, alive, activating and enlivening! They reflected with Eurico Rosa da Silva later about how the space calls people out of hesitation and into motion. Out of self-sabotage and into choice. It holds the frequency of going for it - fully, cleanly, unapologetically. 

Later, Julie reflected on how her espresso machine - which had been in the shop for repair for the last few weeks - had returned that very morning, ready for her first cup. The synchronistic timing was uncanny, providing Julie with a symbol, a feeling representative of the energy and rhythm of her visit. 

“After my session, I felt quite energized and like there was a bubble of joy that wanted to burst out my heart space. It reminded me of my childhood and a time in my life where I was always laughing. The session reconnected me with a desire to make art from this place of energy and the confidence to keep going. 

Following this experience, I’m looking forward to creating a painting for the LongRun workshop space that reflects the energetic, expansive energy of the amazing work being done there. A piece that contains the exuberance of the horses and reflects back the strength that is required when staying true to one’s vision as well as the value in cultivating authentic self-expression.  My intention is for this work to offer inspiration and uplift and support participants who come to LongRun on their healing journeys for years to come!”

-Julie Gladstone