We Tried the Ultimate Retreat for Horse Girls
Unbridled Retreats emphasizes the power of equine therapy and female bonding.
On my drive into Alisal Ranch in April, I watched the sun set over dozens of horses grazing in a vast, open pasture. The sprawling destination in Solvang includes more than 10,000 acres of rolling hills, riverbanks, and sycamore groves and is home to more than 100 horses. It was a stunning sight.
I was headed to the ranch to heal. My mother, an animal lover from whom I inherited my love of horses, had passed away from lymphoma when I was 12 years old. Unbridled Retreats at Alisal Ranch regularly hosts retreats for people seeking positive change through the healing power of horses. I hoped to reconnect with her, and with horses—creatures whose calming, sure presence I had missed since I was younger, when we sold ours after my mother passed away.
The retreats were created by Devon Combs. Combs grew up around horses, got her first pony at age five, started riding lessons at 10, and participated in regular competitions when she was 14. “The competitions were about ego and controlling the horse; it was very one-way,” Combs told Thrillist. “I knew intuitively that there was another way of connecting with these animals.”
Combs sold her horse when she left home for college. Around that time, as she navigated big life transitions and complexities within her family, she developed depression and an eating disorder. She dropped out of three colleges and tried multiple therapies and medications before arriving at a treatment center that offered equine therapy. “I didn’t know what equine therapy was,” she says. “I just knew it involved horses and therapy—and I needed some therapy.”
Combs knew from that moment on that she wanted to help others experience what she had. She acquired her equine coaching certification and spent years working 1:1 with clients through her previous company Beyond the Arena, and in 2014 she founded Unbridled Retreats. To date, Combs has welcomed more than 500 women on the retreats, which she holds multiple times a year at select locations across the country (her first men’s retreat is happening this fall).
“It’s important to get people out of the concrete world of a city and into an open space,” she says. “Nature is a vital part of the healing process.”
A couple of the attendees on my retreat were repeat participants, including Sara Wood, Combs’ assistant for the weekend (who is also a graduate of Combs’ Unbridled Equine Coaching certification program). “It saved my life,” Wood said of her experience at the retreat.
Groups at Unbridled Retreats typically have up to 12 participants, lending itself to the kind of intimacy and trust that develops in smaller groups. At the Alisal Arena, Combs took us through the basics—horse safety 101 and how to understand horse behavior. She asked us to take notice of their ears, how one moved back while the other moved forward; horses need to do this—constantly listen—to ensure their well-being. “Horses are prey animals—they rely on their intuition to survive; we rely on our intuition to thrive.” She noted, too, horses’ desire to communicate with us. “Horses are drawn to authenticity,” she says. “They’re free; they’re unbridled—what if each of us could be the same?”
Throughout the retreat, we opened up to each other about our dreams and troubles amongst our horses. One woman shared with the group the hardships of a family situation. As she became more and more vulnerable in her story, her horse—Gentleman Jack—walked up beside her and laid his head over her shoulder—a sight that captivated everyone watching, including one of Alisal’s longtime staff: “I’ve worked with these horses for years, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Beyond our work with the horses, there were ample opportunities to explore the ranch, whether it was boating on the property’s lake, heading to the spa, learning archery, or taking a mixology class at the restaurant. I personally craved more hang time with the animals and found myself repeatedly heading to the barn to visit the goats, pigs, and chickens, where the barn manager let me collect some of that day’s just-laid eggs.
Back in my room, I looked at the photo I had brought with me—one of my mom with her first horse, Newme. Short for “New Mexico,” she and my dad had bought him when they were living in Albuquerque soon after they met and had married in Chicago. In the image, both my mom and Newme look completely at peace in the company of the other. Their tranquility is a comfort to me, and one that within just two days of being around horses and those who love them, I could now relate to. It comforted me, too, knowing how happy she would be that I was surrounded by women and horses that week—and the courageous work demonstrated by both.
On our last day, we all rose early for a breakfast horseback ride to Alisal’s Old Adobe, a historic, rustic grounds tucked deep within the property’s rolling hills and groves. At 8 am, mist was clearing just enough for us to feel rays of California sun beaming down, illuming our path through a dream-like panorama of sycamore trees and lush, green blankets of grass. When we passed Proposal Point, a pristine lookout over Alisal Lake and its surrounding mountains, Combs called out to the group: “Ladies, who here is living their vision?”
We thanked our horses and parted ways with them. Huddling up for a closing ceremony, each participant shared her richest takeaways from the weekend. I expressed what I had only just begun to find words for: That they had helped me to tune into a part of myself—a part I had long quieted—who had connected with my mom through these magnificent creatures.
Before we left, one of the women asked if I’d like to get a photo with me and one of the horses, positioned just like my mother had been with Newme in the photo I had carried with me. It would be one more memento I’d have from the week, alongside the Alisal Arena dirt that Combs and Wood encouraged us to take with us in small jars they had provided, “to remember this place and what happened here.”
The group shared contact information to stay in touch once we all returned home, and Combs gave ideas on ways to stay in touch with horses, too, from volunteer opportunities to half-leases. It’s a reminder, along with Combs’ words—“horses have always been there for us”—that horses and the trails they blaze are never too far out of reach. Especially the ones back to ourselves.
Combs plans to host her next retreat at Alisal Ranch this October, along with three more this year.
