6 November 2026
Held at two stunning locations in Hertfordshire
The Leadership Mirror
Retreats: The Leadership Mirror
Most leaders spend their days responding and reacting.
Making decisions. Solving problems. Managing people. Navigating competing priorities. Moving from one challenge to the next.
There isn’t much space to stop and notice how you’re actually leading.
The Leadership Mirror creates that space.
Because sometimes you need to step away to step up.
What to expect
This one-day leadership experience takes you away from your usual routine and into an environment where leadership looks and feels very different.
You’ll spend the morning working alongside horses through a series of facilitated individual and team exercises, revealing patterns in how you lead, communicate and respond to others.
In the afternoon, we’ll move to a countryside sanctuary. Through facilitated coaching, reflection and embodied practices, you’ll have space to explore and integrate what the morning has revealed.
You’ll turn those insights into something you can take back into how you lead every day.
Why horses?
Horses don’t care about job titles, seniority or how persuasive your PowerPoint is. They respond to what’s happening in front of them: your presence, clarity, intention, energy, communication and ability to adapt.
Working with them can make patterns visible quickly:
how you respond when something doesn’t go to plan
whether you lead, follow or take over
how clearly you communicate
how comfortable you are relinquishing control.
what happens when somebody else’s approach works better than yours.
There is no riding involved and no previous experience with horses is needed.
Afternoon reflections
Horses have a remarkable way of making the invisible visible. In the afternoon, we’ll explore
what the horses have shown you
the strengths and qualities you may not recognise in yourself
where your strengths become overplayed
the impact your leadership has on others
You’ll leave seeing your leadership through a different lens — reflected back to you by powerful, intuitive animals. Their response is unfiltered, honest and difficult to ignore.
The horses will hold up the mirror. What will you do with the reflection?
Who is this for?
The Leadership Mirror is for brave leaders willing to step outside the familiar, be curious about what they notice about themselves and open to the possibility that there is something they haven’t yet seen.
It can be experienced individually, but is particularly powerful for senior leadership teams who want to go deeper and understand how they truly connect, how they influence one another, the patterns they have created together and the impact those dynamics have on how they lead.
This isn’t about learning another leadership model. It’s about experiencing your leadership differently.
And being willing to meet the mirror.
The shape of the day
9.30am — Morning with the horses
Welcome and introduction, followed by a series of facilitated equine-assisted leadership exercises and reflection.
1pm — Lunch
We will move from Bayford Hall Farm to have a relaxed and delicious lunch together at Cucumber Fields
2pm — Reflection and integration
Facilitated coaching and reflection to explore what the morning has revealed, followed by embodied practices to help you integrate your insights.
6pm — Close
This is a guide to how the day will unfold. We’ll work with the energy of the group and what emerges on the day, so there may be a little flexibility along the way.
Where and when?
Date: Friday 6 November, 2026
Time: 9.30am to 6pm
Venues: Bayford Hall Farm, near Hertford (morning) and Cucumber Fields, Essendon (afternoon)
Your investment
Individual places: £395 per person
Includes the full-day experience and lunch.
Coming as a team?
The Leadership Mirror can also be run as a private experience for your team, shaped around your people and dynamics. Get in touch to discuss your team and we’ll create a proposal for you.
FAQs
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You will be doing activities with the horses that are designed to elicit specific learning objectives or awareness-building. The activities require no specific skills or experience, but all are hands-on and interactive. There is no right or wrong way for the equine coaching experience to play out. Individuals have unique experiences based on their intentions for the session, along with what they are drawn to doing with the horse.
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Water bottle
Closed-toe shoes are required
Pre-work (if relevant)
Journal and a pen
Your phone if you want to take pictures
An open heart and mind
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All activities for the day are included.
A short pre-work questionnaire to make the most of the day.
Light snacks and water.
We will provide lunch. -
We will be outside for the first half of the day, so bring appropriate layers and wear something comfortable.
Choose clothing and shoes that you don’t mind getting a little muddy. E.g. hiking boots or wellies.
Always wear closed-toed shoes and no sandals, please!
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This workshop will be held outside and interactions with the horses are usually in a sandy arena and require some moving around on uneven ground at the stables. Opportunities to sit down are provided. Talk to us if you have questions, concerns or special requirements to consider.
Why us?
Martina Hodges-Schell
The Leadership Mirror will be hosted by Amy Gallagher and Martina Hodges-Schell. We’ve lived the executive life. Together, we bring over 50 years of combined senior leadership experience in fast-paced, high-pressure environments.
We understand what it’s like to lead under fire – and we know how transformational it can be to stop, breathe and tune back in.
We blend
➻ leadership and strategy expertise;
➻ embodied wellbeing and nervous system regulation;
➻ equine-assisted coaching and experiential learning;
➻ beautiful, soul-nourishing environments;
➻ bespoke design tailored to individual or team needs.
Amy Gallagher
