Carly Johns
Carly is a PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor (CTRI). She brings over 20 years of experience as an equine professional to Healing with Horses Ranch. Her first ride in her home state of Georgia at the age of eight didn’t go as planned. She did, however, receive her first lesson in resilience as she learned what “getting back on the horse” truly meant. Carly believes that through a partnership with horses we learn resilience, empathy, patience, persistence, and authenticity. She has a passion for facilitating connections between horses & humans, so that they may both benefit from the relationship.
Carly’s success competing in hunter/jumpers as a youth earned her a scholarship to ride for the University of South Carolina, where she was a member of the three time National Championship winning hunt seat team, and captain of the 2007 National Championship Equestrian Team. After college, she headed west to Austin and started her career as an equine professional. Her students and their equine partners have been successful competitors at the local, national, and collegiate level. She has taken riders from their first foot in the stirrup, to their highest jump. They not only have learned the skills needed to be successful in the saddle, but have also benefited from all around horsemanship lessons that carry over to their lives outside of the barn. Carly teaches that all aspects of horse care can be beneficial, from practicing mindfulness observing their behavior, to learning responsibility cleaning a stall. While working at show barns throughout Austin, she also spent time volunteering at Healing with Horses Ranch. After ten years of volunteering, she decided to become PATH certified and officially joined the team. In addition to being a PATH Intl. CTRI, Carly is an Equine Specialist (ES) through EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association) and trained in the Natural Lifemanship model. She is currently pursuing her Master's degree in counseling & working towards becoming an LPC. Outside of the Ranch, you can find her enjoying Austin’s vibrant live music scene or making her own scene as a self-proclaimed karaoke queen.