We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Samantha Hoffman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Samantha below.

Alright, Samantha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My journey to starting Joy For Horses and Equine Energetics began in 2020. I was working as a Therapeutic Horseback Riding Instructor and Program Director at a local Therapeutic Riding Center when the pandemic began. Through my teaching, I had personally witnessed the profound emotional benefits people gained from working with horses. The shift during Covid highlighted an important need for safe, outdoor spaces where people could find connection, peace, healing, and a sense of belonging, often through interaction with animals.

My own experience reinforced this belief. Spending countless hours with my horse Brassy always brought me a sense of peace and well-being. During the pandemic, I deepened my knowledge by getting Reiki attuned and diving deeper into energetic and spiritual work. This led me to recognize the unique healing capacity of horses beyond traditional methods.

I began to explore how to blend my passion for helping people, my expertise with horses, and my understanding of energetics and personal development into a viable business. I started by offering practice sessions to friends to gather feedback and refine the new modality.

In 2023, I launched meditation and Reiki circles, which were an immediate success. The first two years I held a few circles and a longer half day retreat. By January 2025, I made the decision to prioritize Equine Energetics. My lesson horses were aging but still had much to offer in a slower-paced, non-riding capacity, as they ease into semi-retirement.

This year, I have successfully hosted 13 meditation and Reiki circles with the help of several wonderful co-facilitators. I also expanded the practice to include one-on-one Reiki sessions and hands-on connection sessions with the horses. My deep faith and trust in this work stem from my personal healing experiences and the hundreds of successful client interactions I had previously facilitated at various therapeutic riding centers and through Joy For Horses.

Samantha, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For as long as I can remember, horses have been a constant passion. Any time I saw a horse, I was drawn to it. All my favorite childhood toys were horses. If I could find a way to incorporate horses into any school projects or reports, I would.
I distinctly remember the first time I rode a horse when I was seven years old. We were on a family trip to Lake Tahoe for the summer and there was a stable that offered trail rides. I was a very anxious child, and very hesitant to do many activities so my family was a bit surprised that I was willing and excited to get on a large horse with no hesitation. The ride was going really well until the end when Rocky, the horse I was riding, decided to start trotting down a hill! I remember my grandma, who was riding behind me, yelling “Pull back! Pull back!”. Everyone waited with baited breath to hear about my experience, sure that I was so frightened I would never want to ride again! However I surprised everyone yet again and was so happy I asked to come back the next day!
After going on as many trail rides as I could on that vacation, my parents signed me up for one week of horse camp later that summer. I loved it so much I asked to return the very next week! The following summer, we repeated this cycle, trail riding as many times as I could in Lake Tahoe and returning for 2 weeks of horse camp. I soaked up as much horse time and knowledge as I could in the meantime, checking out every book in our library (more than once) and asking for horse related gifts for holidays and birthdays.
In the fourth grade, our school taught us how to make a powerpoint presentation for our California History Mission reports. I decided to create a side project titled “Why You Should Buy Me A Horse” for my parents. I was extremely persuasive and even had several slides in my presentation showing my parents how owning a horse would actually be an investment and we would make money. I was quite the budding entrepreneur! Although they found the file before my pitch, my commitment was clear, leading them to enroll me in weekly riding lessons, prioritizing education over immediate horse ownership.
One of our family values is education. My parents did not initially buy me a horse (much to my dismay as a child) but they invested in my education. I was in weekly lessons, leasing horses multiple days a week, and even had an opportunity to compete on my trainer’s horse and win a regional championship! When I was a senior in high school, and finally had my driver’s license, my parents bought me my first horse.
Looking back, I have so much gratitude for my parents for not only supporting my passion, but for providing me with the education to excel in this field. Although I couldn’t see it at the time, I now see that by investing in my education they set me up for having such a successful business and career path today.
After graduating from SDSU, I began working as a therapeutic riding instructor. Blending my equine knowledge with an understanding of the special needs community, inspired by my speech therapist mother, I witnessed the profound, transformative magic of horses through a new lens. This experience cemented my commitment to helping people through equine partnerships.

Today, through my businesses, Joy For Horses (now 5 years old) and Equine Energetics (just finished its first year), I continue this mission. I adopt a holistic, student-led approach, prioritizing safety and going at the student’s pace. My clients come to me seeking connection—with horses, themselves, and me. I love fostering their passion, teaching the life lessons horses impart, and empowering them both as riders and individuals. I love teaching riders the nuanced details of dressage, and how subtle cues and shifts in their aids can influence the horse and their movement. I love helping people—many of whom are neurodiverse—overcome fears, anxiety, or feelings of being lost. Figuring out how to best connect with each student and seeing them apply the tools learned from horses to their lives at school and home brings me immense joy and pride. The healing I have facilitated and witnessed during my reiki circles and sessions is profound. The impact I make on those I meet truly fills my heart. I couldn’t be more proud of how my businesses have grown and all the different people I have had the pleasure of connecting with throughout the years.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

The year 2020 was defined by the word “pivot,” and for me, that held true. I had just been promoted to program director at a therapeutic riding center at the beginning of 2020, only to have everything come to a halt a few months later due to Covid. We faced many challenges at the center, including figuring out how to safely reopen, especially with immunocompromised clients and numerous volunteers.

Despite the promotion, the desire for a change had been a quiet whisper for a while. The pandemic’s sudden halt and slowdown finally gave me the clarity to recognize that it was the right moment to make a decisive move. In October 2020, I left the center and launched my own lesson program, Joy For Horses.

My goal was to offer students a safe, one-on-one space, allowing for flexible comfort levels. We implemented strict safety protocols: maintaining over six feet of distance, ensuring handwashing, and masking when necessary. Crucially, if students couldn’t wear masks due to sensory issues, we had enough space to accommodate them safely. I deeply felt that during that period of fear, isolation, and separation, people needed nature and connection more than ever. I even had one student whose fear was so intense that the ranch was the only place outside her home she felt safe visiting during the peak of COVID-19.

Five years into running my successful lesson program, my lesson horses are aging. While they aren’t ready for full retirement, I recognized they needed a change in career. This observation became the essential push I needed to finally bring Equine Energetics to life. I had been marinating this concept since the beginning of Joy For Horses, with Equine Energetics as the ultimate, long-term vision. I didn’t know the path, but I was certain I would get there.

As the horses grew older, I realized it was time for another pivot. My successful lesson program needed a Plan B for them sooner rather than later. By introducing unmounted sessions and Reiki work, my horses can continue to interact with the people they love, offering them a new, purposeful role without the need to be ridden. This shift allows our older horses to maintain their engagement and purpose with clients in a modified way.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

My work primarily speaks for itself, with my businesses growing mainly through word of mouth. My reputation as an instructor is built on my compassion, patience, fun approach, extensive knowledge, and commitment to safety, alongside my deep understanding of neurodiverse learning and living. I’ve earned this reputation from the hundreds of students I’ve taught throughout my career.
I take great pride in my ability to work with so many different people, finding the best approach for each individual. I meet them precisely where they are at in that particular moment and on that specific day, understanding that learning and healing are not linear processes and that not every day is the same. This tailored approach ensures that all my clients leave their sessions feeling seen, heard, and better than they did before walking through the gate.
After working with me, people see and feel results. I am confident that I am offering high quality services to my clients, with a unique-to-them approach. I am deeply thankful for the unwavering support of my clients and their confidence in referring me to their friends and family, and through social media.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.equine-energetics.com, www.joyforhorses.com
• Instagram: @equine.energetics, @joyforhorses
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joyforhorses