YOUTH & ADULT RETREAT DATES
 Co-facilitated by Alycia Burton & Dr Bridget McFarland (PhD)

ADULTS ONLY  4 DAY RETREAT – OLD PROGRAM 
Sat 12 Sep – Tue 15 Sep 2026
HIRE HORSE= SOLD OUT
2 SPACES LEFT WITH YOUR OWN HORSE
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7 DAY YOUTH RETREAT- OLD PROGRAM  
Mon 21st Sep 2026 – Sun 27th Sep 2026 
SOLD OUT

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7 DAY YOUTH RETREAT 
12-21 year olds
Sun 13th Dec 2026 – Sat 19th Dec 2026 
2 HIRE HORSE SPACES LEFT
4 SPACES LEFT WITH YOUR OWN HORSE

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7 DAY YOUTH RETREAT 
Sun 28th March 2027 – Sat 3rd April 2027
12-21 year olds
2 HIRE HORSE SPACES LEFT
8 SPACES LEFT WITH YOUR OWN HORSE

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7 DAY WOMENS ADULTS ONLY RETREAT 
Sun 27th June 2027 – Sat 3rd July 2027
21yrs+
2 HIRE HORSE SPACES LEFT
8 SPACES LEFT WITH YOUR OWN HORSE

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7 DAY YOUTH RETREAT 
Sun 19th Sep 2027 – Sat 25th Sep 2027
12-21 year olds
2 HIRE HORSE SPACES LEFT
8 SPACES LEFT WITH YOUR OWN HORSE

$2500 per rider.
Pay off options & NDIS invoicing available

 

 

 

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BRAND NEW ‘HYBRID’ RIDERS RETREATS

– Now co-facilitated with Dr Bridget McFarland (PhD)
STARTING DEC 2026
Dedicated separate youth & adult programs.  

✅HORSE & RIDER TRAINING
✅PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
✅LIFE & CAREER DIRECTION
✅MAKING NEW FRIENDS
✅MENTAL HEALTH

The Alycia Burton Riders Retreat is a unique live-in mentorship experience combining professional horse and rider training, mental-health education, personal development and real-world career mentoring.

This hybrid program brings together Alycia Burton’s horse training and mentorship programs with dedicated holistic based mental-health and personal-development sessions.

Throughout the retreat, Dr Bridget McFarland (PhD) and Alycia Burton deliver dedicated sessions.

Whether you come because you want to improve your riding, work through challenges with your horse, build your confidence, find direction in life, understand yourself better, explore a career with horses, or simply spend time surrounded by positive people who share your passion — there is the event for you!

 

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HORSE & RIDER TRAINING

Participants receive daily practical horse and rider training covering multiple areas such as…

Rider and horse confidence
Building a bond with your horse
Showjumping, dressage, horsemanship, trail riding & games.
Poles, grids and striding
Liberty, bareback, groundwork & connection. 
Refusals, rushing and taking rails
Rider position and getting left behind
Behavioral and training problems
Building trust and connection with your horse
Competition preparation & practice nights

Alycia’s approach goes beyond simply teaching someone how to ride.
Horses become an incredible vehicle for learning about confidence, leadership, resilience, communication, emotional regulation, boundaries and trust — skills that transfer directly into everyday life.

 

 

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MENTAL HEALTH & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Throughout the retreat, Dr Bridget McFarland (PHD) and Alycia Burton delivers dedicated sessions exploring mental health, emotional wellbeing and the challenges people can experience throughout life.

Topics may include:

School difficulty
Anxiety and depression
Loss, grief & suffering
Understanding and regulating emotions
Motivation & inspiration
Stress and overwhelm
Self-worth and confidence
Healthy and unhealthy relationships
Bullying and social pressures
Trauma and difficult life experiences
Suicide awareness and prevention
Recognizing when someone may need support
Building resilience
Finding meaning and purpose
Developing healthy coping strategies
Creating stronger connections with yourself and others
Finding hope when life feels difficult

These sessions are designed to create meaningful conversations and give participants practical knowledge and tools they can carry with them beyond the retreat.

 

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FIND YOUR PASSION & CREATE A LIFE YOU LOVE

One of the biggest questions we hear from both young people and adults is:
“What am I actually meant to do with my life?”
A major part of this retreat is helping participants discover what excites them, recognize their strengths and start creating a realistic pathway towards a life they genuinely enjoy.

We explore:
Finding your passion and purpose
Identifying your natural strengths
Career and university choices
What to do when traditional school isn’t working for you
Creating opportunities for yourself
Becoming self-employed
Turning skills into an income
Building a business or personal brand
Making money within the horse industry
Different careers available within the equestrian world
Creating multiple income streams around horses
Turning an idea or passion into something real
Understanding the work, resilience and mindset required to follow a dream

Rather than simply telling participants to “follow their dreams”, we talk about how to actually build them.

 

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MORE THAN A HORSE RETREAT

Everyone arrives for a different reason.
Some come because they want to become better riders.
Some want help with a difficult horse.
Some dream of working professionally within the horse industry.
Some are struggling with confidence, anxiety, relationships or knowing where they belong.
Some feel lost about what they want to do next.
And some simply want several days surrounded by horses, learning, laughing and connecting with people who understand them.
That is what makes these retreats so special.
We ride together, learn together, eat together, work together, laugh together and support one another.
From the moment you arrive, you become part of the Free Riding Team.

 

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THE LIVE-IN EXPERIENCE

The learning doesn’t stop when the riding lesson finishes.
Throughout the retreat participants are immersed in an environment built around horses, connection, learning, teamwork and personal growth.

Retreats include:
Daily horse and rider lessons
Mental-health and personal-development sessions
Career and life-direction workshops
Group discussions
Horse care and practical learning
Team activities
Night games
Off-site activities and adventures
Meals and accommodation/camping are all provided
Horse yards for participants bringing their own horses
Support from the retreat team throughout the program
After care & ongoing support options available

There is also plenty of time for fun, laughter, friendships and simply enjoying being around people with a shared love of horses.

 

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WHATS INCLUDED

Daily learning sessions on & off horses
Group counselling sessions
Night games 
A wide variety of food (also catering for vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, etc.)
Yards for horses
Staff available any time of day or night for any situation
Outside activities- Movies, Pools, Beach, Horse Store, National Park.

DAILY LESSONS
Riding lessons are provided on a rotation basis by up to 3 different instructors including Alycia, all of which have been trained and approved by Alycia.

Alycia has a team of wonderful staff assisting with supervision, food, on-site activities, transportation to off-site activities, counselling, handling horses, checking campers in and out, and anything else the youth might need. 

DOES NOT INCLUDE
Your own horse feed if you bring your own.
If you are hiring one of ours all feed & gear is included for them.

PRICES

7 DAY HYBRID RIDERS RETREAT
With your own horse $2500

Interest free pay off options are available 

HORSE HIRE
STRICTLY LIMITED SPACES 
$100 per day. This includes all horse hay, hard feed, supplements, horses gear etc. Helmets also available. 

TO BOOK EMAIL
alycia@freeridingnz.com

PHONE/TEXT
0422601971