Meet Autumn Rae
Autumn has been working with high level competition horses and rescue horses for a lifetime. She grew up apprenticing with natural horsemanship guru, Durlene Meck. She has gone on to train in the United States and Germany with Olympic greats in the sport of eventing.
Autumn’s extensive qualifications expand well beyond horses. She boasts a masters in sustainable business development with a focus in organizational development and also spent many years working as a facilitator and consultant in team and personal development programs, primarily facilitating ropes courses and other outdoor adventure activities.
As Autumn began to provide private riding lessons, she noticed that working with horses gave her clientele many of the same personal growth and learning opportunities that the outdoor adventure programs had, often, with even more positive results. In 2009, Autumn began focusing on established programs in Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) at Prescott College in Arizona. The riding and personal growth programs that she has conducted mirrored growing evidence from programs around the world showing that EAL and EAP can offer many benefits both to individuals and to society. In 2015 she co-founded and became the VP of the HEAL foundation (501c-3) which offers Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) to veterans and first responders and their families.
In addition to her decades of experience in the equestrian and business worlds, she also has her 200-hour yoga teacher training certification and has been practicing yoga and martial arts since the 1990s.
Scattered Acres Sport Horses
Scattered Acres Sport Horses is an exceptional equestrian facility located in Northern Virginia between Manassas and Warrenton. Autumn Rae, together with her hard-working and experienced team of horse-handlers and care-givers, provide skilled care and advice in all areas of horsemanship.
The mission of Scattered Acres is to help each student reach a superb level of horsemanship, to train each horse to its full potential, and to facilitate personal growth through the human-horse bond. Scattered Acres provides an atmosphere that promotes excellence in a supportive and fun manner.
If you are interested in training, riding, sales, or boarding, please visit our Scattered Acres Sport Horses site.
The Horses
The horses at Scattered Acres have day jobs as lesson and competition horses, but the herd also takes turns spearheading The HorseKind Project’s EAL sessions alongside Autumn and her team.
Caporal
With a soft heart and a big personality, Caporal is always up to something mischievous. Caporal is Autumn’s goofy teammate, both in the competition ring and in EAL sessions. Talented and clever, this big guy is always in need of something to keep him busy. You can find Caporal demanding attention, dragging nearby items into his stall, or lovingly harassing his pasture-mate, Sebastian.
Saphira
Bold and intelligent, Saphira knows what she wants, and she’s not afraid to express how she feels. She is another one of Autumn’s competition horses but also moonlights as an EAL horse. Saphira has a presence that can be felt from far away; she moves through life with a confidence we all aspire to emulate. She is a force to be reckoned with, and you can always count on her to confront every challenge head-on.
Luna
Luna has the sweetest face and gives the greatest cuddles in town; our dear Luna is a true people-lover if ever there was one. Now retired from competition, Luna spends her days doing EAL sessions and teaching Autumn’s working students more advanced skills in the saddle. Allergic to just about everything under the sun (and sensitive to the sun itself!), Luna reminds us daily what it means to overcome.
Callie
Semi-retired from competition, Callie spends most of her days helping riders hone their skills and working with Autumn in EAL sessions. Callie is well known at Scattered Acres as one of our best teachers, both on the ground and in the saddle. She has a quirky personality, and she will match your own commitment to the task at hand. Once Callie is on your side, you can be confident that she will have your back.
Sebastian
Retired from his competition career, Sebastian now spends his days teaching beginner riders alongside our fabulous Scattered Acres instructors and guiding EAL sessions. Totally unphased by chaos and shenanigans (including Caporal’s), Sebastian is our go-to guy! Don’t be fooled by his infamous side-eye; he has a heart of gold and always takes care of the people around him.
Raya
Autumn’s long-time partner, Raya, has worn many hats over her lifetime. Once a full-time competition horse, Raya is now semi-retired and spends her days introducing riders to more advanced skills and teaching the subtleties of clear communication in EAL sessions. Raya puts on a stoic face, but she is as sensitive as they come; she is well attuned to body language and always knows exactly how you feel.