We are pleased to announce the addition of a brand new team member, Birgit Altmann. She is an IPTH (http://www.ipth.de/en/institute.html) trained Riding Therapist, having completed a comprehensive riding therapy training program in Kostanz, Germany. Birgit brings a wealth of new and exciting knowledge to our program. We are impressed by her calm manner, insightful observations and willingness to learn and share as she works with the horses and her clients.
Birgit’s love for horses began when she was very little. She finally met and got to take care of her first ‘four-legged friend’ at the age of thirteen. She admires horses for their beauty and stamina and is convinced that they can be of enormous help for anybody looking to become more ‘human.’
In 1996 she graduated from nursing school in her hometown in Austria. During her studies she met her husband, Peter, who was working in her hometown (but actually came from Reno!) Together they worked, started a family, and went to school in different places as diverse as South Africa, Seattle, Princeton, and most recently Zurich, Switzerland, where she finished her training at the ‘Institute for Equine Assisted Therapy’ (IPTH) in 2014. Birgit, her husband Peter and their two children, Elianah (13) and Reuben (11) moved to Reno in 2014 to be closer to her husband’s family.
Horses have been a gift to Birgit’s whole family. Her daughter shares her mom’s passion for horses, and mom and daughter spend time together hanging around and riding an Arab mare named Sassy.
Being from Austria, Reno is an exotic place for Birgit. She loves the desert and states that she does not miss any of the dark rainy days of Central Europe or Seattle. She is hopeful that as a family they finally landed their ‘plane’ and will call Reno ‘home’ for a very long time.