We're honored to share our work with Extraordinary clients
Army
Meta
Sutter Health
P&G
Abbot
boehringer ingelheim
Nook Online
St Mary's College
BEan in Nature
BETH ANSTANDIG
Head Cowgirl, Owner
It’s time to wake up your true self.
We are human animals but we are cut off from the natural signals of our animal bodies. We are ruled by thought, language, ego, and story. As adults, we have learned to put our mammal bodies to sleep.
When we learn to listen to our inner world and its signals, we are alive and attuned to the depth and texture of our lives. We wake up a fundamental part of our hard-wiring that transforms our ability to shape our relationships. We call this our Natural Leadership, and though it may be hidden or forgotten, it is never lost.
At The Circle Up Experience, you awaken your Natural Leadership so you can navigate the world, take hold of your most genuine desires, and build authentic connections.
Our Offerings
Retreats, Courses, and Coaching for Human Herds
Choose your experience
Custom Business Retreats
1-3 DAY CUSTOM EXPERIENCES
Escape the office and get to know your human herd by spending 1-3 days at one of our Circle Up locations, or our team will come to a special location closer to you.
Teams will strengthen current relationships, welcome new members, and increase their awareness of each other’s strengths when they engage with our horses and experience the nature-based activities we offer.
Our workshops may also feature sheep, dogs, falconry, meditation, art, writing, movement, and mindful hiking. You don’t have to be interested in animals or know much about them to have a profound transformation.
“Circle Up gathered together our group and turned us into a team! The Circle Up team (humans and horses) took our newly re-configured group—made up of people from three different countries—and gave us the opportunity to get to know each other in a completely unique way. We have been able to stay connected despite geography and to continuously develop and respect our soft skills."
LAUREN PFEIFFER, ADOBE INC.
Retreats
for all people, great and small
We host exceptional retreats at our unique Circle Up locations. Our retreats focus on personal leadership, relationships, and spiritual development. The retreat experience offers the space and time to pause from everyday life for reflection.
P.S. If you have an idea for a retreat or a group of people who want a meaningful experience together, we can help you design a gathering that meets your needs. Plan your retreat with us...
"Getting real-time feedback is a rare gift, and yet it's the biggest opportunity to learn about ourselves and grow. Circle Up’s program delivers just that, through the eyes of a partner who acts with total honesty and vulnerability, and without their own ego or agenda — the perfect mirror: a horse. My experience was simply incredible and has made a huge impact on me. I highly recommend it to anyone.”
AMY J., GOOGLE WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP FORUM
Coaching
FOR INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS & INSTITUTIONS
Create a culture for the people you care about by stepping into your Natural Leadership.
Each year, we take a select number of clients for individual, executive or group coaching programs, including a limited number of large institutions for customized programs.
As coaches, we’re not afraid to ask tough questions. We pick up on core themes and issues quickly and know exactly when to be gentle and when to push. The transferable skills we teach will help you support, develop, and mentor colleagues and peers.
"What Circle Up offers is different from other team-building exercises, and is also based on the way a horse lives and works. No conference rooms. No binders. No powerpoint slides. No blah blah blah.”
FORBES MAGAZINE
Courses
For Aspiring Leaders
If you are already a leader for your herd, our courses help you step into your role with confidence and power.
Courses are offered through our online learning platform so they are accessible anytime, anywhere. They often include group coaching calls and private discussion groups.
Our integrative model teaches basic concepts about human nature through the lenses of psychology, animal behavior, interpersonal neuroscience, and meditation.
There is nothing quite like having the privilege of working through one-on-one executive coaching with Beth Killough. She wastes no time assessing a person’s needs and crafting an organic experience. There is an immense opportunity for personal and professional growth for anyone who chooses to embrace it.
VICTORIA CONKLIN, VICE PRESIDENT – LENDING, AMERICAN AGCREDIT
Latest News
Posts about Relationships and leadership
Our Mental Health Moment
We’re having a mental moment. The pandemic and its related pressures shined a light on a growing crisis that reached a tipping point. We’re at a moment where people are ready to talk about and address the mental health symptoms that I think we’ve been living with for a long time. It’s especially important as…
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Normalizing Group Culture Around Needs
When you watch a herd of horses, they’re constantly communicating with each other about group and individual needs. They have a beautiful system of feedback and flow. When a need is expressed, it’s tended to. Yes, like human herds, there’s conflict but horse herds make necessary adjustments, move through them and then move on. That’s…
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Our Herd Keeps Growing — New Puppies!
It’s been all about puppies here for the past month and ridiculous amounts of cuteness. Mom Georgie and dad Cap welcomed a beautiful litter of six healthy Border Collie pups on June 14. (That brings our total Border Collie pack to 9!) Georgie has done a wonderful job adjusting to motherhood. What a joy to…
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The Bill Brady Show
Beth joined host Bill Brady for a 45-minute conversation about her book, The Human Herd: Awakening Our Natural Leadership. Topics ranged from tending to our own needs and relationships to how we onboard and assimilate in new groups at work. Listen to the extended interview below:
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Sitting with Myself
I’ve been in the process of Sitting with Myself since early March. I didn’t start it willingly. In fact, I spent the first four to six weeks kicking and screaming about it. Thrashing. Flailing. Protesting. Looking for things to do, projects to start, trips to take, closets to clean, barns to remodel. Just a whole…
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Twists and Turns
Dear lovely humans, Nature gives us so many generous lessons of how things move, progress, develop, and evolve no matter what. We need these examples so we can see the fierce resilience around us and connect to how it is within us. We also need to see and know how messy, unpredictable, and even chaotic…
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The Book We Need Now
Part guidebook, part manifesto, part wake-up call, The Human Herd: Awakening Our Natural Leadership offers a framework for living, relating, and leading a more empowered life.