ABOUT ME
Our facilitators
Having worked in the Learning and Development space for over 20 years, Fiona brings a wealth of experience to the table. Familiarity with the Engineering/Construction areas as well as Government and Education ad even Financial and Insurance. You can be confident that examples, scenarios and stories will be relevant and based on real examples and life experience.
If you want workshops that engage, uses experiential and collaborative activities, has the flexibility of Face to Face or virtual, creates a safe space to LEARN SELF-AWARENESS skills like MINDFULNESS, LEADERSHIP, CONNECTION then these are for you!
Fiona D-Speedie
Training facilitator, dancer, horse enthusiast, archer, learner, mentor, executive coach, speaker and leader
I love to see others grow and develop their capability, reach their dreams and set exciting goals. I am able to achieve this by empowering and inspiring others to explore and learn in a nonjudgmental, inclusive environment. Having held both corporate and commercial senior roles, I have strong stakeholder engagement skills and the ability to be flexible, collaborative and adapt content and delivery methods to the needs of my stakeholders.
With accreditations in the most highly sought after tools such as LSI, DiSC and Executive Coaching I am able to build capability and self-awareness through workshops and one on one coaching; that are energising, informative and fun.
I have been facilitating, training and teaching for most of my life and can’t imagine doing anything else. Horses and dancing have always featured prominently through out my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
My current hobby is the new and fast growing sport of mounted archery. This involves riding at a fast canter along a track and shooting at a number of targets. It requires mindfulness to accurately aim and focus, determination to keep trying and an good balance as you need two hand stop shoot your bow and therefore have no hands to hold on, so the last thing is a well trained horse.
With a commitment to continuous improvement, I am currently completing a Professional Research Doctorate in Creative Design Industries researching embodied and authentic leadership development programs that involve both horses and dancing.
My herd of 6 horses or equine partners as i prefer to call them, live with me in addition i have a small herd of coloured Damara sheep, as well as my two dogs and three cats on my forty acre property ‘Gungarra Gardens’ situated in beautiful Stanthorpe which is part of the Granite Belt district renown for its wine, fruit, national parks and many festivals. This is located about 3 hours south west of Brisbane. As well as running my leadership workshops, I currently run transformational workshops under the banner ‘Dancing with Horses; transformational journey’. (see tab above for more info)
Zouk
Lead Equine Facilitator — a 16 year old Palomino Part Arabian gelding
I’ve owned Zouk since he was four months old. He is enthusiastic, optimistic, fun loving, easily bored, vain, craves attention and loves to do tricks and liberty work. He likes people, is curious and friendly, needs to put his seal of approval on everything. He loves long walks on the beach, moonlight escapades and his favourite treats are carrots and liquorice.
Honey
Secondary Equine Facilitator — a 10 year old Quarab mare
Honey is half sister to Zouk (sharing the same sire). I have owned Honey since she was three months old. Honey likes to know what she is doing and why, she enjoys having a job to do and is more reserved than her brother around people. She is practical, hard working and needs time to think things through. She can be very sensitive and is still learning her way, sometimes needing support to be brave and confident. When she connects with someone its strong and really obvious. Her favourite treats are scratches and carrots.
Bliss
Equine Facilitator — a 10 year old bay Arab/Irish Sport horse mare
I have only had the pleasure of owning Bliss since April 2021. Bliss is our lead mare or ‘anchor’ mare as i prefer to call her. She looks out for everyone and gives them a sense of order and comfort. She can be very sensitive and we are still both learning about each other however she is incredibly gentle. Her favourite treats are scratches.
Cleo
Equine Facilitator — a 9 year old paint Shetland mare
Cleo made herself known to me in dreams, signs etc well before I actually met her. She is very friendly and loves having a job to do. She expects humans to protect her from the bigger horses and often hides behind you. She is curious and enjoys people a lot. Her favourite treats are any food.
Leo
Trainee Equine Facilitator — a 6 year old ‘silver bay’ miniature gelding
Leo is quite new and is still learning what his role is. He has been abused in the past and is still learning to trust humans again. He looks out for his 3 mini girls Cleo and Luna. favourite treats are scratches and carrots.
Luna
Trainee Equine Facilitator — a 3 year old paint miniature mare
Luna is still quite young and is the most recent addition to our herd. She has bonded quite strongly to Leo and although friendly to people she is still learning what her role is and what is expected of her.
The venue
‘Gungarra’ is a beautiful 40 acre property in the Granite Belt District near Stanthorpe; approx 3 hours south west of Brisbane QLD. With a covered stables to work in and enclosed yards, participants are protected from all weathers, both sun and rain. Stanthorpe weather is quite mild compared to the heat of Brisbane and in winter it has been known to lightly snow.
A large covered veranda area includes picnic table and bench seats overlooking the horses with a beautiful view of the stunning countryside. An archery target area is also set up as well as numerous walks, tables and chairs and extensive gardens. The Stanthorpe area is known for its many and various accommodation options from B&B to cabins to caravan parks to environmental lodges.
We are proud to support local businesses for both catering as well as accommodation.
Stanthorpe Office, QLD Australia
International +61 408 440 481 | Within Australia 0408 440 481
Email: info@fionadspeedie.com.au