Phoenix – Rising from the ashes

Phoenix was not an auction horse but instead was selected by Stelkia Ranch friend and supporter, Merel from The Intuitive Horse.  Merel wanted a wild horse for awhile and her goal was to take one from the range and do her own work to get the exact partner she was looking for.  Aaron Stelkia helped Merel find the horse with the conformation she was looking for and with the personality she would need from a horse to be successful.  Merel chose to take Phoenix during a time when the range of the Oliver and Osoyoos Indian Reserve had mostly burned in the Nk’Mip Creek Fire in 2021.   Merel and Pheonix train in the Academic Art of Riding by Bent Branderup. and Merel has growing group of followers on her facebook page The Intuitive Horse.  Merel has great first hand knowledge of working with a wild horse and shares her experience and techniques in videos on her page.  

Merel’s support has been an important motivator for Aaron Stelkia and Stelkia Ranch to keep doing the work to protect these horses  and a reminder that these horses are special and people are out there who want horses with this extra awareness and physical competence.  

Thank you Phoenix and Merel for being important ambassadors of the Okanagan Wild Horse.