Wendy Golding is the President and co-founder of Horse Spirit Connections Inc., a non-profit corporation dedicated to promoting transformation and personal growth through the wisdom of the horse.

Wendy is a vibrant and successful entrepreneur who has worked in the corporate world for 25 years with Fortune 500 companies including Palm, Xerox, and Wal-Mart. During her career Wendy sat on the Chamber of Commerce board spearheading inaugural international projects, President of the Jaycees, Director of the Governor General Horse Guards,  and guest marketing lecturer at the University of Brock.

Currently, Wendy is the co-owner of a multi-million corporation focusing on marketing and merchandising.

She spent the majority of her career in the highly demanding corporate world learning about the power of intention.  While enjoying the challenges of working very hard to 'be successful and exceed goals', she found she was missing the call from her heart.

Wendy has been passionate about Horses all of her life – winning shows as a young girl, and taking the requisite number of falls!  As an adult, she became a member of The Governor General's Horse Guards where she honed her riding skills in military parades, musical rides, and lance work.  Her passion then turned to Polo.  Enjoying the thrills and teamwork with her horses, Wendy stopped playing due to a Polo injury and turned her focus to exploring deeper connections with horses.  Wendy is currently managing the Equestrian Centre at Horse Spirit Connections where she trains horses to work in the human development field.

Andre Leclipteux is a director of Horse Spirit Connections and one of the co-facilitators (Epona approved). He is also the President of Wings & Ink, a marketing and merchandising firm in Toronto, expediting campaigns and programs across Canada with a force of 1,000+ people.

A graduate of Sheridan College, his first endeavors were in film, audio visual projects and photography. This led him into advertising, marketing and promotions. Andre has been involved with the communications field for over 25 years in various capacities, working in small and large agencies while servicing local, regional and national clients. His portfolio covers the gamete of Federal and Provincial Government to Canadian and International brands like Dr Pepper, Xerox, Microsoft and Lotus.

Andre has always had business and entrepreneurial flair – having started his first company while still in school. He left the agency business in 1986 to start his own consulting business - which gave him experience on the client side. Later in 1994, he started Wings & Ink, a successful marketing communications firm with Wendy, receiving international recognition for some of their marketing and communication programs.

He combines his interests of leading groups and community involvement from early days when he was appointed President of the Media Studies Guild and later as a board member of the Georgian Communities Futures Programs. He has received recognition for his participation and contribution to the Meaford Economic Development Commission and the City of Mississauga.

Victoria Poe founded 2 Lead Change, a business offering comprehensive services in training, program development, and facilitation to improve business or career results, enhancing leadership and communication skills.  She is an accomplished educator and project manager, having honed her skills with experience in both the private and public sectors. She has designed, implemented, and facilitated various government funded employment and language learning programs, including international experience. Victoria enjoys helping people grow, whether in their careers or their personal lives – and welcomes innovative approaches to learning. 

A strategist as well as a facilitator, Victoria has worked with the Agribusiness and Trade Unit of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Emerging Markets providing support in project/proposal administration, marketing, and recruiting for international development projects. In addition, Victoria is effective in client service relations, strategic planning, and staff/project management. She holds a Bachelor of Education specializing in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), and is a certified Teacher of Ontario.

Janis Mirynech is a director of Horse Spirit Connections.  She brings her marketing experience and an independent point of view to help shape the program for corporate clients.

Professionally, Janis is a Marketing Manager with one of Canada’s largest wineries.  Her experience has encompassed a variety of marketing disciplines – brand management, consumer research, creative concept development, channel marketing to various liquor boards, new product and package development.

Janis was honoured to be the recipient of the coveted LCBO Partnership Award in 2007, an award given once each year to a single individual who demonstrates the best in partnership with exemplary performance and commitment to the wine industry.

Currently a member of the Wine Council of Ontario where she works on development of programs aimed promoting Ontario wines to front-line retail staff, Janis has also brought her expertise to volunteer work with Junior Achievement and the Canadian Arthritis Society. 

In marketing, sales and consulting roles, Janis has spent over 25 years in the corporate environment working in package goods design, new product development and packaging.  In a consulting role, she has developed the business plans for several innovative start-up companies.

As one of the first participants in the Spirit of Leadership program, Janis knows firsthand the effectiveness of the tools and skills developed with the help of the horses.  She blends the insights gained from this experience with her marketing savvy to bring a unique point-of-view to Horse Spirit Connections.  At the same time, she continues to bring the tools garnered in the Spirit of Leadership program to her management approach in the corporate world.

Bruce D. van Ryn-Bocking  MD, MBA
Bruce van Ryn-Bocking started his career in Family Medicine in Guelph, Ontario in 1974. He then took three years of advanced training in Transactional Analysis and shifted his practice from physical medicine to psychotherapy and human relations. In 1984, van Ryn-Bocking left medicine to establish a corporate consultation practice in the areas of executive coaching, human relations, change management, team building and high performance, conflict resolution and anger management. His clients include senior executives and management in small to medium size businesses, as well as multi-national public and non profit organizations such as Goldman Sachs and Unicef.

Van Ryn-Bocking is a pioneer in the field of Emotional Intelligence and has designed numerous workshops on this topic over the last 25 years. His background in Medicine and Psychotherapy gives him a deep grounding in how people think, work and relate both in creative processes and when under stress.

Over the past 25 years, he has founded a non-profit Community Health Centre in Guelph, Ontario, the Men’s Helpline in Guelph, two Medical Centres and a Wilderness Retreat Centre for personal and corporate development on the Magnetawan River. He has served on a number of Boards and committees including the United Way, the Business Advisory Committee of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce and the Board of the Ontario Recreational Canoeing Association. 

More recently, van Ryn-Bocking has shifted his focus to serve the communication and relationship needs of corporate executives with his company PeopleSkills. Clients include RIM, a division of Toyota and numerous mid sized companies.

Van Ryn-Bocking graduated in Medicine at the University of Western Ontario in 1971. In 2003, he completed an MBA at Wilfrid Laurier University. In 2004, he was asked to teach the Business Leadership course at Wilfrid Laurier University School of Business and Economics for the school’s 4th year business students.