Happy Dog Ranch is pleased to be hosting 13 clinics with Mark Rashid (and friends!) in 2026
Calendar
Mark would like to extend an offer to participants who sign up for just a single week of any of the Ten Day Intensive Clinics.
This is a 2026 offer only, due to the price of fuel and other economic concerns.
The cost is $2000 for either the first or the second week of our June, August or September Ten Day Intensives.
Sign Up Today!
How do I sign up for a clinic with Mark Rashid?
Contact Louise Thayer for a registration form and current availability.
Can I bring my own horse?
Yes! Your horse should be happy to load and ride in a trailer and needs to be safe to ride. You may work on safety issues on the ground. All horses need a current negative Coggins (Equine Infectious Anemia) test (good for a year), and if coming from more than 50 miles away, horses must have a current health certificate (good for 30 days).
Can I ride one of the ranch horses?
Yes!
The alternative to bringing your own horse is to be partnered with a carefully selected Sanctuary horse partner.
Our riding horses are carefully brought along by trainers in Mark’s work. They are the true teachers of the work. You will receive a rider questionnaire after you submit your registration form.
English and Western tack are available. Riders should be capable of walk, trot and canter and basic guidance of the horse (stop, back, turn etc). They should be able to groom, saddle and bridle their horse.
Help is offered with any aspect of these and other skills!
These are just good guidelines to rate yourselves with! Please ask if you need any more information.
You may practice at your own comfort level and speed during the clinic, there’s no obligation to go fast - and you can work on anything you choose to work on with Mark.
How do I pay for a Mark Rashid Clinic?
We will send a link to pay after we receive your registration form. This prevents accidental overbookings and allows us to give you up-to-date accommodations information.
We take a deposit for the Five & Ten Day Intensives.
Payment in full is due 120 days out from the event you sign up for. Please track this date yourself!
Failure to pay the balance may result in the cancellation of your space!
We take payment in full (including accommodations) at the time of booking for all other clinics with Mark, Jim Masterson and Dr Steve Peters.
Please carefully read the cancellation policy when you receive your registration form!
I’m flying into Denver International, is there any transport to the ranch?
We are not currently able to offer shuttle transfer to Happy Dog Ranch.
It’s an easy 55 minute drive if you'd like to rent a car. Uber/Lyft or taxi are your other options.
Please note:
The ranch is 10 miles away from the nearest large town (Castle Rock) and 4 miles away from the small town of Sedalia.
We only serve breakfast and lunch so you’ll need to find dinner yourselves! There is a kitchen in Creekside House if you stay on site.
If you want to explore Colorado during the middle weekend of your Ten Day Intensive clinic, it’s best to rent a vehicle.
What is included in the cost of the clinic?
Your tuition from Mark Rashid, Crissi McDonald, Gray Kyle Graves (HDR’s head trainer/Mark’s senior assistant instructor) plus any other assistant instructor who can attend.
Breakfast (buffet from 8-9am) and lunch (catered at noon), snacks and drinks throughout the day (on the days of your clinic).
Horse board for the duration of your clinic, or the loan of a Sanctuary horse.
Can I stay on the property?
Yes!
We have a beautiful guest house (Creekside House) on site, with seven bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, (available for the length of your clinic). Prices reflect the varying bathroom arrangements and facilities. Depending on availability, we do offer additional bedrooms in the downstairs guest level of the main house and we may rent out a pop-out living-quarters horse trailer on site.
We do have limited electrical hookups for your trailer (30amp or 110v).
All details are on the registration form.
All profits from accommodations and board go directly to benefit the Sanctuary!
Mailing Address (for check payments- we need a registration form before you send a check!):
Happy Dog Ranch, 3640 N. State Hwy 67, Sedalia, CO 80135
GPS directions:
Physical Address: 3640 CO-67, Sedalia, CO 80135
Click here for Apple/Iphone Map:
Click here for Android/Google Map:
Just a tiny bit different - but both matter a lot - especially for folks driving a trailer!
Join us for riding, learning and lots of time with horses at Happy Dog Ranch in Sedalia Colorado! Clinic size is limited to 12 riders to allow for ample personal attention. You’ll have plenty of support from Mark, Crissi McDonald and our own Happy Dog Ranch trainer, Gray Kyle-Graves (Mark’s only senior assistant instructor). You must be an Intermediate or Above level rider and able to walk, trot and canter comfortably. Each day runs from 9 am to about 4 pm including a lunch break from 12-1 pm, and the day finishes with a quick wrap-up discussion. (Participants only, no auditing).
Mark Rashid is an internationally known author and horseman known for his ability to understand the horse’s point of view and solve difficult problems with communication rather than force. He began working with horses at age ten, when he met the “old man,” who taught him to work with horses, not against them, and to listen to what the horse is trying to say. Mark’s clinics are structured as one-on-one work with horses and riders and are immensely popular with people around the world.
When Mark decided to study the martial art of aikido as a way to improve his horsemanship, he brought the same quiet determination to it that he exhibits in his work with horses. After years of practice, he has earned a third degree black belt in Yoshinkan aikido and now teaches the “way of harmony” in the local dojo as well as in his Aikido for Horseman workshops, which are known also by the name of “Aibado.”
Mark worked full-time on ranches for many years gathering herds, managing stock, and training horses. When time permits, he still enjoys working on ranches near his home in Colorado as well as playing guitar professionally with his friends.
Mark has been a guest on NPR’s The Horse Show and was featured on the Nature series on PBS. He is the best-selling author of fifteen books including his newest, For the Love of the Horse, and such classics as Considering the Horse, Horses Never Lie, Life Lessons from a Ranch Horse, Horsemanship Through Life, as well as a novel, Out of the Wild. His books have also been translated into nine different languages. He has three music CD’s: Song of the Prairie, Making Good Time, and My Western Town, recorded with his good friend Brad Fitch.
Crissi McDonald is a clinician, author, photographer, indie publisher, and Masterson Method® Certified Equine Bodyworker whose work is rooted in a lifelong devotion to horses, storytelling, and visual art. For more than thirty years, these intertwined passions have shaped how she sees the world and how she helps others learn to see it differently too.
As an instructor and horse trainer with over three decades of experience, Crissi brings a broad and practical understanding of horse care, including dental maintenance, saddle fit, bits and bridles, nutrition, and how horses experience their environment. When a question stretches beyond her own expertise, she values collaboration and learning from trusted professionals who share her commitment to the horse’s well-being. Alongside her husband, renowned horseman Mark Rashid, she has traveled internationally for more than twenty years, working with thousands of horses and people across a wide range of disciplines. Her approach emphasizes softness, clarity of communication, and the deep learning that becomes possible in an atmosphere of safety and non-judgment.
Crissi’s photography has been featured in numerous equine publications and books in the United States, the United Kingdom, and across Europe. As an author, she has written two non-fiction books exploring the horse–human bond, as well as the award-recognized romantasy series North to Home, which has earned multiple semifinalist and finalist placements in indie publishing contests.
Certified as a Masterson Method® Practitioner in 2017, Crissi has helped hundreds of horses find greater relaxation and ease. She continues to expand her science-informed approach through attending courses and collaborations with equine neuroscientist Dr. Steve Peters.
Whether through horses, words, or images, Crissi remains endlessly grateful for the chance to learn, share, and invite others into experiences that feel more at ease, both with their horses and themselves.