There’s a hidden gem in Sandy, a serene place with beautiful mountain views, a barn, four horses, a barn cat named Zepplin, and two women working together to cultivate their dream.

Elena Bradway, who works the business side, and Sara Jones, the medical side, have teamed up to create a new facility called Hidden Gem Healing in the heart of Sandy, focused on providing equine-assisted psychotherapy.

“If I have a bad day or a stressful day, I go out into the barn and I am with my horses, it makes my day. It makes everything seem not so hard,” Bradway said. “For me, it has been my own form of therapy.”

Bradway and Jones teamed up a year ago to share that mentality with others. They worked to create a brand and system that was ready when they officially opened registration for new clients in January.

A dynamic duo

Bradway and her husband, Steve Bradway, own the home and property where Hidden Gem Healing is located in the Bell Canyon Acres equestrian estates.

During her time in Utah after moving from the East Coast, she knew about the neighborhood home to equine estates and thought it was something special—the whole neighborhood is connected with riding trails and its prime location next to Dimple Dell Park. It wasn’t until two years ago on New Year's Eve when she got a call from her realtor that her dream of living there started to take shape. The house was their new home in a matter of weeks.

“Growing up, I've always loved horses and been around them, but I never owned my own I grew up riding at barns where I took lessons or I leased horses,” Bradway said. “It just didn't work out in my life growing up to own my own horse. And then when I turned 40, my husband said, ‘Well, you're riding everybody else's horses so why don't we get you your own?’ He's been the biggest supporter of all of this. And so we bought Scout and it just kind of spiraled from there.”

 Jones likewise grew up riding competitively with horses in Kentucky, where she found her passion for connecting with and caring for horses. She moved to Utah and worked for a long time as a pediatric intensive care unit nurse at Primary Children’s Hospital, where she worked with many mental health patients. While there, she had an idea to combine her two passions.

“I should combine my love for horses and the need for mental health together to help people,” she recalled. 

“Because horses were such a therapeutic, profound experience in my life, I wanted to help other people experience that,” Jones said. “I had a pretty difficult childhood and the horses really helped me through that, and so I wanted to offer that to people."

Somehow both ended up in Sandy, connected through a mutual friend and went into business together to work on their passion project. Bradway brought the business degree and Jones brought the medicine and they both brought their love of horses.

Meet the herd

Four horses make up the herd at Hidden Gem Healing, each with their “very individual, unique personalities,” said Jones.  But one thing is common among the bunch, their affectionate and calm demeanors make them a good fit for helping clients. Well, that and Dad’s Rootbeer Barrels being their favorite treat.

Scout is the alpha male and guardian. Being part draft makes him the largest out of the small herd, but no less sweet.

Then comes Sunny, a tender and focused horse, and affectionate Machado, or “Chado” for short.

Darla is the youngest and the only girl, making pink her designated halter color.

“Horses are different than other therapy animals—they are prey and herd animals,” Jones said. “So to be a prey animal, they need to be in the now, be aware and they need to be ready.”

“They have really large nervous systems, and they have to be able to talk to each other, because the herd works together to keep each other safe. So they communicate through body language, energy and sensing. When one member of the herd is dysregulated and feeling agitated, the others can sense that, and it might be something you and I don't notice, but they're so attuned to each other.”

What is equine-assisted psychotherapy?

Unlike a lot of equestrian therapy facilities in nearby cities and counties, Hidden Gem Healing focuses solely on bettering mental health through equine-assisted psychotherapy by fostering connection, attunement and relationships—a horse’s specialty.

All equine-assisted psychotherapy sessions are conducted with clients by Jones, who is a psychiatric nurse practitioner, who specializes in psychotherapy with clients who have experienced trauma.

Jones is also certified as a Level 1 Natural Lifemanship practitioner, which gives her skills to facilitate bonding between the horse and client to teach what healthy attachments looks like and how to regulate emotions.

Jones makes sure through a 15-minute intake appointment that she and the horses are a good fit for each client (no age restrictions) before sessions begin.

“Sometimes clients walk away from it and think, maybe this isn't a good fit for me. Sometimes clients walk away thinking, well, this is awesome,” she said. “I really want people to feel like they have the choice and they have the autonomy here and making sure it works for them.”

After acceptance into the program, gentle-introduction between horse and clients start with groundwork such as brushing, petting and leading. No previous experience required.

The majority of the work is outside, but in addition to the barn and paddock, a “calm, welcoming space that feels private and confidential” is located in the basement if things get overwhelming or the weather gets bad.

“I think it's been really refreshing how in the last couple of years as a society, we're so much more open about mental health,” Bradway said. “We used to not talk about it, it was kind of taboo and you couldn't admit if you needed help, but now it's the opposite. And so we're really excited to be able to provide this here in Sandy."