The founder and executive director of Berkshire HorseWorks in Richmond, Massachusetts, Hayley Sumner describes herself as “a little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n roll.” For over 20 years, she owned and ran a bicoastal public relations and strategic marketing firm, devising global campaigns and working with celebrities such as Howard Stern, Ronald Perlman and the Dalai Lama. After stops in Montana and Kentucky, where she learned about and became certified in EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association) therapy, she moved to the Berkshires. In 2013, Sumner founded Berkshire HorseWorks, which provides effective, Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) and Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) programs with EAGALA-certified professionals. On September 20, Berkshire Horseworks will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a gala complete with cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, live music, an auction and paddle raise plus a performance by the Opera Cowgirls.

I grew up in New York City, but I was the girl who always jumped on horses and rode on the beach. My dad has long had a home in Egremont and he would take me to auctions in the Berkshires and let me hold the paddle. I learned about that feeling you get in your stomach when you know you have to bid on something, which was helpful later in my life.

I went to Northwestern with the intention of being the next Christiane Amanpour, but somehow ended up working in communications. I started at Howard Rubenstein Associates and then opened my own company, living in LA because I really wanted to be near the water. I loved the strategic development part of the business but always worked pro bono for nonprofits. After a particularly difficult merger I said goodbye to all that and drove cross country with my rottweiler. I wound up in Kentucky at a race track where they were having a thoroughbred sale. I got that feeling in my stomach and found myself raising my paddle for a six-month-old weanling (a horse under a year old). I named her Definitive Whim.

It was the first time I noticed the power of a horse, and how she can see in your soul. She wound up racing at Churchill Downs. It was every little girl’s dream — except I wasn’t the jockey. An incorrectly administered injection forced me to put her down, and after I lost her, I had to get out of Kentucky. I had plans to start an equine therapy ranch in Montana, but that didn’t pan out, so I moved to the Berkshires, where my father was still living.

I decided to start a nonprofit here, and amid martinis at the Old Mill, met Carl Dunham, who owned the Berkshire Equestrian Center. He let us use the farm’s training facility. I owe him everything for giving us the start.

The EAGALA model is always done on the ground. It is equine-assisted learning and team building, strength based and solution focused, led by licensed mental health professionals and EAGALA-certified professionals. We go out to all the corporations and agencies and try to develop the equine-assisted team-building practices. Post Covid, we added some recreational activities for families and tourists to do team building together, as well as donkey play and mindful hikes with horses.

Our mission is to transform lives through the powerful interaction with horses. We try to be nimble and flexible. We’ve got to be able to anticipate, respond and be proactive for things happening in our community. As an example, we worked with school districts last year and started a reading program with the students and horses because of low literacy rates.

We’re hoping that the gala on September 20 will help us raise awareness of our mission and support equine-assisted programming at the ranch.

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The Rural We