Wasaga Beach ON L9Z 0G3
705 795-4608
jlsittek@lakeheadu.ca

Jenna Sittek

From a very young age, Jenna’s love of horses has always been a huge driving part of her life. She began her journey into the equine world by taking riding lessons from various coaches at different facilities and she found that her interest laid in the English style of horseback riding. Training as a hunter jumper for almost 6 years, she learned a lot about horses and the equine industry. Jenna spent many summers and March breaks running horse camps at two different facilities she worked at; she was also a beginner lesson instructor, both of which were a perfect fit for her as she was able to work with horses which was her first passion, and children, which she learned she had a passion for as well. Rainbow Valley Riding Center, one of the barns she worked at, offered what was called the R.A.N.G.E.R program which stood for “Revealing Amazing New Growth Through Equine Relationships” which was geared towards children who came from broken homes, or who suffered from disabilities such as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. It was through this program that Jenna knew she wanted to work together with the horses to heal people and help them grow and learn about themselves.

Jenna then attended Lakehead University in Orillia for the Social Work program, in the hopes that she could bring her passion of horses together with working with people through her Social Work degree. During her time at university, she joined their equestrian team which competed on the Ontario University Equestrian Association circuit and became Captain of the team. Jenna began working at the host barn for her equestrian team and it was there that she was offered many opportunities to expand her knowledge of horses. Under the watchful eye of her coach and mentor, Heidi Mueller, Jenna pursued becoming a certified rider with the OEF Rider Levels and was successful, she is now certified at Rider Level 6. After completing two years of the Social Work program at Lakehead, Jenna found a different modality to bring this work to life and enrolled in the FEEL (Facilitated Equine Experiential Learning) program at Horse Spirit Connections.  Jenna also moved up in the workplace very quickly. She was an employee at Food Basics and received three promotions within the first 6 months. Eventually, the company saw her as an asset and transferred her to one of their Metro stores in the town of Collingwood to become the full time bookkeeper. Jenna’s experience within the workplace encouraged her to always work hard and strive for what she wanted and that her efforts would not go unnoticed.

Jenna has witnessed first-hand the amazing teachers that horses can be, first through the eye-opening R.A.N.G.E.R program, and second through her own healing process. During the end of her high school career and her first year of university, Jenna was in a very controlling, manipulative & abusive relationship. It wasn’t until after a year in that relationship that she realized how unhealthy it was and harnessed her personal inner power and ended it. This relationship left many emotional scars but the horses have been amazing partners in Jenna’s healing. Being the youngest participant to graduate from the FEEL course to become a certified FEEL practitioner Jenna feels as though she brings a youthful vitality and awareness to the work, as well as her long standing passion for horses and people. Her vision is to work with troubled youth and young teens/adults who have been victims of abusive relationships and to create a safe sacred place for them to come, grow and learn from the horses, who are ultimately the best teachers. Through her business, “Whispering Hearts” she brings this vision to life with various programs, sessions and workshops that she runs.