Weaselskin Private Gathering Center

Our Story

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Our Story

Preserving the past, healing the present, for those still to come.

Since time immemorial

The First Peoples

This land holds the ancient footsteps of the Puebloan, Diné, and Ute peoples. From the Diné comes the word that anchors everything we do: Hózhó.

1980

The Big House Rises

Built on the rim above the Animas and founded to be a place of discovery and gathering, watched over by the La Plata Mountains.

A family of educators

The Thurston Legacy

The Thurston family carried proud traditions as educators and philanthropists — a thread of teaching and giving that still runs through every gathering here.

1989

Lynda Arrives

Jennifer's first Lipizzan mare, Lynda—whose name means beautiful—helped begin the Weaselskin Equestrian Center. The horses shifted the work toward patient communication, shared learning, and harmony over force.

Held in trust

A Conservation Easement

Today Weaselskin is protected as a land conservation easement — beauty, water, and wildness preserved for the generations who follow.

The heart of the place
Hózhó
Walk in beauty

A construct of the Diné people — to be whole is to walk your life in beauty: of the land, of a contented heart, of community.

Beauty of the land

Beauty of the land

From mountain views over the Animas — the River of Souls — to flowering barrel cacti and soaring red-tailed hawks. A healthful connection that comes from being part of the land itself.

Beauty of the self

Beauty of the self

We ride for the pleasure of creating beauty — a dialogue between two bodies and two souls. Our Lipizzans and Andalusians give nobility without pride, friendship without envy, and beauty without vanity.

Beauty of community

Beauty of community

The Durango community overflows with a desire to improve the lives of others through education, healing, and wellbeing. We connect with those who share that calling.

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