About Us
Kootenai Creek Ranch
Kootenai Creek Equestrian Center is an all-purpose riding facility located at Kootenai Creek Ranch in the heart of the Bitterroot Valley, Stevensville Montana. The Equestrian Center is dedicated to providing a positive learning experience for horse and riders of all ages. The family ranch has been in operation since 1972 and was founded by Joseph and Elenita Brown. Joseph and Elenita developed Jebel Arabians, an Arabian horse breeding operation, which focused on breeding high quality Polish Arabian stock, specifically bred for endurance and strength and especially suited for the often-harsh climate and geography of Western Montana. Jebel Arabians produced many champion confirmation and performance horses and
Joseph E. Brown & National Champion Stallion Sacre Bleu
was featured in numerous articles and International Horse magazines. The late Joseph Brown was a renowned scholar of Native American Religious Studies and a respected horseman. His daughter Malika Coston grew up under his tutelage, and he recognized in his daughter a natural-born gift that allowed her to communicate with horses. In addition to training and showing for Jebel Arabians, Joseph encouraged her to seek out mentors and training beyond the family’s ranch, including Monte Foreman, Pat Wyse, Blaire Allen and Harry Whitney. In the 1990’s Malika created Kootenai Creek Equestrian Center where she focuses on training horse and rider to perform at an optimum level by incorporating both classical and natural horsemanship.
Veronica Brown, Marina Weatherly, Malika Coston & Elenita Brown
A Teaching Family Partnership: The women in the family, all renowned and professional teachers, now work in close partnership to share their knowledge, talents and joy with their students. Malika Coston is the director of Kootenai Creek Equestrian Center and teams up with her sister, Marina Weatherly, (artist/educator) and mother, Elenita Brown (dance and drama) for the annual Kootenai Creek Ranch Summer Day Camps, a unique interdisciplinary camp offering horsemanship, art and dance/theater. The camp is now in its 18th year of operation. Malika also partners with her sister, Veronica Brown, a yoga instructor and body healer to offer a unique equestrian program, YOGA RIDE, a retreat which offers yoga for riders and unifies the elements of both intuitive natural horsemanship and healing Yoga/bodywork to achieve a higher level of confidence and deeper connection and relationship with the horse and rider.
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