Intro
Anna Twinney is one of the most celebrated natural horsemanship trainers and animal communicators in the field. Way of the Equine Warrior is her dream made real — a vision for healing both horse and human.
From the website: “the torch that spreads the light of compassion, collaboration and communication to the equine world. The farm is the main base of operations and education for teaching Equine Warrior’s methodologies. These methodologies train individuals to understand and connect with horses and themselves, seeing the world in a whole new way. It’s a place to discover what is possible when fear, force and dominance give way to wisdom, understanding and trust. Where people come for horse training and leave with life-changing insights about themselves and their place in the world. And it’s home to the horse heroes who were once lost, and have now found their home, moving from surviving into thriving.”
For this project, I built the site from the ground up in WordPress using Beaver Builder, developing the full branding, a suite of custom icons, and a complete website. Anna’s only existing asset was her logo, which I recreated in Adobe Illustrator as a clean vector file. I also researched nonprofit plugin options and donation platforms to implement giving capabilities suited to the organization’s needs. In addition to the website, I designed a poster for the organization that they continue to use — it even has a permanent home on the wall at the barn. As part of this project, I had the privilege of collaborating with Betsy Roddy, a talented marketing specialist and gifted copywriter.
The Process
The project began by recreating Anna’s logo as a clean vector file in Adobe Illustrator, and then developing several mood boards to explore color palettes, natural textures, and imagery of wood, leather, and the equestrian world. This was my first equine-themed website, and I researched many other equine sites to develop a strong sense of the look and feel that would resonate with this audience.
Anna had a clear vision for leather-style icons to represent her programs. To bring these to life, I sourced vector stock illustrations of horses and used Illustrator to combine and customize them into a cohesive set of three icons: two fully custom composites and one adapted from a single illustration. The result was a handcrafted icon suite that felt native to the brand.
One personal touch I’m especially fond of is the footer background, a photograph of Anna’s beloved horse Excalibur, which I edited in Photoshop to create something that feels magical and reflective to the nature of equus.
Once Anna selected her color palette, I mocked up the home page for her approval before moving into the full build. From there, I worked closely with Betsy Roddy page by page, guiding her on writing effectively for the web: breaking content into digestible sections, leading with the most important information, and keeping calls to action clear and prominent. Anna reviewed each completed page, and we incorporated her feedback on both text and imagery as we went.
Implementing donation functionality required careful research. I evaluated multiple nonprofit WordPress plugins and payment platforms with particular attention to ensuring seamless international giving, as Anna’s community extends well beyond the United States. We ultimately chose GiveWP for its robust capabilities, and I researched and installed the appropriate add-ons to support the site’s specific needs and enable the team to download the reports and data they required. I also connected the site with MailChimp to support donor communications, set up an event calendar, and helped Betsy build donation forms and campaigns directly within the platform. We tested everything thoroughly before launch, and I tutored Betsy on how to use GiveWP and Beaver Builder confidently so the team could manage it independently going forward.
In addition to the website, I designed a poster for Way of the Equine Warrior for their in-person events. Anyone who has spent time around horses knows they have a sense of humor, and Anna has a wonderful appreciation for a good laugh, so I selected a genuinely funny photo of two of their rescue horses as the centerpiece. The poster carries the same colors and visual theme as the website. The site is live and continues to serve Anna’s growing community of students and donors.
