I made a split-second decision and purchased my mare, Sota, the moment I felt her canter.
After persistent nudges from others, I went to see her, even though she was the opposite of what I wanted (I was looking for a flashy, big-bodied gelding with a solid resume, and she was a skinny, plain 4-yo mare) — something just told me to go. Before I even dismounted, I'd told the seller I'd take her, skipping every piece of due diligence you're supposed to do. I just knew. A few months later, I learned she had scar tissue on her right pelvis. The same place I'd broken mine when an SUV hit me at twenty-four (when my entire life changed overnight, and coincidently, the same year Sota was born). Same injury, same side.
That's how I make a lot of my decisions in life and business. By the time my body tells me, it's already made the call. And, that’s how the best things in my life have always happened, too.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, I worked as a Digital Marketing Supervisor in a corporate setting. I had a cubicle and a closet full of pantsuits (which, if you know me, is a wild thought). I had already been promoted once and was on the fast-track towards a successful career. And without a second thought, I threw it all away.
Why? I got hit by an SUV while crossing the street when I was walking home from work. The impact broke my pelvis in two places, and opened a big gash on the top of my head (I should have invested in hairspray stocks for the amount I used trying to tame the tuft of hair as it grew back). I remember laying on the pavement waiting for the ambulance to arrive (and telling all the freaked out people on the street not to touch me - years of hearing my riding coach yell "don't get up" after falling from horses taught me a thing or two about waiting to be checked out by a professional first). My first thought of course was "what just happened?" And my second thought was "what if this had killed me?"
Suddenly the pantsuits and corporate meetings and hotel rooms and small talk luncheons were no longer appealing. Suddenly there was more to life.
I was so obsessed with my recovery that I took matters into my own hands and created my own rehab plans using bed pilates and chair yoga. Within a year, I became a certified personal trainer, group fitness instructor, and 200-hr yoga teacher (and a few years later upgraded to 500-hr yoga teacher, and added a pilates instructor certification). In 2015, I took over the space of a pre-existing yoga studio, rebranded, and launched my own space "Body Solace Studio."
I taught classes, built the website, managed the social media pages, and sent the email newsletters. I created "Find Solace Within" apparel and accessories and launched using eCommerce. And eventually, as my mother came on as a business partner and took over all the accounting (thank God), we launched an online membership platform that I built from scratch using Wordpress (before online membership platforms were easily accessible or pre-made), where we offered online videos, meal plans, and more.
I learned how to do it all myself, and so when I decided that I wanted a horse again, I began offering design and marketing services as a way to supplement my income and pay for board.
I had no idea that the horse who found me, and my new side-hustle services to pay for her, were about to become the next transformational chapter of my life.
I fell so deeply in love with helping other small businesses get online and grow their brand and revenue that we made the decision to sell the studio in late 2019 and I went full-time with website design (ideal timing, right before a global pandemic that forced businesses online).
Since then, my husband and I have built our small farm property from scratch, starting with picking out the spot on November 1st, 2020. We moved here in June 2021, brought Sota and my gelding Paco home on July 1st, 2022, and have been refining and expanding ever since.
That same summer of 2022, I started as the host of The Equestrian Connection podcast with wehorse, and in 2024, I added a Mind-Body Coach certification to my credentials.
And that's when it hit me...
My work stands at the intersection of the three things I know and love:
Horses, The Body, Business.
Horses don't respond to complicated; they respond to clear. Too many cues at once and they brace, hesitate, or shut down.
Our bodies work the same way. Overwhelm doesn't produce clarity, it produces freeze. I recognized it while teaching classes... An instructor needs to be clear or they'll look out over a sea of people staring blankly back at them. And I learned about it in-depth from a nervous system perspective during my Mind-Body Coaching certification.
After 8 years of designing websites and speaking with business owners on the regular, I kept seeing the same pattern:
Talented, knowledgeable people, with years of experience and real results, struggling with their business because their messaging was unclear and their process was confusing.
The problem wasn't their work, it was their signal; their instruction, their cue. What were they asking for? And were the steps clear?
So instead of trying to keep it all separate - horses, the body, and business - I started letting them inform one another.
And now, we find ourselves here.
TLDR: I'm Danielle Crowell
Since 2018, I've designed over 130 websites, mostly for small service-based businesses and equestrian professionals who needed their online presence to match the depth of what they actually do off-line.
Before that, I owned a Yoga & Pilates studio for 5 years. So I've been on both sides of this.
My POV
Apart from being a horse girl since 1997, I've been hosting an equestrian podcast since 2022.
Through my work and conversations with trainers, coaches, and equestrian professionals, I see the same pattern over and over:
People who are highly skilled in their craft—but struggling to communicate it clearly online.
Not because they don’t know what they do. Because they’re too close to it.
My Signature
Along with horse sense, my background in yoga, somatics, and mind-body coaching shapes how I approach everything I do.
Because clarity isn’t just something you think your way into, it’s something you can feel.
I use that alongside strategy to help you get to answers faster—and trust them.
"Working with Danielle was like a balm, helping me to start to sort out what is and isn't working, and what my actual desires are, for my business and my life."
"Danielle is one of a kind and I thank her for being so easy to work with. She helped me to learn through this process while also building my website. Thank you, Danielle, for your patience, wonderful guidance, and for creating something new and exciting for myself and my business."
"As a small business owner, I am fully aware of the importance of customer service and how greatly it impacts your business's success! Danielle is so professional in her approach and understanding of her client's needs."
Work with Me
I SPECIALIZE IN EQUESTRIAN BUSINESSES... BUT CLARITY IS UNIVERSAL.
At the core of what I do is clarity—how you explain what you do, how your business is structured, and how people move through it.
I’ve worked with over 130 businesses and entrepreneurs across a wide range of industries, helping them simplify their message and build websites that actually work.
FOR THE PLOT NEWSLETTER
Bi-weekly summaries of things I've shared, created, or am inspired by.
Built by Danielle Crowell // Mountain Made Creative © 2026