Gemma DiFerdinando (Gemma Ra'Star) is the Lead Instructor and a World Champion Equestrian dedicated to safety first, healing trauma and balancing mental health through the sacred wisdom of the horse. Gemma is a Certified Horseback Archery Instructor through the MA3 Mounted Archery Association of the Americas and serves as a teacher in the Mongolian Horseback Archery Club, Evt Sum Club in Mongolia. Gemma has launched her Fall 2026 classes Youth Safety Horse Riding and Archery in Northern New Mexico for rural and indigenous youth from local Pueblo schools and non-profit organizations.

Her expertise is built on deep nomadic experience: she has trained and ridden over 180 horses and participated in horseback archery, endurance races, and ceremonies across 16 countries in the last five years, traveling to Mongolia nine times. She holds the unparalleled distinction of being the only foreigner in the world to complete the all-Mongolian Urtuu 1,000 km race (the original Genghis Khan passport system route) in nine days while riding 36 different half-wild Mongolian horses. She is a World Champion Equestrian, placing alongside her 11-year-old daughter Duo at the 2025 South Korea International Horseback Archery Tournament, and has participated in the World Nomad Games 2024 (Kazakhstan) and represented the USA in the 2026 games Kyrgyzstan placing 14th out of 100's of athletes.

Crucially, Gemma has a proven track record of community, having run a free equine healing program for behavioral health, addiction recovery, and trauma healing in Taos and Taos Pueblo from 2006-2021, serving over 12,000 youth, veterans and families in marginalized rural and indigenous communities. Since 2002 Gemma has been homesteading in Taos involving caring for rehabilitated western horses and wild horses living in herds on a wildlife conservation farm. She cultivates Acequia and agricultural traditions, and builds with sustainable materials like adobe and earth bags.

Gemma's journey of healing and rediscovery also led her to the Wudang Mountains of China in the summer of 2009. There, at the Purple Cloud Temple, she had the privilege of training in Tai Chi and Chi Gong under the ways of Master Li Cheng Yu. My time at the Purple Cloud Temple deepened my understanding of these ancient disciplines and further inspired my commitment to sharing the wisdom of natural healing with the world.
My immersion in nomadic culture extends beyond horsemanship. In 2024 during the Spring, Summer, and Fall, as a shaman from the United States, I was one of the first Americans to actively participate and be initiated into Mongolian Shamanism and gifted a live Golden Eagle in community ceremonies with Mongolian shamans, a profound experience that further deepened her understanding of indigenous spiritual practices. Gemma's own spiritual path is deeply intertwined with the horse and eagle, which she considers to be a sacred animals and a central part of her 'religion'.

Central to Gemma's life journey is her role as a mother to two beautiful daughters. Gemma's youngest daughter is a tribal member of the historic Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with over 1,000 years of continuous inhabitants.

“My life is a testament to the power of living in harmony with and connection to nature, embracing the wisdom of ancient traditions, and pushing beyond self-imposed limitations. I am a living example of the extraordinary possibilities that emerge when we dare to follow our passions and connect deeply with the world around us." - Gemma
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