By Sarah Eakin
Portraits by Bethany Pastorial
Anyone lucky enough to ride horses can testify to the meaningful connection between humans and animals. Amateur dressage rider Jackie Ducci has taken it much further, launching her own nonprofit, The Human-Animal Alliance, in Wellington, Florida.
Jackie, who’s competing at the 2025 Global Dressage Festival, has experienced powerful connections with animals since early childhood. Growing up as an introvert with social anxiety, she struggled in a school environment where extroversion was valued above all else. “The mentality was that the louder and more outspoken a kid was, the smarter they were. And I was, by nature, the quietest kid,” Jackie explained. “I was constantly fed the message that I was not good enough because I didn’t talk enough. When I was 12, a school administrator told me that I would ‘never amount to anything in life’ because ‘the world belongs to extroverts.’ That was ludicrous, of course—but being so young and not knowing any better, I believed it. And that was absolutely devastating to my self-esteem during those formative years.”
Jackie’s horses were a saving grace. “Horses built me back up whenever humans left me feeling broken and misunderstood,” Jackie said. “Because my relationships with them were completely nonverbal, they taught me that my value had everything to do with who I was at my core, and nothing to do with what I did or didn’t have to say. It was a profound lesson that completely changed my life. Without the influence of horses, I would not be the person I am today.”
The Human-Animal Alliance
Inspired to help others experience similar transformative relationships with animals, Jackie left a long and fruitful career in the recruiting industry to create The Human-Animal Alliance in 2022. She now considers it her life’s mission to make people’s lives better—one human-animal connection at a time.
Through a rigorous vetting process, Jackie and her team at The Alliance identify some of the best—yet often overlooked—charitable programs nationwide that share their belief in the power and value of human-animal connection. Once a nonprofit’s application for funding is approved, grant funds are given to support specific initiatives.
Jackie personally covers all of the organization’s overhead costs each year, to ensure that 100% of public donations go directly toward helping humans and animals. Several grants from The Alliance have gone to equine-assisted therapy programs, providing critical mental health support to grieving children, teens struggling with anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation, and survivors of human trafficking.
The Alliance also recognizes the very important role of companion animals in peoples’ lives. Keeping people and their pets together during trying times is a cause near and dear to Jackie’s heart. Funds have been granted to charities assisting low-income pet owners who love their animals and want to keep them, but who are struggling financially to provide for their basic needs. Other grants have gone to nonprofits fostering pets of military members while their owners are away on deployment.
“I find it interesting that the general public tends to be very supportive of helping animals find a home, but they’re not always so quick to help them stay in a home,” Jackie said. “By keeping pets united with people who already love them, we’re doing right by owners and animals—while also preventing euthanasia cases and further burden on the shelter system.”
Another common thread among several grants has been helping pets and their families in the wake of natural disasters. The recent devastating fires in California, Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and Hurricane Ian in Florida were all opportunities to step in and assist. Funding was provided to several charities with boots on the ground, reuniting displaced pets with owners and providing necessary veterinary care in the aftermath.
“The bonds that people share with their companion animals before, during and after traumatic events are valuable beyond measure,” Jackie said. “No one should ever be forced to surrender a beloved pet for lack of another option, and animals should not suffer or end up lost or in the shelter system when many of these cases are preventable.”
A Lifelong Relationship
In her own life, Jackie’s relationships with her personal animals have continued to mean everything to her long since childhood. As an Adult Amateur dressage rider, Jackie earned her USDF Gold, Silver and Bronze medals within a 2 1/2-year period between 2019 and 2022. She is “dog mom” to two cherished bulldogs, Sadie and Ralphie, and the proud owner of Westley, a 17.2-hand Hanoverian gelding whom she purchased from Canadian international Grand Prix trainer/competitor Shannon Dueck.
Just weeks into their new partnership during the summer of 2023, Jackie and Westley experienced a very unfortunate setback—a freak injury during a simple surgery that resulted in an eight-month rehab involving mostly tack walking for Westley—grinding their ambitious plans for training and showing to a halt.
Jackie chose to see the horse through the long process herself, completely hands-on. “So many people asked me why I was doing the rehab myself. They commented how depressing it must be and suggested sending Westley elsewhere to rehab so I could put energy into improving my riding on other horses until he was back in full work. That didn’t feel right to me. I wanted to be present for him every day, and every step of his recovery journey,” Jackie said. “In retrospect, I’m glad I made that decision. Spending countless hours of quiet time together was invaluable. I love this horse so much, and I know he feels that. By the time we were ready to ease back into training again, our connection had developed into something really special.”
Since coming back into full work in 2024, Jackie and Westley have made a start back into the show ring, dabbling in national FEI classes together. In April, they experienced an exciting win at Intermediate I in a class judged by FEI 4-star judge Cesar Torrente. “To win a class in front of him felt fantastic, and it was a defining moment that made me feel like Westley and I were officially back in action!” Jackie said.
Westley is now based at Diamante Farms in Wellington. “He’s happy and feeling super confident,” Jackie said. “I can’t wait to finally have a real season with him this year, and to see what the future has in store for us.” The pair plans to continue competing in the Intermediate I at Global this winter, while continuing to train towards the Grand Prix at home.
Jackie has recently added yet another four-legged member to the family—a jumper named Teddy. The horse is in training with Alejandro Karolyi, and Jackie plans to show him in some lower-level classes at the Winter Equestrian Festival starting this year.
When Jackie is not at the barn or in a show ring, she can be found in her Wellington office, identifying charitable projects to fund and continuing to advocate publicly for the power and value of human-animal connection.
“Animals add a magical dimension to our lives that can be completely life-changing—and even life-saving,” she said. “It has always intrigued me. When we embrace human-animal relationships, our lives are fuller, happier, healthier and filled with love. I feel like I was put on this earth to help people experience this phenomenon for themselves, and doing so is what drives me every single day.”
For more information, visit The Human-Animal Alliance at h-aa.org
Photos by Bethany P. Photography, unless noted otherwise
