I have loved horses since the moment I knew what they were, but aside from a few summer camps as a child I didn’t get much of a chance to be around them. The minute I turned 16 I signed up to volunteer at a therapeutic riding center in my area to work with individuals with special needs. My journey with horses started there as I was lovingly mentored by an incredible group of people who saw potential in a cranky teenager. After volunteering there for 2 years, I left for college in Idaho to pursue a degree in psychology to hopefully be more involved in the equine therapeutic world, but found that I did not like the idea of being in an office for most of my life. I changed my degree to animal science and studied that for a few years before getting married and after that I was given another incredible opportunity, to work in a local veterinarian’s office and help him run his breeding farm for Ranch and Roping bred American Quarter Horses. I spent several years there, breeding and selling foals along the banks of the Snake River, and loved every minute of it.
When my husband’s school brought us back to Arizona, I found myself back at the Therapeutic Center that started it all within a matter of days, and a week later I was hired and started the process to become a PATH Intl. Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning. In my two years at that facility I was blessed with the opportunity to work with many amazing people facing great difficulties in their lives, and also had the opportunity to become a regional industry leader in marketing for Equine Assisted Activities Center by implementing new technology and media as well as building planned giving programs for non-profits. I am currently the Program Director and Equine Director for a lovely small non-profit lesson program in the Vancouver, Washington area and have been involved there in various capacities since 2019.
I finally was given the opportunity to purchase my first personal horse in the summer of 2021, and I came home with a stunning 14 year old Trakehner/APHA gelding named Taz. Taz came with many health concerns, most known at the time of purchase, and a few that were a surprise after getting him home. After finding myself over-horsed and unsure if our partnership was going to make it, I bought a session with an MMCP and was blown away by the immediate change and relaxation I saw in Taz. Much of our success under saddle is a direct result of him becoming comfortable in his body through bodywork and re-starting with a classical dressage foundation.
I am passionate about all horses receiving bodywork, no matter their age or workload. Bodywork is a wonderful preventative tool to alleviate the tension horses accumulate through performance and just day to day living. I’m happy to work with everything from young performance horses in active competition, to the retirees looking for comfort as they enter their golden years. I am available for bodywork in Clark County, Washington, and will travel outside that radius for multiple horses.