I have been involved with horses since I was a little girl who would push a chair up to her welch pony, Patches, and jump on his back. I attended Colorado State University (CSU) and studied Horse Reproduction. I graduated from CSU with a degree in Animal Sciences, Production and Management. There I earned certifications as a riding instructor in both English and Western riding. After graduation, my degree and experienced helped join Wayne Newton’s Aramus Arabians Horse Farm in Logandale, Nevada. During the breeding season, the ranch would have up to 300 horses in its care.

After working for Newton’s Ranch for several years, God pointed me in a slightly different direction. I took a job with Seabird Enterprises, a sheltered workshop, which taught work skills to adults with disabilities. Seabird had just bought a small horse farm on the Thames River in Connecticut. They needed a person who could manage a small horse farm while teaching individuals with disabilities the skills they would need to become employed on a horse ranch. Although I did not have experience working with individuals with disabilities, it turned out I was a natural and I found it more fulfilling than I could hope for. I attended the University of South Florida (USF) and earned a bachelor’s degree in Special Education with a concentration in Intellectual Disabilities. Years later I was offered a scholarship opportunity to gain a Master’s Degree from the University of South Florida (USF) in Autism and Low Incidences Disabilities. After teaching children with special needs in Hillsborough County for 26 years, I have come full circle and now have the opportunity to teach very special students with very special horses! God has truly blessed me in my life.