In several decades of owning, showing and working with others and their horses, I can say that the only constant is change.

I have always had horses in my life. I credit many of the opportunities that I have been given as a direct result of interacting with horses and the people that surround themselves with these amazing creatures.

As a young girl, I was very fortunate to have parents that knew horses and understood how they needed to be in my life. I knew that I wanted my career to involve them in some way. I was very lucky that I was able to work in many different areas that enabled me to breed and show my Quarter Horses right up to a national level. As time went on, I took on a few training horses and started coaching others that wanted to surround themselves with the peace and calm that always seems to accompany horses.

For the last 15 years, horses have shown me another side they have to offer. It wasn’t the show pens, the mountain riding or the people that they brought into my radius. Though all that is a positive and amazing thing they do for us, it was simply that they exist. I am a correctional officer and have seen how horses have helped me through many traumatic incidences. They are a steadying influence to everything that has been thrown in my path. Being around such non-judgmental giants has forced me to get out of my own head and be present with them. I often say that we can solve all the worlds problems just cleaning the barn and your only focal point is to get that pile of poo into the wheelbarrow!

Over the last year, I have been privileged to be able to offer my horses to correctional officers, onsite, as a mental health break in a crazy day. I have personally witnessed how the biggest toughest officer melts the moment one of my gentle giants rests their head on that officers chest and closes their eyes in a peaceful moment. I realized at that moment that people, especially first responders, needed something like this more readily available. This brought me to EAL.

EAL offers first responders help in combating PTSD, depression, stress and anxiety to name a few.

I am now a certified facilitator for Equine Assisted Learning through Cartier Farms and am very proud to be able to offer this amazing program to others.