About Us

I grew up on a lovely old farm, riding ponies and horses from an early age, following in the footsteps of my mother who was an avid horsewoman. My childhood and adolescence was shot-through with the pleasures, challenges, and sometimes trauma that goes along with horseback riding. I remember being galloped off with by mischievous ponies, sometimes scraped out of the saddle by low hanging trees. There was a gift and wound in these early beginnings. I learned to “bounce” and become resilient, stuffing any feelings of fear and ambivalence.  With help, I trained two young horses and competed through the Intermediate level in the sport of 3 Day Eventing, winning the North American Junior Championships in 1979 under the fierce and talented guidance of an Olympic gold medalist coach. Yet it was not until many years later, after taking a ten year break from horses altogether, learning about who I was outside of horses (school, work, relationships), and doing a good bit of therapy myself, that I recognized the buried truths inside my body. I returned full-circle to horses and found the field of therapeutic horseback riding, in which I’ve worked the past twenty four years.  When I met Leslie in the fall of 2020, she told me about The Equus Effect.  I was smitten by its grounded, relational, body-based, emotionally sophisticated approach. We took the nine month training together...  Fast forward a year, and here we are! 

I cannot imagine a greater privilege than to partner with Leslie and coach The Equus Effect together at her beautiful Kairos Spring Farm.  Her four horses are truly exceptional beings. Kind, sensitive, and attuned beyond measure, Leslie’s horses are our true teachers, partners 

and guides. 

MA expressive art therapy, 1990 

MA certified riding instructor, 2012 to present 

PATH Intl certified therapeutic riding instructor, 2013 to present 

Certified Facilitator of The Equus Effect, 2022

First Aid/CPR Certified 

From the time I can remember, horses have captivated me; their raw power, dramatic beauty and gentle and wise sensitivity.  My youth was spent knocking on the doors of horse-owning neighbors to see if they might allow me the opportunity to engage with their horses.  At 13 my dream of horse ownership came true when a college-bound teen declared me the most worthy to inherit her wonderful bay pony, Pollyanna. 

A Masters in Music, busy performance schedule, marriage, a corporate career in the medical industry, four children, and a few other life events caused a necessary long hiatus from horse activity, but when a friend needed help with 3 rescue horses, including a 9-month old colt, my life took up the horse thread with new vigor.  I spent the next 15 years rescuing and rehabilitating cast-off horses, finding a particular draw toward horses with "behavioral issues" - as these misunderstood souls provided me with my greatest education in listening and becoming acutely aware of the subtle messages these magnificent creatures convey.  After witnessing the healing that a hurt and mistrusting horse could attain by my simply "being" with them in a "no-agenda" (as Joe Camp calls it) manner, and in kind, the grounding and sense of calm I would enjoy as a result, I recognized a powerful phenomenon which Linda Kohanov calls "the wisdom of the prey". I knew I had a unique opportunity to share these incredible partners with others.  

Jane Strong and David Sonatore's carefully cultivated curriculum in The Equus Effect was a perfect match with the kind of respectful collaboration I was looking for as a method of helping individuals process the stresses of life and learn to live with more awareness, presence, agency and joy with the assistance of gifts that horses have to offer.

MM Music Performance 1993

Recovery Coach 2022

Certified Facilitator of The Equus Effect 2022

First Aid/CPR Certified

Trauma Informed Care Certified 

Safe Sport Certified