I was born in Texas and lived in the South until I was 15, when my family moved to Denver, Colorado. I met and married my husband, Rick, in Denver, and lived there until 1993, when we moved to Raleigh. Rick and I have a son, Ryan, and a daughter, Kimberly. Ryan and family live in Castle Rock, Colorado, and Kimberly lives here, in Raleigh. We are dedicated grandparents to 4 year old Charlotte, whom we miss greatly and are very grateful for FaceTime. We are both retired now. I have my own craft business, teach horseback riding lessons at our farm, and enjoy gardening and volunteering at Helping Horse. 

I started riding at the age of 5 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, under the supervision of my dad. He had no idea what he started! I got my first horse at age 18, started showing and training horses and teaching lessons, in my early 20’s. After moving to North Carolina, I got my second horse in 2005, a 2 year old Paint mare that I trained and showed. A few years ago I achieved my lifelong dream of owning my own horse farm. Rick and I built our farm together, pretty much from scratch, clearing land, establishing pastures, designing and building a barn. My recommendation to anyone thinking of doing this is NOT TO! But now that it is all done, we feel very blessed and enjoy every day on our farm.

This is my fifteenth year at Helping Horse. I started in 2006 as a horse leader, then became an Instructor. I joined the Board of Directors as Secretary, and concurrently became the Instructor Coordinator. I served on the Board in different roles for about twelve years, coming off in 2019 to join the Operations Committee as Instructor Coordinator and Horse Coordinator. My love for horses and the riders sparked my desire to be a part of this organization. Helping Horse has changed a lot over the years, and has grown exponentially! I am very proud to have been a small part of that growth. The team at Helping Horse has become Rick’s and my second family. We have made lifelong friends and experienced many good times, and a lot of hard work. 

I am very excited about the future of Helping Horse! Being able to move to our new larger farm in Wendell has opened up so many more opportunities to serve our Special Needs Community, in many different ways. We have so many people associated with Helping Horse that are talented, enthusiastic, and devoted to our program, our horses – and most of all – our riders. The possibilities are unlimited, and I am very honored to be a part of it.