I truly believe that the love for horses is in my blood and this is what I am meant to be doing. I can remember the first time I went riding with a friend, I was in love and could not get enough. I would do anything to make time to go for a ride or just get out to see the horses. All I wanted to do was learn as much as I could. I would ride and soak up everything anyone was willing to teach me. It did not take long for me to realize that horses were going to be a big part of my life.

After years of riding, I followed the Lord into a psychology program at Channel Islands here in Camarillo. While in school I would volunteer at different therapeutic horsemanship programs. That is where I truly got to see other people benefiting from horses. The positive impact they made on peoples lives really gave me a desire to have horses be a part of my career.

After finishing my degree, I really felt that there was a need for a more intimate setting teaching one on one lessons. This is when I felt the desire to start my own therapeutic riding program. I decided to focus on my own personal horsemanship skills at this point. I felt that in order to be a good teacher I needed to become a better rider and understand the horse better. I worked for an amazing trainer in Ojai which taught me what hard work really was. While working for him I also focused on getting my PATH intl. certification (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International). My heart was in it and I knew that there were so many children and adults who could really benefit from horses. After 5 years of hard work and dreaming “Gentle Strides” was created.

Fast forward a few years and today Gentle Strides is the home to not only my riding students but my own little ones. Having my own kids has really given me the eyes to see the kids and especially mamas I work with in a new light. Taking the time to slow down and meet each person where they are is truly important to me. It will help us become better riders and just better people.