INSTRUCTORS & STAFF
Specially Trained & Certified Staff
Our instructors are certified by PATH Intl. (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship). All instructors must complete a comprehensive training program which includes supervised student teaching, CPR and first aid verification, extensive reading, and riding experience. In addition to our human instructors, each of our horses undergoes careful screening to ensure he or she has the appropriate disposition, physical movement, and level of training necessary for therapeutic riding.
Cyndie
Executive Director
Cyndie comes to us with a background within the corporate world since 2011, having been a small business owner herself as well as having a background within the professional horse world since 1985. She has owned, trained, given lessons and shown horses since 1978 and has held many management positions at prestigious equine facilities throughout the years. She is proud to be serving Strides now and a new part of the Tri-Cities, WA community.
Dallas
Riding Instructor
Dallas he has handled, ridden and been around horses all of her life. She is new to Strides, but not new to horses and has a great knowledge base as she continues to learn and pass that knowledge on to our clients.
She is "owned" by her paint mare, Tundra, and can be found running through the local orchards and trail riding.
Dallas loves working with people and is enjoying learning and mastering the position of riding instructor at Strides. She aspires to complete her PATH Int'l certification as she continues to grow and support us, and is very excited to see what this year brings.
Barb
Riding Instructor
Barbara discovered endurance riding in the 80's. She's gone through several horses and a mule before finding her Shagya Arabian. Her mare's name is Natalie PFF, Tyya for short, and they have been doing 50 to 100 mile endurance rides for over 10 years together now!
She completed the Tevis Cup endurance ride in 2019. It's no small feat, riding 100 miles over some of the roughest terrain on the west coast, all within 24 hours! That's some hard core riding!
She plans on being like Queen Elizabeth and riding into her 90's!
Barb is instructing our Adaptive Riding, The Complete Horse and a special session based on our Heroes and Horses curriculum.
She's excited to take on this new journey for herself and to see where Strides takes her into the future.
Lesley
Volunteer Coordinator
bio coming soon
Kristin
Adoption Coordinator
Kristin is an Air Force veteran and a stay-at-home mom of 4 children & numerous animals. She home schools her youngest, Natalynn; they both love horses and found Strides as a way to learn about and interact with horses together. Kristin and her daughter Natalynn can be seen around Strides helping with a little bit of everything these days - from adoption care and feeding, to lesson help and donation campaigns. Kristin and "Natty" are quick to assist and jump in to care for our horses that are lacking adopters while placing them with new ones. Kristin is the person you will go to for help or advice, scheduling and general knowledge for our horse care and adoption projects!
Taylor
Feeding Coordinator
Taylor is a dedicated animal lover with experience in several species. She has a wide variety of horse experience and an interest in animal nutrition. Her number one priority is her children but has endless room in her heart for the animals. She came across Strides to foster her son's love of horses and fell in love with the horses herself. She will often have her young children in tow and is always happy to lend a hand.
Adriana
Client Coordinator, se habla espanol
bio coming soon
Alex
Event & Partnership Coordinator
Alex's number one job is being a mother. She has 4 super fun and wild children. You may see them feeding together or participating in our adoption program with Ozzie and Gunner.
Her love for horses began as a child where she spent a good portion of her time in middle school and high school riding. Her fondest memory is spending a summer working alongside of a trainer and learning different disciplines, breeds of horses and different stages of training. She also spent those years in Buddy Club helping and spending time with the Special Education class room.
Strides is a place where both of these passions come together and can include her children as well. We are excited for her future with Strides and how she adds to our programs and the people we serve!