Pony Farm Instructor Training School Faculty

Core Faculty

Isabella (Boo) McDaniel, M.Ed, Founder and Executive Director of Pony Farm and Horse Power, Founder of the Pony Farm and Horse Power Instructor Training Schools
Certified as a CHA Master Instructor. Also certified as an American Riding Instructor Association Instructor, ARICP Instructor of the Year 1977, NH Horse Person of the Year (2003), NARHA Master Instructor and Specialty Therapeutic Driving Instructor, Co-Founder and Past President of EFMHA (Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association), and currently serving on the NARHA Instructor Certification Committee. NARHA Founders Award 2004. Co-author of Equine Facilitated Mental Health: A Field Guide To Practice. Numerous regional and national presentations for ARICP, ACA (American Camping Association), and NARHA. Lifetime rider, competitor, teacher, trainer and driver. Masters Degree in Organization and Management from Antioch/New England.

Kirsten Albano Hickman, Associate Director of PF and HP; BS in Early Childhood Education and Special Education
Oversees all facets of the farm and business operations. Rode at Pony Farm as a student, completed a Senior Internship at the farm, and has performed every job. Specializes in finance, human resources, logistics, scheduling and fundraising. Certified NARHA Advanced Instructor. Actively involved in teaching, lesson planning, Intern supervision, and accreditation compliance. Pursuing NARHA Accreditation Visitor Training.

Jody Albertini, BFA MCAD, PF Business Manager and HP Development Director
Past Program Director for Pony Farm and Horse Power, Certified as a CHA Level 4 Instructor, has served on Executive Committee of Horse Power Board of Directors, and served as Treasurer and Chair for Finance Committee for Horse Power. Chaired many farm fundraisers, horse shows and public events. Marketing Director for Pony Farm and Horse Power. Life time rider, over 15 years as a riding instructor for Pony Farm. Currently competing at New England horse shows in the Adult Hunters. Riding instructor for the PF and HP training schools.

Brianne Caritey, Pony Farm and Horse Power Equine Manager; Co-Director of PF Summer Camp
CHA Level 4 Instructor, NARHA Advanced Instructor, Graduate of St. Andrew’s College with four year degree in Equine Business with a concentration in Therapeutic Riding. Former Intern at Pony Farm and Horse Power. Equine manager, directing horse care, conditioning and training. Head of horse and pony sales and purchases at the farm. Show coach for the PF Show Team. Accreditation supervisor.

Sara Fingeret, BA in Psychology, PF Lesson Program Director, Instructor and Horse Care Supervisor
CHA Certified Level 3 and NARHA Registered Instructor. Eighteen years riding experience and eight years teaching experience. Former camper and Horse Power intern. Instructor for Pony Farm and Horse Power, as well as PF summer camp. Coordinator of Pony Farm lesson schedule, student recruitment, and horse usage. Pursuing NARHA driving certification.

Terri Devlin, CNA, Program Director of Horse Power and Volunteer Coordinator; Director of “Barnyard Buddies”, Horse Power’s Day Camp
NARHA Advanced Instructor, pursing NARHA Evaluator Training in 2005. Special Olympics Equestrian Coach. Background as Activities Director with Geriatric populations and Life Skills Facilitator at Robin Hill Farms, a residential program for Brain Injured Adults. Involvement with coordination of corporate sponsorships. Lifelong horsewoman and rider. Vaulting Instructor.

Kathy Wile, Office Manager and Workshop Coordinator; PF/HP Instructor
BS in Early Childhood Education and Psychology/Anthropology
Formerly Pony Farm Program Director
Administered a highly successful Pre-School and Kindergarten for 21 years before coming to Pony Farm. Lifetime rider, teacher, and barn manager. Certified as a NARHA Registered Instructor. Organizes and promotes every workshop and clinic offered at Pony Farm and Horse Power and oversees all tack maintenance and purchases. Coordinated Pony Farm’s CHA Accreditation, CHA Instructor Certification Clinic, and NARHA Certification Clinic.

Gabe Senter, Pony Farm and Horse Power Barn Manager
Lifelong horsewoman, with a strong background in Western riding. Completed HPITS course of study in Spring of 2005 with NARHA Registered Instructor Certification. Operated the Gunstock trail riding facility for many years. Instructor of PF and HP students and heads the barn management team.

Nancy Cook, M.Ed in Reading and Special Education – Supervising Instructor for Practice Teaching Component of the Pony Farm Instructor Training School
Founding Instructor of Horse Power. Currently working in the local school district as a Reading and Learning Disabilities Teacher and Case Manager. Presenter at numerous national and regional conferences and workshops. Lifelong riding instructor, trainer and Dressage competitor up to 3rd Level.

Teaching Staff

Isabella (Boo) McDaniel
Kirsten Albano Hickman
Jody Albertini
Brianne Caritey
Sara Fingeret
Terri Devlin
Kathy Wile
Gabe Senter
Nancy Cook

Mary Rose Meyers, PF Instructor, CHA Certified Level 4
Member of the Pony Farm teaching staff. Former Pony Farm student, current PF summer camp staff, continuing her education in the field of equine massage. Assists in both barn and equine management on the farm and plays a key role in the schooling and training of the horses and ponies at Pony Farm and Horse Power.

Lisa Freeman, PF Instructor, CHA Level 3
Pony Farm teaching staff for over twenty years, Kindergarten and First grade teacher, life long rider. Specializes in working with our youngest riders teaching beginners and working with our adult riders getting back into the equine world.

Guest Lecturers or Clinician

Gretchen Anderson, Owner Apple Knoll Farm
Well known and respected trainer, instructor and competitor in the hunter jumper and equitation arena. Has successfully run her training/showing/sales barn in southern New Hampshire for over 15 years. Winner of countless year end awards in every division. Actively riding, training and showing as she brings along young horses for sale and riders who compete at all levels and in all divisions.

Dr. Mark Anderson, DVM — Horsemanship Evening Lecture Series on Seasonal Horse Care and Emergency First Aid
Well known and highly respected vet, specializing in lameness, diagnosis and breeding difficulties. Alumni of Cornell University, has been the farm veterinarian for the past 12 years, specializing with us in the care of the older horse and common sense veterinarian practices for a large herd of lesson horses.

Jim Burnham, Past President of Granite State Carriage Association, Farrier and Pleasure Driving Enthusiast
Brings great cheer wherever he goes as a driver, farrier and experienced horseman. His specialty is trailering, safe leading and trailer maintenance.

Diane Fortier, Certified Farrier
Well known and respected Farrier who has been taking care of the shoeing, trimming and lameness management for up to 70 horses and ponies at the farm for the past 12 years. Extensive experience in corrective shoeing as well as common sense management of a large herd of lesson horses. Avid rider and horsewoman. Competes in Hunter Paces and Pleasure rides. Always ready to answer your questions when she comes to shoe each week.

Julie Goodnight has been a full-time equine professional for more than 20 years, with a varied background ranging from dressage and jumping to racing, reining, colt-starting and wilderness riding. She is known for her upbeat and logical style of teaching and her ability to bridge natural horsemanship techniques with the principles of classical riding. Julie travels extensively conducting clinics as well as being the Program Director for Certified Horsemanship Association. She has authored numerous articles for national publications.

Gretchen Hamm, Equine Chiropractor
Farm Chiropractor

Marianne Hamshaw, Owner and Manager of Cheshire Horse Tack Shop
Founder and owner of one of the largest and best tack shops in New England, The Cheshire Horse. Avid rider and teacher in the Pony Club tradition, Marianne truly knows and loves horses. She helps us keep our horses well supplied with correctly fitted saddles, gentle bits and the latest in good horse care products.

Michele Houston, Certified Equine Body Worker, Formerly with Beval’s Tack Shop
Assists our equines in maintaining health and well being.

Dr. Carl Kirker-Head, Associate Professor of Tufts Veterinary School
Located in the Department of Clinic Sciences, Marilyn Simpson Chair of Equine Medicine and Director of Tufts Orthopedic Research Lab. Sponsoring a field trip for our students to observe an operation in his operating auditorium.

Greg LaPlace, Head Instructor and Clinician of Wild Aire Farm
Licensed horse show judge, much sought after clinician and with two decades of teaching experience. He has a fun and comfortable manner of educating riders. His students include finalists and winners in the New England Equestrian Finals, MHC Days of Champions, South East Hunter Finals, New Hampshire Finals, MHJ Finals and the USA Zone 1 Finals.

Joe Lombard, Huntsman, Judge, Equine Insurance Expert
Founded and ran Saddle Row, a highly successful lesson and show barn which produces riders who are winning from Maine to Florida in the Hunters, Jumpers and Equitation Divisions. Saddle Row is now being run by his daughter. Sought after judge and clinician, Joe has his calendar booked year around. He and his two sons operate Corinthian Insurance Company specializing in insurance for the horse industry. Joe has also been a huntsman for the Tanheath Hunt.

Collen Martin, Business Consultant
Formerly a PF student and PF Program Director for a number of years, Colleen has successfully run a small adult border barn, organized and marketed numerous horse shows, clinics and Hunter Paces while helping to manage a local Hunting and Fishing Club with her husband. Colleen has a flare for building teams in service and related industries.

Kerry Millikin is the 1996 Olympic Bronze Medalist, Team Bronze Medalist in the World Championships, and a Team Gold Medalist in the Pan American Games. She has presented at Equine Affair and is a well-respected national clinician. She is also one of Pony Farm’s ‘inaugural’ campers.

Deb Nickerson, Equine Nutritional Specialist with Blue Seal Feeds
Deb is an active and entertaining lecturer on the varying needs of school horses – whether they are older, thin, fat or “hard” keepers. She has excellent, practical and cost effective feeds for a string of lesson horses.

Toni Prince, Instructor
Mrs. Prince has taught generations of young riders to genuinely know how to care for horses and how to ride correctly. She has created hundreds of lifelong horse lovers. She specializes in beginner riders, giving them a solid foundation.

Brooke Redmond, M.Ed.
Founder of BCR Consulting, works to advance, develop and grow farm-based educational programs. Prior positions have included associate director of marketing and educational services at an educational website, director of special projects at a Boston based think tank, editorial producer at ABC News and public affairs campaign coordinator at Lifetime Television. She currently serves as a volunteer for the Trustees of Reservations and Kids Can Cook.  Brooke received a M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies focusing on educational program development from Lesley University and a B.A. from Skidmore College.

Neal Skorka, IT Consultant, Farm Institute Founder, Business Workshop Co-Facilitator
Holds a BA from Vassar College. He founded Rigel Web Services to provide full-service web solutions to small businesses and non-profit organizations. He compliments his website work by providing customized computer education classes and presentations for businesses and consumers in a second business, Computer Coach. He has extensive experience in team building and project management and draws on his background in non-traditional education methods to enhance his classes and presentations. He has worked as teacher, naturalist, and webmaster for numerous whale watch companies and non-profit environmental education groups. Neal recently founded his own non-profit organization called CarePacks.

Anne Vinsel, BA Fine Arts, Certificate in Horsemanship, minor in Equine Biomechanics, UNH
Began riding at Pony Farm nearly thirty years ago, a horse owner who has competed in events at novice and training level, 2nd at Groton House 1, training level 2003, 1st at Groton House 1 and Snowfields Horse Trails at Novice, 3rd at Millbrook Horse Trails novice. 15th at the American Eventing Championship at the Carolina Horse Park, 3rd Adult Amateur in Area 1 in 2004. Focus is on Amateur Adult Eventing both teaching and competing. Strives to instill the Fun of it All in both her riding and teaching.