Our Instructors

Sandra Brown

Sandy is a Massachusetts licensed riding instructor and a certified therapeutic riding instructor at the Registered level with PATH International. She has been riding, teaching, and competing since 1980 in many disciplines: combined training and dressage, western pleasure, polo, hunter/jumpers, and gymkhana.

 

Sandy joined us in 2002 and is the assistant barn manager for Oakhollow Farm and the horse manager for Equus.

 

Sandy has a bachelor's in biology from the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. She is a veterinary technician at Greylock Animal Hospital.

 

She lives in North Adams with her two house cats, Sienna and Remington Steele. Her horse, Reason to Shout, lives at Oakhollow Farm.

 

In 2011, Sandy and our Equus horse Lance competed in Dressage at Saratoga; in 2012, she will

be riding Lance at King Oak in dressage.

Carrie Minahan

Carrie joined Equus as our hippotherapy instructor in 2008. She is a certified physical therapist with a special interest in pediatrics, and has both Level I and II certification from the American Hippotherapy Association.

Carrie also works in private practice at Western Mass Physical Therapy, in Pittsfield, where she specializes in adult neurology, with a special interest in vestibular rehabilitation.

 

She graduated from the University of Vermont with a bachelor of science degree in physical therapy with a clinical specialty in neurology. Carrie is now in the final stages of completing her doctorate in physical therapy at Sage Graduate School.

 

Carrie lives in Lee with her 6-year-old daughter, her husband, and Waffle the cat and Tar the dog.

 

Janet Renard

Janet began volunteering with with Equus in April 2009. She became a Massachusetts licensed riding instructor in

the spring of 2011. She then began her therapeutic riding instructor apprenticeship under Sandy; in December, she passed the tests at High Hopes Therapeutic Riding Center, to become a PATH Registered instructor.

She also teaches beginner riders at Emerald Glen, where her and her daughter's horse, Louie, lives.

Amber Baker

In 2008, Amber began apprenticing as an instructor with Equus. She achieved her certification at the Registered level with PATH International in July 2009.

 

Amber grew up in Stamford, Vermont, and has had horses since she was four. She currently owns three horses: Augie, Chant, and Ally.

 

 

 

 

 

She has an associate's degree from Southern Seminary College in Beuna Vista, Virginia, in equine business management and is working toward a degree in business administration at MCLA. She lives in North Adams with her four dogs: Dakota, Sherman, Shiloh, and Pupperoni.