Carolyn Meyer
Program Director
Carolyn Meyer is an avid equestrian with over 20 years of experience instructing, riding and managing.
A graduate of Centenary University (previously Centenary College), Hackettstown, New Jersey, class of 2005, with a Bachelor of Science in Equine Studies, Carolyn started out as a riding instructor in Sherborn, Massachusetts, not far from where she grew up. Carolyn’s specialty is teaching in a way that emphasizes strong horsemanship skills to students of all ages.
In 2012, Carolyn accepted a position at her Alma Mater as a member of the management team for the equine center. The school is home to over 100 horses of varied backgrounds, and the knowledge she gained there was instrumental in her growth as a barn manager. From there, Carolyn went on to become barn manager for Chatham Hall School, in Chatham, Virginia.
Carolyn recently moved to the Shenandoah Valley with her husband, Paul and their rescue dog Haven.
Kelsey Lasher
PATH Certified Instructor
“Hi! My name is Kelsey and I have been working with horses for over 16 years. I started riding when I was 7 and fell in love! I have always known I wanted to build my career with horses and have trained and taught many lessons over the years. I have been working for Ride With Pride for a little over 6 years. I started out as a volunteer and soon began working for them in many different ways. I have worked as a barn worker, instructor, and volunteer coordinator. I am proud to say I work for Ride With Pride as their Program Director for 5 years and am currently one of their PATH Certified instructors. I graduated from Bridgewater College with a major in psychology in 2018.”
Joelle Painter
Instructor
“Hi all! I’m Joelle and I have been involved with horses since I was 13. I own three, four-legged babies of my own. I am currently finishing up my degree in Psychology at James Madison University with a minor in disability studies. I am very passionate about Ride with Pride, the horses, the volunteers, and most of all my students. This job has brought me lots of joy and I cannot wait to see all the great experiences I have yet to have through this program.”
Marsha Pillet
Instructor
“I’ve ridden since I was a child and learned a lot when my family owned and ran a riding guest farm in eastern PA where we focused on English riding. I’ve owned and cared for horses at my home all my adult years. Given my choice of riding I most enjoy schooling and training, establishing communication and fitness for both horse and rider. I’m an experienced registered yoga teacher with over 30 years teaching experience including multiple certifications. I have years of experience teaching chair based yoga and adapted mat based yoga for people practicing with physical challenges of all sorts. I began as a NAHRA volunteer around 1997 and began teaching NAHRA students around five or six years later working one on one with students with autism under Debbie Winters guidance and with Sue Woundy with more physically challenged riders.”
Bonnie Wells
Administrative Assistant
“Hello, Bonnie Smiley Wells here. Upon retirement to Moneta, Va., I volunteered at Roanoke Valley Horse Rescue for five years before recently moving to Stuarts Draft. Once I got settled I looked for a place with horses to volunteer. You can imagine my delight upon finding RWP and learning they needed an Administrative Assistant. Talk about timing! That was in March of 2017. In the past I got to be a part of helping abused equines know the healing touch of a kind human, but now I get to be a part of helping people who, because of horses, can find their healing. This is incredibly awesome to me and I appreciate the opportunity to serve our Director, Kelsey Lasher, and all those associated with this wonderful and vital organization aptly named Ride With Pride.”
Interested in joining our Staff?
Become an Instructor…
Without our professionally trained team of instructors we would not be able to provide the absolute best services for our clients. Ride With Pride always makes sure to present learning opportunities and
encourages our instructors to attend conferences and workshops to enhance their teaching abilities. Every year our certified instructors are required to complete at least 20 hours of additional training to uphold their certifications. Through fundraising efforts and generous donations from our sponsors, Ride With Pride is able to send our instructors to four-day PATH Conferences that take place in a different state every year.
Think you might be interested in joining our team as an instructor? Ride With Pride is always looking to expand our staff by adding new, experienced, and talented horsemen and women. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, have volunteered with our program with a minimum of 20 hours, have completed our mentoring program, and completed our interview process. Please contact Kelsey Lasher at [email protected] or call 540-255-2210 for more information.
Become a barn worker…
Our horses do a wonderful job for our program but with that means they take a lot of care. We have a wonderful team of barn workers to help feed, bring horses in and out of their stalls, and clean. Interested in working for us? Barn workers should be at least 16 years old, have horse experience, have a flexible schedule, and good team working skills. Please contact Kelsey Lasher at [email protected] or call 540-255-2210 for more information.