Justine Carlson: Barn Manager
Amanda Costa: NARHA Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor, Volunteer Coordinator
Amanda began volunteering at Butterfly Dreams in June 2006 and became the volunteer coordinator in October 2006. She received her NARHA certification to become a therapeutic riding instructor in July 2007 and has been teaching since the Fall of 2007. She currently resides in Athens with her husband Joey, two dogs Missy and Gus, and her new horse Sheba. She enjoys date nights with Joey and traveling overseas together, spending time with their church group friends, and working on training her new horse.
"I first heard about Butterfly in a newspaper article in June of 2006 and jumped in immediately! My dream, ever since I was little was to own my own horse and be able to teach riding to children with disabilities. How neat I thought to be able to do such an amazing thing. I feel extremely blessed to be part of something like Butterfly and love teaching all of my students. I feel like they have a pretty great time out there too, which just makes it so wonderful"
Peggy Curran, Physical Therapist: Hippotherapy Certified Therapist
Peggy has been a certified Physical Therapist for 30 years, a pediatric PT for 10 years, and certified in Hippotherapy for 3 years. Peggy has known Cat Thompson for 15 years and was encouraged to join Butterfly Dreams after it received it's NARHA affiliation about 5 years ago. Peggy specializes in young children with developmental disabilities of all kinds. Her other hobbies include riding horses, paper crafts, reading, hiking, and biking. She lives in Athens with her husband Henry and they have one daughter, Kelly.
Laura DePooter: NARHA Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor
Laura joined Butterfly Dreams Farm in the Spring of 2008 as a volunteer and received her NARHA instructor certification in the Fall of 2009. She volunteered with All Star Therapy Program in Ramona, OK before moving to Athens. Along with volunteering with the riding program in Oklahoma for several years she has ridden and trained horses for over 10 years. She enjoys helping children feel comfortable and confident around people and horses. In her spare time, she enjoys her two Arabians, reading, and working on her new farm!