Katie has spent the past eleven years learning about and working with equine assisted therapies. She has worked with veterans, at-risk youth, individuals with special needs, families, professionals, and individuals in addiction recovery. Her work has included therapeutic riding, equine assisted learning and psychotherapy, horse powered reading, and basic riding instruction. To ensure quality service, Katie has completed numerous certification and training programs to keep up with evidence-based practices in the mental health and equine therapy fields. Additionally, she has dedicated the past six years to researching the impact intentional therapy has on client emotional safety when participating in equine assisted interventions. Katie has completed her MSW from the University of Tennessee to ensure our quality of service matches industry standards.

Education:
Certified Clinical Trauma Professional
Certified Child and Adolescent Trauma Professional
Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor
Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) Certified Instructor
Certified Equine Assisted Learning and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy Instructor
Certified Horsemanship Association Certified Riding Instructor
Doctor of Philosophy in Animal Physiology: Equine Therapy (Mississippi State University)
Master of Social Word (University of Tennessee)
Master of Science in Human Development and Family Science (Mississippi State University)
Bachelor of Science in Animal and Dairy Science (Mississippi State University)

Elizabeth Wilson, aka Marzi, has been working at Dogwood for the past four years and is the Program Director for the therapeutic riding program.  She has worked with the special needs population for the past thirteen years and has nine years experience in programming.  When not teaching her therapeutic riding clients, she is on the road with Katie leading team building at addiction treatment facilities across the state. She is certified in Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Learning.

Emma Farnlacher is a junior studying animal science at Mississippi State University. She has been riding for over 11 years. She has been with Dogwood for two years, teaching both Western and English riding lessons. In the future, she hopes to continue working with and teaching others about horses.

Emma Grace Sims is from Tuscaloosa, AL and she is a sophomore at MSU studying animal science with the plan of attending vet school. She has been riding for almost 15 years, beginning in the hunter jumpers for a few years and then changed to barrel racing 10 years ago. She has been teaching beginner to advanced western riding and barrel racing lessons for the past few years.

Randi Elam has been an instructor with Dogwood since September 2020. With a strong background in both Western and English disciplines, she enjoys being able to teach both and share her knowledge at Dogwood. She has been riding for about thirteen years and has shown in eventing and showjumping events. Currently, she is at Mississippi State University studying psychology to go on to occupational therapy school. She strives to become a hippotherapist in the future. She is certified in Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Learning.

Sydney Stockton is a Social Work major at Mississippi State University. She has been working at Dogwood for two years. Her lessons include general riding along with therapeutic riding. Her riding style is Western and she is currently working on becoming a better barrel racer. After graduation, she will pursue a master of social work degree and complete the licensure needed to be an equine psychotherapist.  She is certified in Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Learning.

Alex has been with Dogwood since the dream began. Though he claims to only handle maintenance and landscaping, Alex is an essential part in all program planning, implementation, and evaluation. It is not uncommon to find him working with our contract facilities or assisting in specialty lessons, but Alex’s primary focus is crafting the nutritional program to keep our equine friends in peak health. From routine maintenance to building ramps for our riders, this cowboy keeps Dogwood “5-Star” for all!