Our Staff & Board of Directors

Meet Our People

Staff Bios

Cyndi Meyer

Cyndi Meyer

Executive Director

Cyndi has lived in Montana for over 50 years. After 25 years of teaching in the special education and general education classrooms, she decided it was time to retire and start a new career. Being the director of Trotting Horse Therapeutic Riding combines her experience as a teacher with her lifelong enjoyment of horses.  She is excited to share the gifts that horses offer with children and adults of all abilities. If you can’t find her at the barn… follow the rottweilers.

Our Board of Directors

Amanda Darrow

Amanda Darrow

Board Member

Amanda Darrow has been with us from the beginning. She was somehow convinced to help us navigate the financial and legal aspects of running this non profit, and we could not do it without her! When she’s not  keeping our organization in line, she enjoys spending time working with her horse Gypsy and teaching her daughter the ropes. 

Nita Kattell

Nita Kattell

Board Member

Nita Kattell has also been part of Trotting Horse since the very start. She is a retired fifth-grade teacher and a proud new grandmother. She wears many hats at the stables, and on any given day can be found teaching, cleaning, fixing, riding… You name it. If she has free time, she can usually be found with her horses Morris and Amigo.

Kelly Valerius

Kelly Valerius

Administrator

Kelly is a born and bred Minnesotan, who moved to Montana in 2020 after earning her MBA. She started volunteering with THTR almost immediately, and has quickly become a fixture at the stables! When she’s not at her full time job with Camp Mak-A-Dream, Kelly can often be found riding her horse Martha or backpacking in the mountains. She lives with her husband and two rascally labradors.

MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

LEAH FINCH

Leah Finch is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in the states of Montana, North Carolina, and New York, and is dually-certified in the Eagala model of equine-assisted psychotherapy as both a mental health professional and equine specialist. She earned her Masters of Arts in Counseling from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2017. She has worked in private practice, mental health consulting, college counseling, career counseling, and teaches adjunct in graduate counseling programs. She is currently a PhD student in Counselor Education and Supervision at The University of Montana. Leah has spent her whole life around horses, even managing to find a dressage barn while living in the heart of NYC. She now enjoys spending time with her BLM mustang, Amiguito, and participating in events with the Missoula Back Country Horsemen. 

MORGAN BEAVERS

Morgan Beavers is a mental health therapist and owner/founder of On The Trail, LLC, a down-to-earth therapy practice offering in-person, telehealth, walk-and-talk, and equine-assisted therapy sessions. She earned her Master of Arts in Environmental Literature from the University of Montana in 2019 and her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Adams State University (CO) in 2024. Born and raised in Georgia, she is a lifelong horsewoman and proud alumna of the University of Georgia NCAA National Championship Women’s Equestrian Team. Morgan is having fun dabbling in all disciplines now with her golden girl, Lady May. 

About Trotting Horse

Trotting Horse Therapeutic Riding is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing equine therapy and accessible equine activities to Montanans in need. All donations are deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

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Donations of supplies or money (either one-time or ongoing) are critical to keeping our program accessible.

 

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