STAFF
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Founders
Ann and Larry Kulchin
Larry and Ann with granddaughter Tessa in 1996.
Memoirs from a daughter: Ann and Larry Kulchin
Lawrence Kulchin caught the eye of Ann Elise Richter in 1957. Larry a handsome, New York born lad was attending University of Berkley after a stint in the Air Force as a surveyor, when he happened upon Ann, a red headed beauty from Little Rock Arkansas, who was working in the office at UC Berkeley. Hitting it off immediately, they "eloped" to Las Vegas with the family for their wedding. I was born in 1958 in Walnut Creek, California and Dede was born in 1959 in San Jose. Dad only worked a few years for someone else, then went into business for himself. Kulchin & Associates evolved into one of the biggest engineering firms in the United States. Mom held the fort down at home raising us and going with our every whim. Mom and Dad bought us a pony, Mighty Mouse, who was the beginning of the horsey adventure, that I am still on!
My sister, Dede, while at Cal Poly pursuing her Child Development degree, chose to do her Sr. Project on The Animal Human Bond. This was a natural course, because we spent our childhood raising everything from baby quail in the bathtub to our horses!
Mom and Dad were such gamers! When a conference by the Delta Society was in Texas on therapeutic horseback riding, this "new" field of study, off we went! We were hooked and things just rolled after that. My sister and I attended a two week training in Orange County with Fran Joswick and completed our NARHA training! My parents bought a piece of property in San Luis Obispo where Dede ran BOK south for several years, until it was no longer feasible. Purchasing, two Fjords, PJ and Zeke, I started giving lessons at my parents house, in Redwood City. I even went to pick up my first student at her house! The idea of Therapeutic Horseback riding, was just starting....
And here we are today!
Program Director
Tish Dipman
Tish Dipman is a seventh generation Oakland native who was raised in Pleasant Hill.
The oldest of three girls, Tish started showing interest in horses at age four and by age nine she
was taking formal lessons and began showing in local shows throughout Northern California.
Throughout her life she has ridden, leased, and owned many horses.
By age seventeen, Tish was showing and training event horses professionally.
Her life was changed forever when, at the age of eighteen, Tish started taking care of a little girl with Autism whose mother had passed away from cancer. Within that year her focus changed from horses to working exclusively with the special needs community. Tish has worked as a 1:1 with many special needs children in both their school and home environments. She spent seven years as the Supervisor of Children’s Services at the Recreation Center for the Handicapped in San Francisco, before moving on to the Bridge School and B.O.K. Ranch. Tish is a NARHA certified instructor and a CHA certified riding instructor who owned and operated her own therapeutic riding center in the East Bay for several years before making the move to the Peninsula.
Tish married her long time boyfriend Scott in Vegas on 08-08-08. Baby makes three, Scott and Tish were very excited to welcome their Baby Benjamin into the world 10 months later!
Tish can be reached at tishcallos@yahoo.com.
Head Instructor & Equine Manager
Heather Schilling
Heather
is a Woodside native who grew up on the back of a horse. Heather is
an experienced rider in cross country jumping, stadium jumping, and
dressage. On any given day Heather can be found taking her horse
Honey through the paces on the Horse Park’s cross country field.
Before coming to B.O.K. Ranch, Heather spent time teaching
therapeutic riding at another local center, as well as teaching
summer camps with Woodside’s Junior Riders. Heather is studying to
become part of a
small distinguished group of individuals who are qualified to teach
interactive vaulting (gymnastics on horseback) to participants with
special needs.
Heather wears two hats for B.O.K., as a NARHA certified riding instructor, Heather heads up the instructor staff. When she isn’t in the ring teaching, Heather is keeping the B.O.K. equine herd in tip-top form as the equine manager.
NARHA Instructor/Stable Life Manager
Joanna Shell
Joanna
Shell is a Licensed Acupuncturist with a private practice in San
Francisco as well as an avid equestrian. After devoting 12 years in the
health field, she decided to expand her training to include the use of
horses, and become a NARHA certified instructor. A cowgirl
through and through, she prefers to ride Western and loves team penning
and barrels. When not teaching, you will find her galloping around on
one of her two handsome geldings - Joe and Jack.
For more information on Stable Life, BOK Ranch's wellness program, please contact Joanna directly at JoannaShell@sbcglobal.net or (415) 722-4778.
Volunteer Lesson Manager/Instructor
Marida Berlin
Marida
Berlin grew up in Los Angeles, California. Ever since she can
remember she loved horses. It started with begging her parents to
take her to the pony rides at Griffith Park where she would stand up
in the stirrups and pretend she was a jockey crossing the
finish-line. She drew horses on every piece of paper she could get
her hands on, pranced around the playground jumping over benches and
read every book in the library about horses.
Marida took her first formal riding lessons through a P.E. class at CSU, Northridge where she eventually got a degree in Psychology. She returned to school, and attended Otis Art Institute where she studied graphic design. Marida worked as a graphic designer and art director in advertising and publishing.
After having 2 daughters Marida and husband, Robert moved to Portola Valley. Marida took up riding again and got her first horse, Sadie. Marida and Sadie started out competing in dressage and then moved on to 3-day eventing where she no longer had to just pretend she was crossing the finish-line. The Berlins own 2 other horses; Letrista, an Azteca mare and Michaeleen, an Irish Sport Horse gelding. Marida served as Joint District Commissioner for Portola Valley Pony Club where she implemented their instructional program and organized riding clinics. Marida trains with Anja Pflanz for dressage and Gabrielle Goni of Excalibur Training for jumping. She is an active member of California Dressage Society, United States Eventing Association and United States Equestrian Federation.
Administration/Webmaster
Jamie Morris
Jamie
began
volunteering with BOK in 1992, starting as a Junior Volunteer and
working her way up to becoming the office manager and volunteer
coordinator. In 2001 she moved to Colorado, but continued
maintaining the BOK website, and adopted PJ when he retired in 2006
(pictured is PJ with Jamie in the volunteer class at a 1998 horse
show).
In 2010 Jamie happily moved back to the Bay Area, and is currently living in the coast range.
She enjoys work as a web designer, is studying 3D design, and spends her free time with her animals (including two horses, one of them a Fjord).
Volunteer Coordinator
Elizabeth Campi
Elizabeth has been volunteering with BOK for about 6 years. She began
in high school to fulfill school requirement, then fell in love with the
program and quickly became a dedicated volunteer. Being a horse lover
for as long as she can remember and her love of working with children
made BOK a perfect fit. Since she has been away at college, she has
only been able to volunteer during the summer, but has taken on working
as the volunteer coordinator since June of 2009. Elizabeth is
currently a senior communications major at Dominican University. When
she graduates, she hopes to work in public relations and marketing.
For information about volunteering at BOK, please contact Elizabeth at (650) 283-2519 or bokvolunteer@yahoo.com.
Instructor and Occupational Therapist
Chase Doverspike
Chase
grew up in Texas and moved to California in 2003. She loved
horses early on and started taking both English and Western
lessons at age nine. She then started training in the
Hunter/Jumper world in college at Texas A&M University. An Aggie through and through - she bleeds maroon. After
completing her undergraduate studies, Chase went on to Texas
Woman's University for a Master's in Occupational Therapy,
knowing that she would ultimately want to combine working with
animals and humans. Chase has been teaching therapeutic riding
since 2005 and doing Hippotherapy full-time since 2006 at
another local center. She now has her own business, Cadence
Therapy, focusing on Equine Assisted Therapy, Hippotherapy, and
In-Home Occupational Therapy Services. In her free time Chase
leases a horse at Portola Farms and trains with Hunter/Jumper
trainer Jan Pearce. Chase loves to take her horse to
competitions when ever she can. Chase is a NARHA Certified
Riding Instructor, Licensed Occupational Therapist, NARHA
Registered Therapist/Hippotherapy
Clinical Specialist (Board Certified in Hippotherapy).
Stable Assistant
Megan Dinsmore
Megan
is a native of the Bay Area. Her love of riding and horses began at the
age of 7 when her family would take their annual trip down to a guest
ranch near Santa Barbara. For the past several years she has worked
with the wranglers at a ranch in Bridgeport on the other side of the
Yosemite range with their annual Spring cattle work. She follows the PBR
(Professional Bull Riding) and rodeo circuits along with attending the
concerts of her favorite country performers. She enjoys both
volunteering and working at the BOK. It fulfills her dream of doing
what she loves the most which is to be with and care for horses.
Equine Trainer
Megan Jernigan
Megan
Jernigan hit the hunter jumper circuit at the age of seven and
galloped on into the world of three day by the age of ten. The
combination of the all three major disciplines; stadium jumping,
dressage and cross country, has kept Megan busy the last 20 years
training, competing and riding for kicks. A true horse enthusiast,
Megan can be found out on the trails, in the dressage and jumping
arenas or romping around the cross country course with her horse
Jasper. Currently Megan is studying for a Masters in Occupational
Therapy and has joined BOK ranch and staff to learn first hand about
hippotherapy and assist in training the horses at the ranch. If you
see a horse and rider gallop by on your way into BOK, look closely
it might be Megan breezing one of the BOK horses!
Instructor
Jennifer Picinich
Jennifer
Picinich has a strong foundation of classical dressage, yet she can run
the barrels with the best of 'em. She is an accomplished rider, trainer,
and instructor with 20 years of experience working with horses. As a
NARHA certified instructor you will be sure to catch her teaching both
Western and English classes in the ring. " I could not have asked for a
more rewarding career. Every day I get to inspire, motivate, and help
build confidence in our youth. I get to physically and emotionally
change someone’s life for the better by sharing something that I am
deeply passionate about!"
Instructor
Joel Sloan
Joel Sloan grew up in the High Desert in Southern California. His passion for horses started at a very young age. The events that he most enjoyed were team penning and roping. He began working on a paint horse ranch and showed paint horses on the APHA circuit during his High School years.
Joel’s discovery of therapeutic riding occurred while working at another therapeutic riding center where his passion for helping people and his love of horses converged. His experience in therapeutic sessions include long-lining and horse handling, and he is now a certified NAHRA instructor. Although he is an avid western rider Joel is currently taking dressage lessons to become a more versatile rider. By inspiration of B.O.K. he is currently working towards a degree in physical therapy.
Instructor
Hannah McDonald
Hannah McDonald grew up in San Carlos and has been riding horses for eleven years. From a young age, she had a fascination of the animal for its sensitivity and willingness to communicate with humans. She has worked as a stablehand and lesson helper for many years on the peninsula. She started volunteering at BOK Ranch two years ago and became intrigued by how horses can help those of us with different disabilities. Currently she is a NAHRA student teacher, working to get certified to teach therapeutic riding lessons. Hannah leads the Parent Trail rides on the weekends and spends her time volunteering with lessons and riding her favorite horse, Ranger. She is a student at Foothill college and plans to get a degree in Occupational therapy. After trying out many different barns over the years, she has said she is grateful to have found BOK ranch and definitely feels at home here.
Other Instructors and Therapists that facilitate people
with special needs at the Horse Park at Woodside:
Debra Alvarado
Deb grew up with horses and started riding before she was walking.
She showed her all-around Quarter Horse throughout Oregon and
Washington as a teenager. She graduated from
Chico State in 1983 with double
bachelor's degrees in
Psychology and Geography and moved
to Hawaii where she lived for 20
years. She went back to school for
Athletic Training and Physical
Therapy in January 1986 and finally received her
Masters degree in Physical Therapy
in May 1994. She worked for two private schools in Hawaii as their
Athletic Trainer taking care of the
sports injuries as well as teaching
Health and Sports Medicine classes to high
school students. She married her "Hawaiian" man living in
California and moved here in June 2003. Prior to leaving Hawaii,
she was trained in the Stott Pilates method and has been
incorporating it into her personal training and
physical therapy sessions. Upon
arriving in California, she focused on doing aquatic PT for
pediatric as well as adult patients. She started doing
Hippotherapy in April 2006 and has
found it to be a wonderful combination of working with all ages and
using the equine as a therapeutic companion to achieve therapeutic
goals.
Horse Sensing
Sally Broder
Dr.
Broder began her professional equine career at the age of 15. She
went to work for a horse trainer in Rancho Sante Fe, California and
spent the next several years working with beautiful show horses.
Even back then, she felt the healing power in horses and was
developing ideas about how to pass this to others. 15 years later
she embarked on her career in the fields of, first, substance abuse
treatment then more broadly clinical psychology. She has focused her
career on treating individuals who have experienced trauma and felt
the effects of that in their life paths. With Horse Sensing, she
brings together her clinical expertise and equine expertise to
facilitate the healing process in her clients.
Inner Equine Concepts
Jennifer Arrends
Jen grew up in Palo Alto. She began galloping over the hills of
Portola Valley at the age of 9 and began showing hunter/jumper with
Nancy VanZwol. That early connection with animals made it clear to
her that a career with animals was the way to go. She has worked in
the field of veterinary medicine for the last 20 years. In her
early thirties her dream came true of owning her first horse, a
percheron, quarter horse cross named Sable. Well, you know the term
“be careful what you wish for?” This mare let her know that she had
a lot more to learn about horse behavior and if she didn’t figure it
out she would be permanently flattened against the stall wall. This
started her on the journey of learning what each individual horse
needs from her to be happy healthy and willing. By learning to be a
"better horse" she was able to become a better mother, wife, friend,
team mate, employee, teacher, and student. She realized that this
process of personal development is too profound not to share.
Through this realization Inner Equine Concepts was born.
She is Silver certified in the Chris Irwin’s method of Equine Assisted Personal Development and horsemanship on the ground and in the saddle. She trains in the never ending journey dressage with Anja Pflaz on her Oldenburg gelding, Caelus. She lives in San Carlos with her husband Kevin, son Jake, daughter Jacquie, a dog, a cat and five chickens.
BOK Ranch Board of Directors
Beverly Aiello, President
Ann Kulchin, Secretary
Alison Aiello, Treasurer
Larry Bragato
Steve Ondry
Carolyn Ybarra
Michael Mansfield
Where are they now?
Carol Studer, Former Program Director and Instructor
After
spending 12 years as the B.O.K. head riding instructor and program
director, Carol got married to her husband Sam and had a son named
Douglas. Carol, Sam, and Douglas now live in Morrow Bay, California.
Carol is still active in the horse community, owning her own horse
and providing riding lessons to equestrians in her community.
Kelly Forman Allari, Former Instructor
Kelly lives in
Santa Cruz, California with her husband Tim and baby Kathleen
(pictured). They
love to play with the baby, travel, work in the garden, and go to
the beach! Kelly returned to work as a social worker for
Children and Family Services part time when her maternity leave was
over. She is still registered as a therapeutic riding instructor
with NARHA and hopes to return work at BOK Ranch when Kathleen is a
little bit older.
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Program Location: 3674 Sand Hill Road, Woodside, CA 94062
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