OUR TEAM
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FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
REGISTERED PATH INTL. INSTRUCTOR
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After a successful career in high tech sales, Chris needed a change. She was offered the opportunity to follow her love of horses and that led to the world of therapeutic riding. She was finally where she was always supposed to be. That was in 2003 and she has never looked back. Chris received her Registered Therapeutic Riding Instructor certification in 2006 and started Miracles shortly thereafter. Miracles was formed to serve the special needs community by providing a small and personal approach to helping students better navigate the world around them.
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PROGRAM DIRECTOR/LEAD INSTRUCTOR
REGISTERED PATH INTL. INSTRUCTOR
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Lori is a Colorado native who grew up reading every horse book she could find, and collecting Breyer horses, until she finally got her own horse at 14. She has competed in shows and rodeos, but mostly enjoys quiet trail rides now. In 2006 she started volunteering at LifeStriders Therapeutic Riding Center, in Wisconsin, where she became a PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor in 2008, combining her love of children and horses. In 2010, she left a long career in IT to become the Program Director for LifeStriders. In 2013 she moved to Cody, Wyoming to start the non-profit, One Step at a Time Therapeutic Riding Program. After serving special needs clients in the Cody area for four years, she decided she missed her family too much and moved back home to Colorado. She is happy to be back home with her family, and happy that she has found a new family at Miracles.
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REGISTERED PATH INTL. INSTRUCTOR
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Becky started volunteering for Chris when she was 10 and kept volunteering until she graduated high school. She left for college in Utah and got degrees in photography and English Literature. After graduation she moved back to Colorado and worked at different barns until reconnecting with Miracles and getting PATH certified in June of 2022. She has 3 kids, the oldest of which is special needs and part of the reason she became certified. At home she has 8 horses plus chickens and sheep that keep the whole family busy. Outside of horses she enjoys rock climbing, snorkeling and running terrain races.
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REGISTERED PATH INTL. INSTRUCTOR
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Kelsey is an Occupational Therapist who also holds hippotherapy and PATH certifications. She has been with Miracles in the past and brings a wealth of therapeutic knowledge and horsemanship skills with her. We are so happy to have her help through the winter months.
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REGISTERED PATH INTL. INSTRUCTOR
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Maya rediscovered her affinity for horses when volunteering as a side-walker and horse leader at Lift Me Up! in 2013. Over the next few years, she became more interested in human-equine interactions - both her love of horses and passion for helping people drew her to pursue her PATH Intl. CTRI Certification.
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Maya loves using creativity to provide therapeutic horsemanship instruction to people who will benefit from being with horses in multiple ways. Holding an M.A. in special education, Maya believes in the importance of creating a safe yet challenging environment to help riders overcome their perceived "barriers" to reach their goals.
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SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST​
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Miracles partners with Cathy Lauderbaugh, M.A., CCC-SLP, and Creative Strategies Therapy to offer speech therapy with the use of equine movement (often referred to as hippotherapy). Cathy holds a AHCB Certification in using equine movement as a therapy tool, and has completed Level 1 and Level 2 coursework from the American Hippotherapy Association. Her background includes extensive continued education in body mechanics and over 15 years of experience in using movement to support learning. She also has equestrian experience training across multiple disciplines and maintains her Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor status through PATH Intl. She loves forming genuine relationships with families and children and is honored to use the horse in her therapy sessions; learn more about her approach at
www.CreativeStrategiesTherapy.com
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INSTRUCTOR/VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR​
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After moving from Indiana to Colorado in 2022, Whitney was thrilled to reconnect with her love of horses, having been a rider and barn employee for many years as a kid and teen. She joined the therapeutic riding community at MTRC in June 2025, though she's also a former therapeutic rider herself. She's volunteering at Miracles as an instructor-in-training and helping with volunteer coordination, bringing years of experience as a teacher, instructional coach, and non-profit leader. Whitney holds a Master's in Teaching, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, and currently works for a national education non-profit. At home in Erie, life is full with her husband, two kids, three dogs, a cat, and plenty of time outdoors.