Leadership Team

Meghan was born in San Mateo, California before moving to Atlanta, Georgia in 2008. At the age of four, she took her first riding lesson and was hooked. When her family made the move to Atlanta, they were introduced to Chastain Horse Park where she continued her Hunter Jumper riding career. During her junior year of high school, Meghan homeschooled and moved to Ocala, Florida to train and compete at a high level. Meghan took home rankings at USET Finals, Medal Finals, Washington Finals and Maclay Finals.  In 2014, Meghan was recruited by the University of Georgia’s NCAA Equestrian Team. She was a member of the team for her four years competing as an Over Fences rider. During her time on the team, UGA Equestrian won four SEC Championship Titles. Graduating with a degree in Financial Planning, she remained at UGA to pursue her Master’s Degree in Financial Planning. During her Master’s Program, Meghan was the Graduate Assistant for the UGA Equestrian Team, helping with competition coordination, team practices and athlete compliance. Throughout her time in school, Meghan continued to compete with her own horses in the Hunter Jumper circuit and to this day, continues to compete. Following her graduation from Graduate School, Meghan worked for Goldman Sachs as a Financial Planner. During her time there, she focused on Tax Planning and Asset Allocation. After spending time away from the horse world, she realized that she wanted her passion of horses to become her career. That is when she found a spot at Chastain Horse Park as Program Coordinator. She is currently working towards her PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor credentialing so she can expand her knowledge and impact on CHP’s Therapeutic Program.

Sandy is an enthusiastic Instructor of Therapeutic Riding, Horsemanship, Equine Assisted Mental Health and Learning (ESMHL), Interactive Vaulting and Carriage Driving. She is a PATH Intl. Evaluator for the Registered, Advanced and Master Instructor Certifications. Sandy has attended 2 Paralympics and 3 World Championships as the Canadian Paralympic Dressage Team Coach. Sandy was the Program Director and Executive Director of CARD, an exceptional program in Toronto for over 23 years. After becoming a 2-time cancer survivor, Sandy chose to spend the past 17 years building and staffing therapeutic riding centers, mentoring instructors, and consulting coast to coast in the United States and beyond. Sandy was awarded the prestigious PATH Intl. James Brady Award in 2012 for her impact on the Equine Assisted Activities and Therapy industry across North America. Sandy spent two years working with the Ministry of Education in Singapore to create a unique equine based core value program for pre-teens, which successfully lowered the suicide rate 70%. In 2019, Sandy was awarded the Silver Buckle “Life Without Barriers Award” for her impact on therapeutic riding programs in Northern California. Her passion is helping the EAAT industry grow while developing best practices to change people’s lives with the help of well-trained volunteers and our best friends, the horse.

Casey grew up on a small horse farm adjacent to what is now the Silver Comet Trail in Smyrna, Georgia. Weekends were spent on their family farm in South Georgia where they raised cattle and Tennessee Walking Horses. She has practiced several equine disciplines and competed in shows throughout the Southeast. Her favorite place to be is on a scenic trail ride with good company, native plants, and a surefooted horse. For more than a decade Casey has served in the non-profit sector. In 2022 she was fortunate to work with Atlanta Public Schools where she fell in love with education and working with children. She is very excited to be part of Chastain Horse Park’s mission to empower individuals of all abilities through life-changing relationships with horses. In her downtime, you can find Casey on the baseball or softball fields of NYO pulling dugout duty for her two children, walking her dogs around the Chastain Park loop, or digging in the garden. You may even catch her renovating homes in the area with her husband! Casey will be joining Emma and Lindsey in Volunteer Services supporting the organization in all aspects of our mission.

Lindsey grew up riding in Florida in the saddle seat discipline. She is graduating this May 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Georgia State University and heading to UGA Gwinnett in the Fall to pursue a Master of Social Work. She plans to seek licensure as a counselor, gain her PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor and Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning credentials. Lindsey hopes to grow with Chastain Horse Park as they pilot the Equine Assisted Mental Health program. Outside of CHP, Lindsey and her wife have their hands full with two young daughters.

Madeline has been around horses for as long as she can remember. Originally from Franklin, Tennessee, Madeline grew up on a horse farm that raised Tennessee Walking Horses. There she began riding at the age of 5. During her elementary school years, she took hunter/jumper lessons to help build a solid foundation for riding.  Madeline graduated from Samford University where she earned a bachelor's degree in Finance. She was also a member of the women's track team.  A couple of years after moving to Atlanta, Madeline had the opportunity to volunteer with Chastain Horse Park. Pairing service to others and horses was a perfect match for Madeline's passions. She has volunteered with CHP for 4 years and is very excited to have obtained her CTRI. She looks forward to serving in this role! Madeline lives in Roswell with her husband, Gardner and dog, Hattie. She enjoys traveling and showing her horses.

Michelle started taking horseback riding lessons in the hunter/jumper discipline when she was 6 years old. She actively rode and competed in local shows throughout her elementary, middle, and high school years. While pursuing her undergraduate degree at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, she competed on their IHSA Hunt Seat Equestrian Team. It was during her high school years that Michelle was first introduced to therapeutic riding. She volunteered as a sidewalker, horse leader and barn coordinator at a therapeutic riding center in Bel Air, Maryland throughout both high school and college. She loved it so much that she decided to pursue becoming a PATH Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor. In August of 2015, Michelle was awarded a scholarship from The Equus Foundation for her commitment to volunteering in the therapeutic riding field, which covered the cost of pursuing her certification. Once certified, Michelle continued teaching therapeutic riding lessons part time. In March of 2018, Michelle was offered a full-time position at Greystone Manor Therapeutic Riding Center, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as their Programs and Instruction Coordinator. In this role, Michelle taught therapeutic riding lessons on a weekly basis and managed the therapeutic riding operations and administration, including rider scheduling, chairing the annual horse show, conducting special camp programs, and managing day to day lesson operations. Michelle was in this role for over three years. In 2021, Michelle received a Graduate Assistantship to pursue her master’s degree in Nonprofit Management at UGA in Athens. After graduating in December 2022, she moved to Tucker, GA where she currently resides and works full time as the Assistant Development Director at the nonprofit organization, Friends of Disabled Adults and Children, or FODAC. Michelle is excited to be working again with students and teaching therapeutic riding lessons as a part time therapeutic riding instructor at Chastain Horse Park.

​Michelle earned her Masters of Science in Physical Therapy from Boston University in 1999. She worked in public schools in Maryland and Massachusetts for many years providing therapy services to children with a wide variety of special needs. After leaving Massachusetts, Michelle spent a few years being a full-time mom to her 4 children and then returned to her first passion, helping children learn to use their motor skills to the best of their abilities. Michelle has taken many continuing education courses over the years, including treating Idiopathic Toe-Walking, use of Functional Electrical Stimulation (specifically for the pediatric population), and Linked: Breathing and Postural Control. Michelle has taken the American Hippotherapy Association (AHA) Level 1 and 2 courses and has tested to become certified as a Hippotherapy Clinical Specialist. Michelle had a poster presentation at the 2022 AHA conference about the use of Hippotherapy in a patient with Long Covid. Michelle grew up going on trail rides with her family and learned about hippotherapy when she was a college student. The ability to include hippotherapy into her patients’ treatment plans fulfills a lifelong career goal.

Emily earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2013. She worked as a special education PreK assistant for one year before taking the leap into Occupational Therapy. Emily moved to Georgia in 2016 and graduated with her Master's in Occupational Therapy from Brenau University in 2019.  ​ While in OT school, she observed equine assisted therapy outside of her internships. Emily worked in a pediatric outpatient facility for two years before transitioning to inpatient at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish-Rite. She currently works part-time at CHOA. Emily has experience with sensory based approaches to feeding, modality certified and has completed the American Hippotherapy Association (AHA) Treatment Principles I & II. She is excited to incorporate a holistic sensory based experience while treating outside and with horses. Emily joined the My Heroes Therapy Team at Chastain Horse Park in January 2023.

Andrea received her bachelor’s degree in fine art from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. After graduating, she worked for several years as a freelance photographer, doing everything from product shots to photojournalism for local newspapers. While on a photo assignment at a skilled nursing facility/assisted living community in Brooklyn, she discovered occupational therapy and quickly realized she had found her calling. She became an occupational therapist in 2022 after close to ten years as an occupational therapy assistant working with the pediatric population in a variety of settings. She began working at AboutPlay as an OT assistant in 2018, then returned to school at Georgia State University at the start of the pandemic. She is thrilled to be back at About Play, working as an OT with some of the most skilled and passionate OT professionals she has ever come across. She has received additional training in hippotherapy, Brain Gym, Handwriting Without Tears, is a Reiki Master and is working towards getting her certification in the Haller method, among others. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, traveling, watching Matlock, doing yoga and meditation, making arts and crafts and being outdoors as much as possible.

Sydney Romer is a dedicated professional with expertise in working with children across a broad age range and conditions. She was first introduced to the field of occupational therapy in high school when she started volunteering at a clinic that utilized hippotherapy. While volunteering there for 4 years, her passion for helping children with a variety of conditions led her to attend Berry College to graduate with honors with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a minor in Family Studies. Sydney continued her education to receive her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from East Carolina University in 2021. As a clinical research scholar, she published an article on experienced autistic and non-autistic driving performance with music and presented at the AOTA Conference. Sydney has experience helping children both in traditional outpatient pediatric clinics and in clinics that utilize hippotherapy and aquatic therapy. She believes in a collaborative and play-based approach to therapy, to allow children the opportunity to develop their goals and build confidence across all skill sets. She is passionate about evidence-based practices and her continuous learning and has completed courses in Hippotherapy Treatment Principles, aquatic therapy, Kinesiotaping, and is in the process of completing an executive functioning micro-credential. Sydney loves helping children achieve their best life. She is a native of Alpharetta and enjoys crafts, cooking, spending time with family pets, reading, and traveling.

Kingsley, a native Georgian, began riding at 5 years old and started taking lessons at 7 years old. She has trained and competed in hunters, eventing and her current primary focus, dressage. Her experience, as a working student with many different professionals in the industry over the years, has helped develop her riding and horsemanship skills. Kingsley started volunteering as a leader and side-walker at an equine assisted services center when she was 13 years old. Her experience coaching several teams to Special Olympics and assisting with therapeutic riding lessons, encouraged her to pursue becoming an instructor. Kingsley gained her PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor designation in September 2020. Kingsley also teaches at a therapeutic riding center in Cartersville, GA. She is also in the process of attaining her Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning certification. In May, she will graduate from the University of West Georgia with her bachelors in communication

Sherry was born and raised in Cape Coral, Florida and recently moved to Georgia. She graduated from Keiser University with a degree of Occupational Therapy Assistant. Sherry attended equine summer camps growing up and enjoys riding any chance she gets. She has worked with the pediatric population in the school and clinical setting. Incorporating horses into therapy has been a dream of hers since she was young. She spent time shadowing and volunteering at Special Equestrians in Buckingham, FL. She completed her AHA level 1 certification and looks forward to expanding her knowledge and helping those in need at CHP.

Brent Applegate began his career as a physical therapist at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, working in multiple environments from acute care to CIRU (Comprehensive Inpatient Rehab Unit) to Day Rehab Programs to Outpatient services. Due to his horsey upbringing he was tasked in assisting a CHOA 'hippotherapy' pilot program where, thanks to the dramatic impact he saw with his patients, he fell in love. He began the My Heroes Therapy program out of Chastain Horse Park in 2005 and has never looked back. In 2011 he moved his family to Colorado to begin a second program out of Colorado State University but returns regularly to directly oversee the therapy programming and personally provide services at Chastain. He loves snowboarding, biking, hiking, forcing his kids off their phones under threat of abandonment, and is a terrible fisherman. More than anything he loves watching the impact his program and the Chastain therapeutic program have on the children and adults that they serve.

Michelle earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science in 2015 and Doctor of Physical Therapy in 2018 from Missouri State University. While in PT school she was introduced to equine assisted therapy and the benefits it can bring to the pediatric population. Michelle has worked in a variety of settings including private practice, outpatient clinics, home-based therapy, and rehab hospital. She has a particular passion for neurological disorders and incorporating animals into practice. She has completed her AHA Level I certification and is looking forward to continuing her education in hippotherapy to enhance the lives of her patients through this unique modality at CHP.