Horsemanship Instructors & Staff

 

Instructors

Lauren Atherton

 A native of Massachusetts, Lauren has been around horses ever since she could walk. Some of her accomplishments include her Traditional C3 in USPC. She is a member of Pentucket Pony Club. Lauren was also the Captain of the 3rd place Dressage team (Central New England Region) at USPC Dressage Championships in 2009. Lauren was a working student for Louis Denizard and Vitor Silva. She has trained with Eric Smiley, Richard Lamb, Pamela Hunt, Gunnar Ostergaard, Sue Winslade, and Keith Angstadt. She has a lot of experience working with various horses, working through weaknesses and building trust. She has participated with Myopia Hunt Club. While attending Colby-Sawyer College, she rode for their IHSA varsity team. This May, Lauren and her horse Raven won the UNH Horse Trials at Novice level. Lauren has been teaching through Pony Club for 2 years, helping riders towards their personal goals. She has been a huge mentor for her students and has lots of past experience to share with anyone wanting to learn. Lauren’s training philosophy teaches proper equitation and horsemanship, and helps any rider feel confident and comfortable even while learning new things! Sky’s the limit!

 

Meaghan Martin

 

Meaghan has been riding for almost sixteen years and has been teaching for seven. She has mostly ridden english pleasure and dressage and has successfully competed in both disciplines. She enjoys working with students of all ages and abilities. Meaghan is also proficient  in American Sign Language (ASL) and she is interested in teaching Deaf students how to ride.
 

 

 

 

Cindy Flaherty

Cindy was born and raised right in Scarborough and has been riding horses since the age of 8. At age 12 she got her first horse, an off the track Standardbred named Cisco. Cindy trained Cisco herself and competed regularly until 2010. Some of her and Cisco's accomplishments include National High Point Jr. Standardbred both in 2008 and 2009, Reserve Champion National High point Standardbred both in 2008 and 2009, Maine 4-H eastern States team 2009, many SPHO-ME, Mousam, and SPHO-NJ year end awards, as well as multiple day end awards and championships. Cindy has been teaching Riding Lessons for five years now. She teaches both English, Western, Gaming and Jumping lessons, and some of her students have also received year end awards showing. Recently Cindy has begun training horses for other people, and loves it. Cindy works full time on her Family Farm in Scarborough, and part time here at Camp Ketcha. 

 

Staff

Ann Budway

 

As the daughter of a Marine, Ann has lived in many places all over the world including Okinawa, Japan. Ann never really was involved with horses until she moved to Scarborough. When she started riding at age 12, she wondered why it had taken her so long to realize she loved horses! At age 14, she started volunteering every Sunday at the barn for the next two years. And when she finally turned 16, she became a staff member! You'll usually see Ann feeding the horses, busily cleaning the barn, or even helping out with lessons on occasion. You might also find her riding her favorite horse, Okie! But Ann is happiest during the summer, as a camp counselor for Horsemanship Camp.

 

 

 

Courtney Beliveau

 

Courtney has been riding since she was seven years old, and has had a passion for horses her whole life. She has had the opportunity to work with and train many different types of horses, and enjoys training her projects. Why own just one horse when you can love them all? Courtney rides dressage and does some jumping, and hopes to someday compete in eventing. She enjoys teaching students in lessons and summer camp, and sharing her knowledge and love of horses with young riders.

 

 

Jennifer Onacki

Jenn grew up in Millinocket, Maine. She started working with her first horse there, an old retired Thoroughbred named Coy, at four years old. She moved to Saco when she was 10 and continued to work with horses there. Eventually, she began leasing a horse named Tucker, a 23 year old Appendix quarterhorse, who she competed in her first Dressage show– they placed third, she says, "which she was an amazing feeling". She loves working with horses because there are extremely relaxing and therapeutic to her. Hand in hand, she also loves working with little kids because she loves spreading her joy of horses with younger children and watching them get excited about their first ride.  The joy, excitement (and slight nervousness) on their face takes her back to her own childhood days. While she has done mainly pleasure riding for her entire horse career, she recently started focusing on Dressage two years ago, and liked the new challenges that it brings. 

 

Anna Kupel 

A Scarborough local, Anna has been involved at Camp Ketcha since 2003, as a camper, summer horse camp volunteer and now a horsemanship instructor.  Her passion for horses bloomed at age four, and she has been riding ever since.  In 2009, Anna got her first horse, a Haflinger gelding named Chester, who is boarded at Camp Ketcha and used for riding lessons, summer camp, and pony rides. Anna plans to graduate May of 2011 with a B.S. in Pharmaceutical Science and hopes go on to study Animal Sciences and work in a field that allows her to showcase her passion for horses and animals. She is very excited for the coming year, and looks forwards to sharing her knowledge,  passion, and enthusiasm for horses with students