Celeste Wilson

Assistant Program Director 

Celeste fell in love with horses from afar at a very young age.  Unable to afford lessons when she was young, her and a friend offered free labor in exchange for lessons and the rest is history. Having never owned her own horse and only riding periodically she longed for any opportunity to be around them.  Stockhands is her dream come true.  Her working career began in the hotel business and ended with the Columbus Blue Jackets hockey team.  She met her husband, Mark while she was with the CBJ and they were married in Napa, California in 2003.  Currently, she works at home to raising two amazing teenagers who keep them laughing and busy.  They also have two cats and a dog.   In November of 2017, Celeste began volunteering for Stockhands and she is proud to be a part of the amazing work they do.  As an instructor in training she loves working with all of our participants, watching them grow and learn and in 2022, Celeste was hired as the Assistant Program Director for our organization.

Angie Mack 

Development and Capital Campaign Manager

Angie leads our fundraising and development efforts for our organization.  Growing up in Delaware County, Angie has always loved the community.  After graduating high school from the original Olentangy High, she traveled all the way to Ohio Wesleyan University and has remained a Delaware County resident throughout her adulthood. Her love of horses and passion for the community lead her to Stockhands where she, her husband Ryan and her two teenage daughters Kaitlyn and Emily have volunteered for several years.  In 2022 she officially joined the team as our Capital Campaign Manager and Organization Development Manager.

Angie Writesel

Communication Coordinator

Angie has been volunteering at the barn since 2016 and was named volunteer of the year in 2018. Angie loves helping in the daily lessons, interacting with our participants and our equine partners. Whether leading, sidewalking, helping with check-in or just being in the back, cleaning out stalls, being at the barn makes the day a great one. Angie has always been an integral part of our fundraising events, social media output and much more and in 2022 she officially took on the Communications Coordinator role.


Sara McNeil, MS LCDC III

Chemical Dependency Counselor, Equine Assisted Therapies

Sara graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and a Master of Science in Business Psychology. She began her career as a therapist in a local treatment center helping others on their path to recovery.  As a therapist Sara uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques, Gestalt principles, meditation, and mindfulness techniques to assist her clients with maintaining sobriety and obtaining their optimal wellness. She will perform family therapy with clients who have been diagnosed with a substance use health issues. She values holistic approaches to wellness.

Sara was introduced to horses as a young child, and by 10 years old she realized she had fallen in love with horses and knew her relationship and work with horses would be life long. Her love of horses compounded with her passion for helping others drove her interest in Equine Assisted Therapy. She has been conducting Equine Assisted Therapies for over 5 years here at Stockhands. 

Greg Wilcox

Volunteer Coordinator 

Greg has been volunteering at the barn since 2016 and has received recognition as Volunteer of the Year (2017) for his invaluable contributions to the daily operations and instructional programs at Stockhands Horses for Healing. He is part of a dedicated group that generously give over 500 hours of service annually. He is an active member of Stockhands Military Veteran program and is a mentor for new members as well as a Volunteer Coordinator.


Chloe Lanka

Volunteer Coordinator 

Chloe began riding when she was 13 years old and competed through the Interscholastic Equestrian Association and the American Quarter Horse Association throughout high school, earning national titles. In 2014, she earned a degree in psychology from Miami University. She joined Stockhands as a volunteer in July 2016 and began assisting with lessons in 2017. In August 2018, Chloe became a PATH Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor. In addition to teaching lessons, Chloe assists with horse care and training and acts as a coordinator for the Volunteer Instructional Program. When not at the barn, she works as an accountant and enjoys baking and watching baseball.

Haley Haxton

PATH Instructor 

Haley joined Stockhand’s in the Spring of 2022 upon moving back to her hometown of Columbus, OH. Haley began riding and volunteering in therapeutic lesson programs in elementary and middle school; that passion led her to complete the Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor in Training Program at Central Kentucky Riding for Hope, a therapeutic riding center at the Kentucky Horse Park. During her time in Kentucky, Haley worked as a scientist for a government contractor, supporting National Guard Operations; a position that allowed her to utilize her undergraduate degree in Environmental Science. Having moved back to Central Ohio, Haley now serves as an account manager for RegattaCentral where she draws upon her passion for the sport of rowing to assist crew team operations. She is excited to be back near family, surrounded by buckeye fans and to become a part of Stockhand's team!

Courtney Benton 

PATH Instructor

Courtney is a graduate of Otterbein University, majoring in Early Childhood Education, with a concentration in Special Education/Intervention. Courtney also minored in Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies. She has been a PATH Instructor since 2019. Courtney grew up around horses her whole life, riding both Western and English. Ask her about her music video! Courtney has been a volunteer at Stockhands from the beginning and she loves watching our students and participants grow and learn. Helping create lesson plans to challenge them and spark their creativity is fun for both instructor and student!


Dusty Wachenschwanz

Instructor in Training

Dusty, born and raised in Millfield, Ohio, grew up showing horses at the Athens County Fair and other local shows. Graduating from Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute with Associate Degrees in Equine Science and Livestock Science, Dusty has ridden and shown horses in the Dressage, English and Western disciplines. After OSU ATI, Dusty obtained two Bachelor's Degrees: Animal Science - specialty in Animal Health, with a minor in Farm Business Management; Agricultural Extension Education, with a minor in Behavioral Psychology. After working various State and Private agricultural jobs, Dusty changed career focus and is now working as a Paramedic. Besides spending time at Stockhands volunteering with the Veteran and First Responder groups, Dusty enjoys spending free time playing with his Aussie Shepherd, Koda; competing in 3-Gun matches; and binge watching MASH and Hogans Heroes reruns. 

Clair Crawford

Instructor in Training

Clair was fortunate to have been raised in a saddle from before she can remember. She spent nine years in 4-H and went on to serve as her club’s President in Franklin County. She grew up showing POA’s and then went on to the AQHA circuit as a teenager and young adult acquiring many championships and high points. Clair joined Stockhands in 2019 after looking for that missing piece after all those years. She found it. Photographing, training and schooling or just sitting quietly in the pasture with the herd. Clair has fully integrated herself into Stockhands and is now an instructor in training. When not at Stockhands, Clair is a competitive powerlifter and a silver medalist for Team USA powerlifting. She is mom to an amazing young woman who is currently studying art at Ohio University and is also a volunteer at Stockhands. 


Jenna Poore

PATH Instructor

Horses have been a part of Jenna's life since she began riding at age 6; they later became a focal point at age 13 when she was able to get a horse of her own. She went onto compete in hunt seat in USJHA in highschool, following which she began teaching Hunter/Jumper lessons. After teaching for three years, Jenna's passion for horses led her to begin volunteering at Stockhands in 2022; where she has grown from an exercise rider to a PATH CTRI Applicant. When not at the barn or studying for her Physics and Earth Science classes at The Ohio State University, Jenna enjoys spending time with her dog, 2 cats, 4 geckos, and lots of fish. She also enjoys caring for her plants, going on long hikes, and painting. 

Marsha Krantz

PATH Instructor and Mentor

Marsha comes to us with over 40 years of horse experience and over a decade of experience as a Therapeutic Riding Instructor and Equine Specialist. She grew up on her family’s horse farm in the suburbs of Chicago and helped with the daily responsibilities that came along with that. She showed on the ISHA circuit and was very involved in 4-H as well. She went on to become a Restaurant Manager and Chef until her and her husband Mark started a family. Starting back up, she got into the business of helping train young horses and getting them under saddle. In 2009, she started working at a farm with an Equine Assisted Activities and Therapy program and saw firsthand the power that horses have in helping others. 

Over the last decade she has received her Instructor, Equine Specialist and Mentor certifications through PATH and EFL Level 1 and 2 certifications through The HERD Institute. She has taught therapeutic riding lessons, mentored instructors in training, helped a center achieve their PATH Premier Accreditation and delivered equine facilitated sessions to a wide range of clients including elementary and high school programs, veterans, first responders, corporate team building and the elderly.

When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and daughters, playing with her 2 corgis, traveling, reading, and riding and showing Hunter/Jumpers.

Marsha is excited to join Stockhands and continue to share her passion and knowledge with others.