About Oconee Therapeutic Riding

Joey has spent most of her life riding horses and worked as a riding instructor before moving to Georgia. She is retired from the UGA Cooperative Extension where she worked as a 4-H Program Assistant in Oconee County. She now enjoys spending plenty of time with her granddaughters. As board president, Joey is an invaluable source of information and support for connecting volunteers and community members to the farm. She oversees short- and long-term service projects with the program and heads up all major fundraising functions benefiting the farm.

Andy is an attorney from Jackson County who lives in the Jefferson area with his wife and their three daughters. He graduated from the University of Georgia and Mercer University. Andy has been a board member with Oconee Therapeutic Riding since 2022 and is also a charter member of the Barrow Area Rotary Club, an Elder at Corner-Stone Baptist Church, and serves on the board of the Jackson County Athletic Hall of Fame. 

Chris is the parent of an autistic student that rides here at OTR. As a local small business owner and treasurer for the Kiwanis club of Athens, Chris loves having a pulse on the community and devoting his time to the betterment of society as a whole. He is married to his beautiful wife Catherine, and they have two kids, Abigail and James. Chris is also a veteran who served for almost 8 years, including two deployments, in the United States Army as a Signals Intelligence Analyst. He holds an undergraduate degree in Intelligence Operations and an MBA from Troy University. When he is not volunteering or training dogs, Chris loves to travel with his family, cook, golf, and get lost in nature.

Chris had this to say: “I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of OTR. This organization does so much good for the disability community while also giving these horses a grander purpose. I look forward to moving OTR to the next level to providing an even better experience to more kids in our community and beyond.”

Erika is a University of Georgia alum who worked at the farm as a P.A.T.H Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor from 2014 – 2016. Following graduation, Erika moved back to Cleveland, Ohio where she grew up and started a career in Consulting. Erika joined the OTR Board of Directors as a way to carry on her involvement in the therapeutic riding program, even from 700 miles away.

Outside of work, she spends most of her time with her horse, Devon. The impact horseback riding has on the heart, body, and mind is something Erika has intimately experienced over the years and she deeply values how OTR gives its students the opportunity to experience it too!

Oconee native Amanda McCoy joined the OTR board in December 2022.  Amanda is the founder and CEO of Athens Area Horse Community, an organization that focuses on the power of community building to create a thriving local horse economy. With a commitment to bringing more horse people to the greater Athens area, Amanda helps horse enthusiasts buy and sell farms. While not community building, Amanda is the mother to a horse-crazy daughter and is excited to continue long standing Oconee agricultural traditions with her family. 

Before she could walk, she wanted to ride. Benita’s very first exposure to a horse was when she was in her mother’s arms at a county fair in rural North Carolina. She reached out for the horse, her mom put her on, and the rest was history. After four years of lessons, Benita got her first pony at the age of 11 and successfully competed through high school in the hunter/jumper arena. After graduating from the University of Georgia, Benita married David Nelson, started a career, raised two daughters, and just didn’t have time for riding. But after a 37- year hiatus, she re-entered the riding world with the same passion and enthusiasm that she had as a young girl. Benita is a Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor in the Athens area. She has held that certification with PATH for the last 4 years. When she’s not at the barn, she enjoys the outdoors, hiking with her family, and playing golf…and spending time with her grandson.

Gail Smith is an equine massage therapist and bodyworker based in Oconee County. She was first introduced to equine-assisted therapy when her daughter volunteered for Oconee Therapeutic Riding in 2007. Since then, Gail has worked on the several of the OTR therapy horses so they can feel their best and continue to facilitate healing in their riders. When not working with clients’ horses she enjoys spending time with her family and riding her horse, Casper.

Heidi Maloy Campbell acquired her love for horses when she got her beloved first pony at the age of six. At this point she went on to join and graduate from the United States Pony Club (USPC). She then continued on with her career earning a silver medal in Vaulting and demonstrated in the 1996 Olympics. She has competed in regional and national events in Vaulting, Eventing, and Games. Heidi developed her love for working with special needs students while volunteering at Camp Sunshine. Heidi then went on to get her PATH certification in 2007 and her interactive vaulting certification in 2011. Heidi has also decided to expand in her development and gained a Yoga Alliance certification (known as YTT) and her Equine Om Yoga certification. She completed her certification in Horse Guided Empowerment® in 2023. Heidi has combined her love of horses, yoga, and teaching to touch individuals’ lives from children to adults.

Georgia native, Rhea Scruggs, has been working with and showing horses since 2007. She primarily rode English and Western Pleasure, earning awards through the APHA and AQHA. She has also dabbled in Eventing, ACTHA events, Miniature Horse Shows, Sidesaddle, and even a little Polo. After showing Pleasure for eight years at local 4-H and FFA shows, she competed with the Hunter IHSA team at the University of North Georgia where she got her Bachelor of Arts in History and Art History. After college, she continued taking lessons, schooling horses, and working as a stable hand.

During and after college, Rhea found a passion for volunteering with disabled individuals through a local character performing group called Cosplay Volunteers of Atlanta. Events like Night to Shine Prom, the Atlanta Buddy walk, Special Olympics, and many more sparked an interest in pursuing a career working with neurodivergent individuals.

In January of this year, she began volunteering with OTR to follow her interest in Therapeutic Riding instruction under Heidi Maloy. Since then, she has taken on the role of Barn Manager at the farm while she completes her PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor credentials. She also bought her first horse, Malibu, who is an OTTB and a much valued member of OTR’s program!

Laura Wright served as the Secretary for Oconee Therapeutic Riding’s Board of Directors, from October 2022 to July of 2023, when she transitioned into her role as Executive Director. An Athens area native, she attended the University of Georgia for her Bachelor of Arts (History) and Master of Business Administration and is a diehard Dawgs fan. In addition to volunteering with OTR, Laura is a current board member for the Junior League of Athens, serves as an Operations Advisor for her undergraduate sorority, and volunteers with the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. In her spare time, she can be found antiquing, trying out new recipes, and taking care of horses.