Amy Gayhart
Executive Director
(469) 450-9594
[email protected]
Amy Gayhart graduated from Howard Payne University with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art, Communications and Education. During her time at Howard Payne she served as the marketing intern for the University and was responsible for the University marketing materials and yearbook. She was a member of Delta Chi Rho, and served as an officer for 3 years, and as president of the sorority her senior year. After college Amy worked for several years in advertising and administration as an art buyer. In 2003 Amy left the corporate world to stay home and care for her special needs child, Mabry. She continued to explore creative outlets buy running her own painted mural and photography business.
Amy’s daughter Mabry had years of extensive therapy and finally found her true love which was horses. Not knowing anything about horses, other than her daughter’s love for them, in 2012 she began serving on the board of Blue Sky Therapeutic Riding & Respite. She quickly fell in love with therapeutic riding and was given a desire to do more for the special needs population. With the daunting realization that her daughter would one day age out of the public-school system she was determined to create a program where special needs adults could be in community while being able to live out their purpose. So, in addition to therapeutic horseback riding, Amy and her faithful volunteers at Blue Sky created the PURPOSE program, which is a respite program for special needs adults, where Amy teaches art, gardening, cooking along with job and life skills for special needs adults.
Amy is married to John Gayhart and they live in Prosper, Texas with their three children Mabry, Jack and Slater.
Jennifer Mathis
Horse Program Director
469-682-9723
[email protected]
Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship Certified Instructor for Riding and Driving, Certified Horsemanship Association Equine Facilities Management Level 4, Certified Barefoot Trimmer, Bachelors of Business Administration.
Originally from Kansas City, Jennifer began providing Equine Therapy for children and adults with disabilities in 2010. She has seen the powerful effects of Equine Therapy through first words and steps for children with diagnosis from Autism to Cerebral Palsy. Jennifer pursues dressage and driving training with a variety of accomplished coaches: Benjamin Pfabe, Rachel Calabria, Gene Brown and Jenny Fidler.
Jennifer lives in Lewisville, Texas with her husband, daughter and their three dogs.
Olivia DiStasio
Client Services Coordinator, Certified PATH Instructor
(469)-600-9839
[email protected]
Bachelor of Science in Child Development, PATH International Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor In-Training, Certified Equine Sports Massage Therapist
Olivia, began her journey at Blue Sky over a year ago as an intern finishing her Child Development degree with TWU. After completing her Internship, Olivia knew that there was no place else she’d rather be, and that her work at Blue Sky was only just beginning. Her passion for Therapeutic Riding continued to grow and she joined us beyond volunteering to become a Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) Instructor in Training. Her love for our Blue Sky horses motivated her to pursue her certification in Equine Sports Massage Therapy, so that she could learn how to give back to the horses in a meaningful way through the benefits of Equine Massage. Olivia pursues dressage and jumping training from the accomplished, Wendy O’Neill. You will also see Olivia inside, supporting the PURPOSE program, our respite program for special needs adults, where Executive Director Amy Gayhart teaches art, gardening, and cooking along with job and life skills for special needs adults.
Olivia lives in Sanger, Texas with her husband and their dog, Moe.