HorseAbility is proud and unique in that our Executive Director and Founder, Katie Kilcommons-McGowan, is a Certified Instructor from the NARHA accredited Cheff Center for the Handicapped in Augusta, Michigan. She is also a certified NARHA instructor, Special Olympics Coach, and holds a B.A. in Philosophy and an M.A. in Elementary Education.

Tina began working at HorseAbility in 1995 as a volunteer. Her time spent with the program has given her a unique understanding of HorseAbility from several perspectives including that of a volunteer, office staff member, barn manager, volunteer coordinator, riding instructor, and director. In addition to her years of hands on experience, and numerous hours spent helping with and teaching lessons, Tina also has the following qualifications:

• NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped  Association) certified instructor at the registered level
• Certified Special Olympics Coach in Equestrian Sports
• B.S. and M.A. in Speech Language Pathology/Audiology
• Training in Centered Riding

A graduate from SUNY Cobleskill with a B.T. in Equine Studies, Jamie started working for HorseAbility in the winter of 2005 on internship. Her vast knowledge of therapeutic riding and horsemanship, along with her managerial skills helped her to find her niche and stay on with the organization; Involved in numerous aspects of the program including teaching, overseeing general programming and coordinating, customer service, special events and fundraising. Not only is a program director, she is also certified as a NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped Association) instructor at the registered level and Special Olympics Equestrian Coach.

Sue is a graduate of St. John’s University with a B.S. in Education N-9 and a M.A. from Adelphi University in Secondary Education. Giving up a full time teaching position, she because a stay at home mom for her 2 children. As they got older she had more availability, in 1999 Sue returned to her love of horses by riding and working for The Thomas School of Horsemanship ultimately introducing her to Katie McGowan and she became a volunteer at HorseAbility as the Outreach Director. Sue obtained certification as a NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped Association) instructor at the registered level.

Dana Grimaldi   
Ketcham Farm/Equine Director

Dana Grimaldi our Equine Director at HorseAbility has been riding Hunters/Jumpers since the age of ten, which sparked her passion to pursue a career in the equine industry.  When it came time to attend university, Dana applied to SUNY Morrisville, getting extensive, hands-on knowledge toward her BT degree in Equine Science.  Since graduating from Morrisville, Dana bred and trained racehorses for seven years, which granted her the opportunity to travel all over the United States.  Part of Dana’s career was spent in riding cutting horses and doing Ranch work. In the Spring of 2007, Dana found herself back on Long Island and at HorseAbility where we are lucky to have her as part of our team at Ketcham Farm in Northport.Her expertise has lent a critical hand to our programming, we can all rest assured that all of our horses are loved and cared for by Dana. 

Amanda Leitl
Assistant to Executive Director

After graduating with a B.A. in Marketing from the University of Hartford in CT in 2002, Amanda worked at The Riding Shop, Estee Lauder Companies Inc., and Smart Sourcing Inc.  Amanda has ridden at many barns all over the Island including Majestic Farms, Rice Farm, Norwood Farm, The Red Barn, Brookville Farms and Gold Coast Stables, Mid Island Arena, Stanhope Stables, to Willow Tree Farm. In late fall of 2007, Amanda joined the HorseAbility crew schooling horses in the after hours of her Corporate lifestyle. In January, she was awarded with her first two clients and became a part-time instructor.  Amanda jumped into teaching and started instructing groups from Special Olympics as well as Girl Scouts.  In July 2007, Amanda earned her well deserved NARHA certified status. After the summer, Amanda came on-board full time so she could pursue her passion within the not-for-profit spectrum and bring to HorseAbility her Marketing and Public Relations background.  Signing on as Assistant to the Executive Director, she now handles projects involving Marketing, PR, Fundraising and Grant Writing. Amanda’s vast knowledge teamed up with her positive rapport with the equine community and ability to connect with anyone she strikes up a conversation with is an asset to the program. 

Tara Eichhorn
Director of Hippotherapy