About the Pony Pros

Kali, age 12, and her pony, Indy Kali, all grown up, on a 4 year old pony's first day of jumping ever
Left: Indy and Kali, age 12. Right: Boo and Kali, all grown up

Kali Vanagas

Graduated Summa Cum Laude from OSU-Cascades in Spring 2006

My mom had horses when she was young so when I went through a particularly shy phase at age 7, she knew horses would be an excellent solution. I began taking lessons and competing on the A circuit in hunters. I got my first green pony, Indy, as a 9th birthday present and, even now, still love ponies as much as ever. My mom and I spent 3 hours a day, 4 days a week at the barn. She bought me my first natural horsemanship book at age 12 and I've been 100% dedicated to natural horsemanship ever since. I'm really passionate about helping kids and adults learn to read horse body language and to bond with their ponies in such a way that they can realize their horsemanship dreams. I'm eternally grateful for the good times my family had at the barn and at shows. We still go to the barn together today. I want every family to have as much fun in ponies as my mom and I did.

Les Freeman

Graduated Summa Cum Laude from OSU-Cascades in Winter 2006

I was introduced to horses at a young age through my mom. She rode and showed hunters in the Seattle area for a number of years. At age 8, she started sending me to summer camps at a stable in Samamish, Wa., where I learned the basics of riding. It was great for my mom and I to share the interest in horses, as it gave us something to do together during our time in the summer. Horses were absent from most of my teen life. I didn't even know that I missed having horses in my life until Kali reintroduced me to them in college. I quickly learned to love training horses in addition to riding. I am deeply interested in horse behavior and psychology, focusing a lot on ground work and pre-ride training. I love working with horses because it involves such a wide variety of physical and mental challenges.

       

Gina Papa

Assistant PonyPros Coach

My dad got me into riding horses when I was 5. I started jumping and showing soon after, and was out at the barn 4 days a week doing anything I could to learn more. It wasn’t until I bonded with a particular pony that I fully discovered my passion for riding and being around horses. This pony really taught me that horsemanship is a team effort, and we kept moving forward together, competing on the same circuit as Kali. Kali, Les, and I became friends in 2004, and we started riding together here and there. I got involved with PonyPros in 2010. I wish I had had learned the natural horsemanship skills Kali and Les teach before I had learned to be a competitive rider - it would have made me a much better rider and competitor to understand my pony on the level I am learning to understand horses at through natural horsemanship and clicker training. Now, I want everyone to feel the special bond I do with ponies when I’m riding.