About Us
Board of Directors:
Hannah Evergreen, DVM
Dr. Hannah Evergreen is an equine veterinarian with a successful veterinary practice in Monroe, Washington. She has ridden, trained, and cared for horses for most of her life; horses are her passion. Over the last few years, Dr. Hannah has seen animal cruelty and neglect first hand and has been committed to working with horse rescue groups and providing veterinary care to these horses. Her veterinary school experience made her realize that there is also a need for humane (necessary procedures) hands on experience for veterinary students. Bringing together horses and humans in need has driven her to create Northwest Equine Stewardship Center so that she can more effectively care for these horses and help humans in the process. With the help and support of the generous community around her, Dr. Hannah's vision for NWESC has now come into focus.
Daphne Jones
Daphne Jones is a natural barefoot trimmer and avid horsewoman. In her work as a trimmer, she maintains hundreds of horses, many of whom are rescues housed in a variety of rescue organizations and private homes. Daphne’s skill as a rehabilitative trimmer has helped many horses recover from near debilitating hoof pathology, however her skill in handling and teaching reluctant horses to trust people and allow necessary procedures is perhaps even more defining of Daphne as an asset for the rescue community. To keep balanced, mentally and physically in the job, Daphne also does some starting and trouble-shooting training, focusing on clear and meaningful human-equine communication. “Horses don’t do things wrong,” she likes to say; that is, they always respond absolutely appropriately (in an equine way) to their understanding of the present stimulus. She applies this approach in her negotiations with horses, allowing her to work with and trim horses that others have dismissed as unworkable.
Daphne and Dr. Hannah Evergreen have worked extensively together over the past few years with rescue horses, hauling, housing, treating, handling, re-homing and so much more. Along with Dr. Evergreen, Daphne has done work with and for Save a Forgotten Equine, Equine Aid, Hope for Horses, Serenity Equine Rescue, Second Chance Ranch, King County Animal Control, and dozens of private rescue homes. Daphne is proud to think that Dr. Evergreen and herself have rescued and re-homed almost as many horses out of the system (that is without the horses ever officially hitting the system) as within. Daphne donates a great deal of time, trims, hauling, handling, etc., and provides regular farrier care to many rescues for a discount rate.
Daphne has five horses of her own (mostly rescues themselves) and lives in Gold Bar in the Upper Skykomish Valley. She mostly rides English trail and has competed in endurance race and competitive mounted orienteering events. She apprenticed with a now retired practicioner to learn farrier work. While her bachelor’s degree is in Cultural Anthropology, she maintains that she uses her education daily in her attempt to understand how people and horses “make meaning” of their relationships with one another.
Dr. Eric Mueller
Dr. Mueller is a licensed psychologist in Portland, Oregon, where he has practiced and positively impacted peoples’ lives for over 20 years. He has extensive experience in both inpatient and outpatient treatment settings working mostly with adults. He practices Object-Relations Interpersonal Psychotherapy which strongly emphasizes the healing power of emotionally connected relationships. Recently, Dr. Mueller is also trained in Sensory-Motor Psychotherapy and Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy both of which compliment the type of therapy he has done in the past by emphasizing the healing power of connection. This valuable work has brought Dr. Mueller together with NWESC and he is currently consulting with NWESC to develop an Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy program.
Volunteers:
Lisa Dobbin
Lisa and Daphne with Jackson
Lisa has been an animal lover all of her life, having many dogs and cats over the years. Lisa’s love for horses grew when her daughter, Kelsey, started taking riding lessons and bought her first horse. Lisa enjoys grooming and caring for horses and since working with Dr. Hannah at Evergreen Holistic Veterinary Care has also enjoyed being part of the rescue rehabilitation process. Lisa is also a talented office manager and uses her skills to be the glue that holds us all together with countless phone calls, website building, and networking. Lisa shares her home with her husband Jim, a horse, a donkey, 3 cats and her spoiled Labrador Bella.
Valerie Wood
Valerie began riding horses when she was seven. Her love of horses eventually earned her a degree in Equestrian Science. Although she no longer rides horses professionally, she currently has two chestnut geldings who are the light of her life. "Chewy" - a thoroughbred who has a personality bigger than the barn that houses him and "Redmond" - a thoroughbred who was rescued off of a feedlot where he was headed for slaughter. Redmond also has the distinction of being the logo horse for SAFE. (Save a Forgotten Equine) - the rescue that saved him. Valerie shares her home and life with her husband Ahmad who is licensed veterinarian and their 3 dogs, 1 cat and a parrot who are all rescues.
Kier Wetherell
Kier was born and raised in Colorado, and has lived in the Northwest for the past 5 years. Disregarded by her biological parents at a very young age, Kier turned to animals, horses, and riding as a healthy outlet and a way of therapy. She feels strongly that horses teach us so much about relationships, trust, respect, and unconditional love, and her goal is to be able to give back, be a voice and an advocate to these magnificent creatures. She has found her true calling working for Evergreen Holistic Veterinary Care's Small Animal Practice, and when not helping small animals in need, she can be found volunteering for NWESC assisting in rescue, rehabilitation, and re-homing cases locally. Kier resides currently in Gold Bar with her partner Pete, horse Black Diablo, dog Sabastian, and cat Brecken.
Lynn Lynch
Lynn is originally from Southern California, but has lived in the Northwest for the past ten years. Her love for animals and medicine began when she was very young, growing up with horses, dogs, cats, pigs, and cows. Working for many years as a phlebotomist, Lynn eventually decided to pursue her love for veterinary medicine alongside Dr. Brad Evergreen. With her wealth of knowledge and her kind and compassionate nature, she is a wonderful asset to the world of animal health care. All of her companion animals have been rescues including her current Mini Doxie Tika Thyme, whose life she saved after being turned over from a breeder due to medical expenses, as well as her two cats Domino and Doughnut who were fosters originally found in a prison. Lynn currently resides in Everett with her husband Ben, Domino, Doughnut, and Tika Thyme.
Matney Cook
After a childhood filled with 4-H competition, at the age of 20 Matney changed her outlook on working with horses from, "What can I get out of this horse?" to "What can I do for this horse?" With that shift she has come to many realizations including how deeply involved horses are with her personal and spiritual growth and healing. For the past 3 years she has worked side by side with her mother Terri Cook (who introduced her to natural horsemanship via Ken McNabb) training horses and giving lessons under the name of TLC Training. To learn more, check out www.tlchorsemanship.com. Along the way Matney has made many friends and helped numerous of people mend broken relationships with their equine partners. But, nothing has touched her so deeply as helping to rehab and retrain rescue horses. During 6 months of training out of a barn that also ran a horse rescue operation, Matney and Terri successfully healed and helped to place 4 wonderful horses in homes with loving families. "There is something deeply comforting and heart-warming about helping a horse that was previously a 'throw away' find new value in living and in turn be recognized by someone who will truly cherish and love them forever. Every horse has value, no matter the breed, age, size or temperament, and I'm very pleased to support NWESC in helping spread this realization one healed animal at a time."