A Horses Touch

Mercedes McClellan is the sole proprietor of  A Horses Touch. She has over 20 years of experience in working with horses which began in 1999 with a five year stint as a Working Student at the Stanford Red Barn in Palo Alto, California. There she learned to exercise, feed and groom horses and she was also there introduced to Barn Management. She has 15 years of experience giving beginner horse-riding lessons teaching balance seat in both Western and English disciplines. 

A Horses Touch most prevalent program is Work Exchange (WE) in support of the State of Florida's "Bright Futures" Scholarship Program. Her WE students exchange work at the barn for lessons in animal husbandry, and basic riding skills in. both English and Western disciplines. Students in the WE program also develop confidence, commitment, and passion, and pursue development in the leadership qualities of accountability and responsibility, and eventually delegation and empowerment. Mrs. McClellan sees a number of clients with physical, cognitive, and emotional disabilities to include cerebral palsy, autism, attention deficit disorder, foster children and children who are recovering from abuse. Her students participated in equestrian competition in the Florida Special Olympics in both 2018 and 2019.

A Horses Touch is also affiliated with Horses4Heroes, a Las Vegas based, national non-profit organization dedicated to empowering the families of military, veterans, and first responders through deeply discounted recreational, instructional, and morale-boosting health and wellness programs emphasizing  fun and safe equestrian activities. Mrs. McClellan has been a Horses4Heroes Gold Star Affiliate in various locations from California to Florida since 2013.  Mrs. McClellan and her horses have participated in a number of additional events over the years to include multiple showings at the annual Western States Horse Exposition in Northern California, the 2013 Cavalcade of Horses, the 2014 El Dorado County Fair , and the 2019 Sarasota Winter Festival

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