Meet our Humans
Shanna Dozier
Founder & Executive Director
PATH Therapeutic Riding Instructor
Shanna has a passion to see Equestrian Bridges grow and help as many families as possible. Her dedication to the program since 2007 has ensured that it is a constant resource for those in need in Northwest Arkansas.
Shanna has over 30 years of experience working with horses and is a certified PATH, Intl. Therapeutic Riding Instructor. She is currently working on her Master's degree at John Brown University in Marriage and Family Therapy. Her utmost priority is maintaining the highest standards of professionalism for Equestrian Bridges and its programs.
Shanna is married with two young boys, who love coming to the stables with her!
David Helm
Trainer and Equine Specialist, Equestrian Bridges Board Member
David is retired after 36 years in manufacturing leadership. He has had a relationship with horses since he was a toddler and started his Natural Horsemanship journey 20 years ago after seeing a horse being beaten for refusing to load into a trailer. His thoughts were, "there has to be a better way."
Since then he has spent time with Dennis Reis and Chris Cox to gain that horsemanship knowledge. David has volunteered his expertise for Equestrian Bridges in the training and development of our therapy horse team for over 15 years. David is now on the Equestrian Bridges Board of Directors and continues to offer his expertise to keep our programming at the top of its game.
Jessica Boaz
Riding Instructor
Marketing Director
As a Riding Instructor at Equestrian Bridges, I am responsible for providing horse riding lessons to students ages five and older. I work with both the horse and the rider to teach them skills and help them bond and communicate with each other as a team. As the Marketing Director, I am responsible for creating and executing content for our social media platforms and website to expand our reach for our organization. I am the person behind the screen interacting with people within the community.
I graduated from the University of Arkansas in May 2022 with a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing. After graduating, I moved to Montana to work on a Dude Ranch where I became a certified Wrangler with the Dude Ranchers Association. I also worked as Elkhorn's Social Media Coordinator. I led trail rides every day through the beautiful Montana Mountains and fell in love with it. After being in Montana for two seasons, I wanted to move back home to NWA to be closer to family and find a job that would allow me to continue to do what I love, and this is when I found EB!
I was born and raised in Elkins, Arkansas on a cattle farm. I grew up caring for animals and that's where I found a passion for it. I am very close with my family. I have one older sister who is married with two kids; Emerson age 2, and Kolby age 1. They are my favorite people, the best title I've ever had is Aunt Jess! I have a blue heeler, her name is Harley. She follows me around everywhere I go, even to Montana and she loved it! I love volunteering in my community and that led me to become a volunteer firefighter in my hometown as well as volunteering at my church as a group leader.
Kiara Gianfagna
Volunteer Coordinator
As the volunteer coordinator at Equestrian Bridges, I do a little bit of everything. I recruit and train volunteers. I make sure that sessions have volunteers if needed. I have been in charge of the mini buddies program and birthday parties. I also help put together events, community outreach events, and some fundraising. You can see me running around doing things in and around the arena throughout the week.
I have my bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Arkansas. I am in the process of getting my Masters degree in school counseling from the University of Arkansas as well. I was a gymnast at the University of Arkansas from 2019-2023. I carried many leadership roles during my time competing for the University. I also previously worked in retail and nannied for a family.
I am from Brownsburg, Indiana. I have an older brother and a younger sister. I have 2 cats and a dog back at home in Indiana. I love being around and working with kids. Growing up I always babysat and volunteered my time at church working with elementary students. It has been a joy to combine my love for kids and animals into a job that offers me so much happiness.
I am a huge animal lover. Any animal big or small has my heart. I love watching and coaching gymnastics. In my free time, I love to read and be outside. When I am not at work you can find me on campus or in church.
Jack Sherrell
Equine & Stable Coordinator
Elayna
PATH Therapeutic Riding Instructor
Rebecca
Intern