Staff and Board of Directors
Marta Berry, Co-President
(Bruce is a consultant)
Jodi Leuenberger,
Co-President,
Executive Director,
CHA Certified Instructor
Bethany James,
Co-President,
Program Director,
CHA Certified Instructor
Catherine (Cat) Markel,
CHA Certified Instructor,
Board Secretary
Nancy Long,
CHA Certified Instructor,
Board member
Janice (Janny) Rawls
Board member
(and Dobby)
Vivian Englebach,
CHA Certified Instructor
Meredith Macharia (left),
Board Member
Jan Evers (right)
Volunteer Coordinator
Juliet Moncrief,
Board member
Our horses are treasured partners in our program! HOPE currently owns Dobby, Bongo, and Nemo, and the program pays for all their upkeep. Other horses are owned by individuals, who pay for the expenses of their own horses. HOPE leases these horses for lessons on a day-by-day basis. We are always looking for horses we can use in our program! Scroll down for more information.
Find out more about the HOPE horses in the drop-down boxes below!
Meet the HOPE Herd
NEMO
SUNRISE
BONGO
DOBBY
COCOA
KAZ
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Dobby is a rescue, and we don’t know his breed or age — but we think he’s a Quarter Horse cross about 18 years old. Technically a pony, he can carry only our smaller riders. He loves to get out of his stall and get to work in lessons! Dobby is owned by HOPE, joining us in 2025.
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Bongo is one of our main stars! He joined HOPE in 2024, and is an easy-going and dependable “Good Boi”. He is owned by HOPE, and lives at Marta Berry’s with Kaz. He LOVES people and attention, and knows how to open an unlatched stall door.
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Nemo is a registered Morgan gelding about 18 years old. He is our newest partner, joining us early in 2026, and is turning out to be a quick learner as he gets used to our program. Nemo is owned by HOPE. He lives with Cocoa and comes down from Coupeville every Wednesday.
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Sunrise is another rescue and is a 22-year-old Quarter Horse mare. She gets her name from her beautiful red-roan coat. Sunrise is owned by Jodi Leuenberger, and shares her home with Dobby. She is in love with Nemo.
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Cocoa is HOPE’s favorite mascot! This little mini-mare goes on all sorts of outings to help promote HOPE at various functions and fundraisers. Though she is too small to ride, she is an important part of our team, giving seated participants an opportunity to interact with a horse on eye-level. Cocoa is owned by Bethany James, and lives with Nemo.
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Kaz (or Kazzie) is owned by Marta Berry. She has been in the HOPE program for many years, and has given Marta many beautiful babies. Her quiet and dependable nature in lessons hides the fact that in her non-HOPE hours, she is a keen barrel racer!
All HOPE horses receive expert care, including special diets and supplements, and regular veterinary, dental, and farrier (hoof) work. In addition, they sometimes receive massage therapy sessions from our own Jodi Leuenberger of Whidbey Equine Massage and Bodywork. We are careful not to overwork them, limiting each horse to three lessons per day, once a week.
As you can see, the cost of maintaining our equine partners is a huge part of HOPE’s annual expenses. Your donations go a long way to help these keep superstars happy and healthy!
Lend Your Horse to HOPE!
We are currently needing to turn riders away for our two Summer sessions, because we don’t have enough horses to carry everyone who is applying to ride. If you have a calm, steady horse you could loan us for most Wednesdays through mid-September, please contact us for more information and to schedule an evaluation. We pay a daily rate for leasing, with extra if you are able to haul.
