After a lifetime of studying OPH -- Other People's Horses -- Michelle got her first horse in 1990. Austin the Wonder Horse -- an Arabian breeding farm reject -- launched her into the horse rescue field. Austin was followed by Sara, his sister, then Chief. Austin and Sara and a string of other "rejects" went on to new "forever homes" but Chief lived with Michelle and her husband, Michael, until he died this year, one month shy of his 34th birthday.

"Our horses are "pasture potatoes", producing manure for the neighborhood gardens, as well as our own," says Michelle with a smile.

They are also "horse behavior subjects", "guinea pigs" for training sessions, and carrot moochers.

Upon retiring in 1999, Michelle narrowed her field of rescue to Standardbreds (harness racing horses) and is still active in rescue through her website, http://staplhorse.tripod.com, and a West Coast mail list.

To satisfy a love of learning and an interest in medicine, Michelle became an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) and a CPR instructor, as well as becoming involved in disaster preparedness in her community and completing about twenty five FEMA online classes in disaster management. This led to becoming a HAM Radio Operator, a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) instructor, and to developing an Advanced CERT Workshop, a "pet" component for CERT, an Emergency Pet First Aid class ( available soon as a "Teach it Yourself" CDRom), an Animal Disaster Plan for her county, and, of course, her Horse Awareness and Safety class, a "Teach it Yourself" horse basics class.

Being a Horse Safety Specialist has led her to online instructor work with the University of Guelph Equine Guelph and the production of a Large Animal Rescue online class for Scene Of The Accident.(coming soon) The next step is for Michelle to take her knowledge out to students. She is working on a new class, "Introduction to Large Animal Rescue for Horse Owners". This three hour class will be reasonably priced so all horse owners can avail themselves of this vital information.

Michelle lives in the redwoods on the north coast of California with her husband, Michael, dog Bear (rescued), and cat Rusty (rescued), a herd of chickens and her horses -- two rescued Standardbreds, Hunter and Rory. And if you meet her, ask her about her three grandchildren, Riley, Samantha and Cassie!