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Meet the Team

Our team of experienced trainers and staff work hard everyday to ensure that our riders, the horses and the facility are well cared for. Having happy and healthy horses in a high quality facility, that we can share with our riders, is what makes our programs at Leashes & Leads Equine Park successful.

Our team of experienced trainers and staff work hard everyday to ensure that our riders, the horses and the facility are well cared for. Having happy and healthy horses in a high quality facility, that we can share with our riders, is what makes our programs at Leashes & Leads Equine Park successful.

Viviane Bearbower

Barn Manager and Trainer

Viviane enjoys giving riding lessons because there is always more to learn and it is very rewarding to watch a student succeed. Training horses gives her the same rewarding feeling, as it is her goal to make the horses a little better each time she works with them.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Equine Management and has completed two semesters towards a Master of Agriculture program. On top of that she has worked with renowned trainers and judges such as Stacy Westfall, Sascha Ludwig and Bernd Boden. Viviane has worked with many different trainers to expand her knowledge to a wide range of disciplines. While Reining, Colt starting and Versatility Ranch Horse are her favorites - she has experience in Dressage, Show Jumping, Barrel Racing, Gaming, Team Penning, Vaulting and Driving. A champion title in Pole Bending at the German Championships 2015 qualified her to be on the national squad (top 10 riders of Germany).

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McKenzie O'Laughlin

Assistant Barn Manager

UPDATE: McKenzie has recently made the tough decision to move out of Rochester with her family. We will miss her dearly. Her last day was Saturday, August 19th. We wish her well in her new adventures.

Jessica Brekke

Riding Instructor

We are excited to have Jessica on our team of instructors. She enjoys helping children and adults get comfortable around horses and start their riding. She is a very kind and patient teacher, who comes up with lots of fun games to play during lessons. She has a unique talent to adjust to her students personality's and find the according teaching methods.

Hannah Heins

Riding Instructor

Hannah has been a great addition to our staff this Summer! She has headed back to college recently. We hope to have her back next Summer.

Peggy Ferdinand

PATH Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor

Peggy is a PATH-certified riding instructor who will be offering therapeutic riding lessons at Leashes and Leads Equine Park beginning in June 2023. She began her journey in therapeutic horsemanship in 2016, when an unexpected job loss prompted her to explore certification through the Professional Association for Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH). She has been teaching riders with disabilities, first as an instructor in training and then as a PATH Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor, since 2018. She is also working on her TagTEACH certification (feel free to ask her about this, but…when you have some time to chat, because she gets really excited about using TagTEACH in future riding lessons!).

Peggy says, "I have loved sharing all-things-horse ever since I was a horse crazy teenager who would interrupt trail rides to give kids pony rides. My desire to provide therapeutic riding opportunities to people with disabilities is part of that urge to share. I'm looking forward to meeting people and teaching at Leashes & Leads, starting in June!"

Peggy can be reached at 952-913-3229, either via text or by phone.

Special Thanks Other Team Members

We couldn’t have our wonderful Riding Lesson Program without all of our amazing staff that do the work behind the scenes. In addition to the staff that help consistently with riding lessons, the following staff are critical to our horse program ... Seneca Berndt, Calvin Betz, Rhett Carlisle, Jayme Cornwell, Liliana Davick, Nat Dougan, Matt Duncan, Claire Faudskar, Marie Harreld, Shelly McGulpin, Annie Meyer, Kim Petrich, Meredith Schulz, and Madison Sogla.