I only got involved with horses on an ongoing basis in 2002 when my daughter joined Westernaires. Shortly after that I became a volunteer Wrangler with Westernaires – which also introduced me to mustangs. We got our first horse in 2005, and six days later, on Friday July 22, 2005, I was introduced to the Jefferson County Horse Council and the Emergency Evacuation Team when our horse was evacuated from the North Table Mountain Wildfire. From that experience I joined Jefferson County Horse Council and have continued getting ever more involved with horses. Today I do trail rides, patrol as a Jefferson County Open Space volunteer, reenactments, obstacle courses, some driving with my daughter’s carriages, and most anything else if it involves a horse. I currently have two mustang saddle horses, Riley and BoJack, and one retired Westernaire pony, Barney. Too much fun!

Lisa Woodward has had a horse since she was five years old. She grew up riding horses on the trails and joined Westernaires where she graduated from the Varsity Bid Red Team in Westernaires. She has been a long-time trails advocate and She and her husband Rick planned all of the trails in Bear Creek Lake Park as well as the horse arena in the park and they were recognized for their work by Open Space. Professionally she is an engineer (Colorado School Mines alumni) as well as a pharmacist (University of Colorado).

I was born a horse lover. A pony was all I ever wanted from Santa Claus. My stick horse ’Trigger’ was my constant companion. I bought my first horse-an unbroken 3 year old mare-a year or so after college. She taught me a lot and I survived the experience ending up with a great riding horse. Shortly after I bought a bred Appaloosa mare who produced a show quality stud colt. I showed him, stood him at stud, and rode him for over 20 years. His name was Hijacker and he could do anything. He was a once in a lifetime horse. I’ve been a horse owner for over 50 years and each one has been a unique animal with its own special message if you are smart enough to listen. I currently have three horses which live with me north of Golden—Gambler in the picture, Dash who is Gambler’s mother a gray running bred quarter horse, and Hawkey who is a black and white paint gelding. I’ve been a member of Jefferson County Horse Council for over 20 years and a board member for quite a few of those. I’ve tracked JeffCo Land Use Cases for a number of years gaining an appreciation for how this area of our County Government works and unfortunately watching as more agricultural land is converted into residential and commercial. I’ve lived in the Golden area since 1980 and the changes to this area have been dramatic. In 2022, I volunteered to take on the duties of JCHC Treasurer and helped to rebuilding our Emergency Response Team. It is been my great pleasure to work with all the dedicated Officers and Board members including our Emergency Evacuation Team volunteers.

Paulette (PJ) Dyon, originally from Illinois, currently living in Lakewood, CO. Formerly a retail banking professional. Currently enjoying being retired. Married to Douglas F. Hambley. Hobbies include xeric gardening, trail riding and serving as secretary for Jefferson County Horse Council. Graduate of DePaul University in Chicago. Mom to two cats, three dogs (all rescues) and one TWH mare. All animals are aging wonderfully and help to keep me active as I am about to enter my seventh decade on the planet. Also, an active member of the Front Range Back County Horsemen. Motto: Serve to change lives.

Vera’s journey with horses began in Germany in 2005. Eight years later she rescued her first horse, Marino. That experience stirred her to dedicate her life to improving the lives of rescued horses. After 28 years of living in Germany, she decided to return to the States to follow this mission. Vera has been doing this for the last seven years in Jefferson County and now in Longmont.

As a board member of both the Jefferson County Horse Council and the Boulder County Horse Association, she’s excited about building communication between the Front Range horse associations with the goal of mutual information exchanges and expanding the care and welfare of our horses and their humans.

I didn’t grow up with horses but I was the kid who had a million Breyer model horses and loped around the backyard with my stick horse all summer long! I worked at a barn through college and have volunteered at several horse rescues and therapeutic riding programs. I currently do not have a horse of my own but I love trail riding whenever I get the opportunity and participating in Adult Ride with Westernaires. I got involved with the JCHC by way of the Emergency Evacuation Team.

As far back as she can remember, Suzi has a love and appreciation of all animals but horses have always been her favorite. Growing up in unincorporated Golden allowed her the opportunity to be around a number of boarding facilities and horse owners. Not having a horse of her own, she started borrowing a friend’s horse and riding the ditch trails all over South Table Mesa, then joining Westernaires. At the age of 14 she got her first horse, Van Deck. Vandy and Suzi graduated Westernaires in 1987, then branched out into CSU Polo, guided trail rides along the Poudre River, a little jumping and English riding, and some barrel racing. She joined Westernaires again in 2007-2014 as an instructor. Having parted ways after 24 years with Vandy, Suzi recently met her next equine buddy, Tucker, who currently lives at J&G Lazy P, in Arvada. Having ridden so freely around S. Table Mt, trail riding and the accessibility of trails for horses is what initially brough her to JCHC. With an interest in fighting for our open spaces, trail accessibility, and safety, continued education and outreach are a large part of why she stays involved with JCHC.

Hi I'm Michele Hovet - I was born and raised in Jefferson County and had horses since I was 6 years old, so I have been fortunate enough to ride all over Green Mountain, Morrison and Table Mesas before much development. My daughter and I each had horses in our backyard in Wheat Ridge and we did 4-H with Equilite. Now I ride at TMR or in Arvada open spaces and have my horse Romeo the paint, but also still my daughter's horse Polo and I have rescues and foster horses. My granddaughter Paige now rides too - nice to have generations of Jeffco horsewomen! I look forward to hearing from you. And helping preserve and expand our equestrian heritage.

I've had horses since I was about 6 years old. I think they are smarter than most humans I know. My first horse was named Red - he was 6 years old and hadn't been ridden - I got him saddle-broke within 4-6 weeks. My best horse was named Just Dreamin' - we called her Sis. She was a registered quarter horse with some thoroughbred in her bloodlines. She was 17 hands tall and fast. Her daddy was named Texas Truck and he held the record for the quarter horse 440 horse races for several years. I bought Sis when she was 2 years old and put lots of miles on her until she could no longer be ridden. I sold my Harley motorcycle so I could own her and have never regretted it or looked back. She lived to be 27 years old.

I volunteered to be a director on the JCHC to better the conditions for horses in Jefferson County and to improve the rider's and horse owners abilities with horses. My wife and I have been very big horse enthusiasts for our entire time together, but as we are growing older we've had to slow down because of health issues. However we continue to support the horse community in Jefferson County as much as possible.

Before my daughter joined Westernaires in 2010, I had no experience, and in fact, no interest whatsoever, in horses. But after watching her ride and spending time with the Westernaires herd, I got hooked. Over the next several years, I volunteered as a wrangler, instructor, head wrangler, and tack repairman in addition to spending many nights camping with the herd as a barn dad for my daughter’s, and later, my son’s, Red Division Teams. I bought my first horse, a palomino quarter horse named Baywatch, in 2019. His name was immediately changed to Mitch. Since then, an Overo paint gelding named Junior and a bay paint mare named Tanner have joined the herd.

Living in a fire prone area of unincorporated Jefferson County, I joined the JCHC in 2020 as an EET volunteer. I have served on the Board since 2022 and am currently focused on member communications and maintaining the organization’s website.