Mary Shockley, a teacher by trade, is the perfect teacher for the rider who has been out of the game for a while or who has little or no experience. She is patient and precise. Mary is centered around English riding and she can help you achieve your goals regardless of your preferred riding style. She is especially good with people who have fear issues. Aside from her lesson program, she is also a registered counselor and licensed school counselor who utilizes various counseling techniques with teenagers and adults. Her goals with her equine assisted therapy program is to help teens and adults with self esteem or behavioral issues to successfully build better relationships with family, friends and the community. This is achieved by working with horses through riding, ground work or just being around the barn atmosphere. Mary's background is in showing hunter/jumpers and dressage.

With her quiet, comfortable style, Catherine teaches teens and adults from the ground up. Her plans for each student are unique, though all begin by placing great emphasis on the development of a solid partnerships between rider and horse. Experiences in classical, natural horsemanship and training wild-born mustangs have contributed to her understanding of horse psychology, which she shares with her students before ever adding a saddle into the lesson. Catherine first explains the connection between how horses interact with each other in the field and how they interact with riders in the schooling ring, which begins each student’s safe and enjoyable exploration into the world of horses. Like all parts of the lesson, this experience is planned in advance, according to prior knowledge and interest levels. Catherine instructs in the disciplines of Classical Dressage and Western Pleasure. Catherine Snapp is devoted to Mecca Equestrian Center, to its students, boarders, horses and to sharing the benefits of a multi-discipline horse community with horse people of all skill levels and interests.

Miss Kimberly Wisham Assistant Barn Manager “Keh-mayyy” as we all like to call her. She is Catherine’s right hand girl. Kim came to the barn, 13 years old and full of enthusiasm. Kim knew nothing about horses at first. She tried and tried and did her best and the hard work is paying off. Four years later, she is practically a pro at this. Kim and her horse, Duke, are quite the pair. Kim has shown that she works extremely hard. She remembers the farrier lists, the vet lists, she checks fencing, knows all the details of feed, knows when something is out of the ordinary, keeps inventory and isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. She is simply invaluable and irreplaceable to Mecca. Kim would like to run her own barn someday. We believe she will be successful because she is very good with the details and becoming quite the horsewoman. Kim is a hard working young lady and we look forward to teaching her as much as we can for many years to come. If you see “Keh-mayyy” in the aisle, give her a pat on the back for all the good work she does and for having such a watchful eye over your horses!

Barn Family: We have a staff of great people who make Mecca run smoothly! Thanks to all of them for all their dedicated and hard work. BARN DAUGHTERS: Ashley,Rachel,Lee,Kim,Allie,and Maryanne. This is a group of very dedicated young horse women who help with everything from feeding to grooming to fetching horses. They play a huge role in the atmosphere of the barn and they are greatly appreciated for all that they do day in and day out.