STAFF

 

 

 

 

 

 

Founders

Ann and Larry Kulchin

Larry and Ann with granddaughter Tessa in 1996.

Memoirs from a daughter:  Ann and Larry Kulchin

Lawrence Kulchin caught the eye of Ann Elise Richter in 1957.  Larry a handsome, New York born lad was attending University of Berkley after a stint in the Air Force as a surveyor, when he happened upon Ann, a red headed beauty from Little Rock Arkansas, who was working in the office at UC Berkley.  Hitting it off immediately, they "eloped" to Las Vegas with the family for their wedding. I was born in 1958 in Walnut Creek, California and Dede was born in 1959 in San Jose.  Dad only worked a few years for someone else, then went into business for himself.  Kulchin & Associates evolved into one of the biggest engineering firms in the United States.  Mom held the fort down at home raising us and going with our every whim.  Mom and Dad bought us a pony, Mighty Mouse, who was the beginning of the horsey adventure, that I am still on!

My sister, Dede, while at Cal Poly pursuing her Child Development degree, chose to do her Sr. Project on The Animal Human Bond.   This was a natural course, because we spent our childhood raising everything from baby quail in the bathtub to our horses!

Mom and Dad were such gamers!  When a conference by the Delta Society was in Texas on therapeutic horseback riding, this "new" field of study, off we went!  We were hooked and things just rolled after that. My sister and I attended a two week training in Orange County with Fran Joswick and completed our NARHA training!  My parents bought a piece of property in San Luis Obispo where Dede ran BOK south for several years, until it was no longer feasible.  Purchasing, two Fjords, PJ and Zeke, I started giving lessons at my parents house, in Redwood City. I even went to pick up my first student at her house!  The idea of Therapeutic Horseback riding, was just starting....

And here we are today!

 

Program Director

Tish Callos

Tish Callos is a seventh generation Oakland native who was raised in Pleasant Hill. The oldest of three girls, Tish started showing interest in horses at age four and by age nine she was taking formal lessons and began showing in local shows throughout Northern California. Throughout her life she has ridden, leased, and owned many horses. By age seventeen, Tish was showing and training event horses professionally.

Her life was changed forever when, at the age of eighteen, Tish started taking care of a little girl with Autism whose mother had passed away from cancer. Within that year her focus changed from horses to working exclusively with the special needs community. Tish has worked as a 1:1 with many special needs children in both their school and home environments. She spent seven years as the Supervisor of Children’s Services at the Recreation Center for the Handicapped in San Francisco, before moving on to the Bridge School and B.O.K. Ranch. Tish is a NARHA certified instructor and a CHA certified riding instructor who owned and operated her own therapeutic riding center in the East Bay for several years before making the move to the Peninsula.

Tish Callos can be reached at tishcallos@yahoo.com.

CHA (Certified Horsemanship Association)

Tish's Sense of Humor

 
 

Head Instructor & Equine Manager

Heather Schilling

Heather is a Woodside native who grew up on the back of a horse. Heather is an experienced rider in cross country jumping, stadium jumping, and dressage. On any given day Heather can be found taking her horse Honey through the paces on the Horse Park’s cross country field. Before coming to B.O.K. Ranch, Heather spent time teaching therapeutic riding at another local center, as well as teaching summer camps with Woodside’s Junior Riders. Heather is part of a small distinguished group of individuals who are qualified to teach interactive vaulting (gymnastics on horseback) to participants with special needs.  Heather wears two hats for B.O.K., as a NARHA certified riding instructor, Heather heads up the instructor staff. When she isn’t in the ring teaching, Heather is keeping the B.O.K. equine herd in tip-top form as the equine manager.

 
 

 

Instructor

Pat Campbell

Pat Campbell has been an avid horsewoman and dressage enthusiast for almost twenty years.  She fell in love with horses when she was quite young but in Philadelphia, PA where she grew up, there was little opportunity to ride.  As a teenager she became interested in special needs children by helping a neighbor with her young daughter who had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Pat graduated from Temple University in Philly with a B.S. in secondary education and from Cal State Hayward with an M.B.A. with an emphasis in marketing.

Pat has spent over twenty years in both financial services and high-tech marketing.  In 1993 she realized her dream and bought her first horse, who taught her a lot about riding and about life.  In 2001 she participated in the Avon 3-Day walk for breast cancer, raising over three thousand dollars for breast cancer research. About three years ago she met Carol Studer, the program director for B.O.K. Ranch at the time and began to volunteer. After a year she began her education to become a certified instructor.  She received her certification in January, 2006.  Pat teaches classes on Saturday mornings and afternoons.

Instructor

Brooke Davis

Brooke Davis grew up in Half Moon Bay and now lives in Pescadero with her husband P.J.  She has been riding for most of her life and began teaching riding lessons and working as a camp counselor while in school at the University of Colorado at Boulder.  She decided to become and NARHA certified instructor to share her passion and experience with a larger part of the community.

Brooke also enjoys team roping, cutting, team penning, rodeo, and painting.

 
 

 Board of Directors

Beverly Aiello, President
Diane Leeds, Secretary
Alison Aiello, Treasurer
Ann Kulchin, Executive Director
Larry Bragato
Mike Glines
Steve Ondry
Leslie Schoon
Carolyn Ybarra

Doug Sweet

Tish Callos

 

 

Where are they now?

 

Carol Studer, Former Program Director and Instructor

After spending 12 years as the B.O.K. head riding instructor and program director, Carol got married to her husband Sam and had a son named Douglas. Carol, Sam, and Douglas now live in Morrow Bay, California.  Carol is still active in the horse community, owning her own horse and providing riding lessons to equestrians in her community.

 

Kelly Forman Allari, Former Instructor

Kelly lives in Santa Cruz, California with her husband Tim and baby Kathleen (pictured).  They love to play with the baby, travel, work in the garden, and go to the beach!  Kelly returned to work as a social worker for Children and Family Services part time when her maternity leave was over.  She is still registered as a therapeutic riding instructor with NARHA and hopes to return work at BOK Ranch when Kathleen is a little bit older.

   

Jamie Morris, Former Office Manager and Volunteer Coordinator

Jamie currently lives in the mountains of Colorado with her menagerie of ponies, dogs, cats, and various critters.  She enjoys work as a web designer, and spends her free time with the animals, attempting photography, writing, and missing California.

Jamie has stayed involved with B.O.K. by continuing to work on the website and by adopting PJ when he retired in 2006.

 

 

 

 

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Program Location: 3674 Sand Hill Road, Woodside, CA 94062
Mailing Address: 1815 Cordilleras Road, Redwood City, CA 94062 • (650) 366-2265