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Instructors Bios
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Dana Vennen
Executive Director
A horsewoman all of her life, Dana began with THH as a volunteer in high school. She took over management of the program, which had nearly become defunct, in 2000. Since then, she has seen the program grow to the busy, bustling center of activity that it is today! Dana remained a volunteer until 2004, when she went part time and then was able to retire from her previous career to become the full time Executive Director in 2006. |
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Sue Szanyi
RN, BSN NARHA Advanced Instructor, Program Director THH
Sue grew up on a small farm in NJ raising Beef cattle and horses. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania. She has been teaching riding and training horses specializing in corrective training for over 25 years. Her early riding background focused heavily on hunt seat. Later riding included breaking young horses to make them trail safe and kid safe with some work training horses for barrel racing and Western Pleasure. In 2002 Sue became a NARHA registered instructor and later went on to become a NARHA Advanced Instructor. Sue has been married to US Navy CDR Neil Szanyi for 20 years and they have enjoyed living up and down the East Coast of the US, and in Italy. The couple has one son, Quinn. They settled in Hawaii in 2004 where Sue began her work with THH. |
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Nancy Bloomfield
RPT
Kona Program Coordinator
NARHA Registered Instructor
Nancy is a pediatric physical therapist with over 40 years of experience working with special needs children in Hawaii. She is currently working in the school system in Kona, Hawaii. After seeing incredible improvements in core strength and stability, balance, and midline orientation in some of her students from participating in mounted activities, she was determined to get a program started in Kona. With the help of some professional horsewomen, the THH Kona program was established in 2005. Nancy took riding lessons and became a NARHA registered riding instructor in 2010. She continues to work fulltime for the DOE and runs the THH-Kona Program on a volunteer basis on Saturdays along with 8-12 other volunteers. |
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Sandra Van Horn
NARHA Registered Instructor
Born to a military family in West Germany. Moved to the States when she was a toddler. Moved several times and ultimately ended up in the DC Metro area in Northern Virginia. B.S. in Medical Technology with Highest Honors from George Mason University. Worked for 4 years as a medical technologist in Northern Virginia. Married in July 2003. Attended & graduated from University of Virginia School of Medicine (MD program) on an Army Health Professions Scholarship. Transitioned to active duty Army in 2008. Completed internship and second year of psychiatry residency at Tripler AMC. Currently a third year resident but taking time off to do research at TAMC in Psychology. Have always loved horses but never had a chance to work with them. Began volunteering & taking lessons at THH in July 2009. Became a NARHA Registered Instructor in April 2010 & enjoy teaching lessons on Saturdays at THH. She lives in Tripler AMC housing with her husband and 2 cats. She owns a horse who lives in a paddock adjacent to THH horses. She also enjoy hiking, music, and creative venues. |
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Kelly Brazeal
NARHA Registered Instructor
Kelly found THH by attending the Keiki Rodeo in 2007 & she was intrigued by the idea of using horses as a therapy tool for children & adults. She started volunteering in June of 2007, and was instantly in love with the program. In 2008, she pursued her teaching certification for NARHA and became a Certified NARHA Instructor in October 2008. To love a horse is happiness, to share and teach your love of horses with others is greater than anything I could've ever dreamed! |
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Linsey Erar
NARHA Registered Instructor
Linsey grew up in Cantonment, Florida. Her Grandpa and Dad taught her about western riding when she was about 6 years old. The only thing Linsey wanted to do was be with her horse...not much has changed since. In college, while taking Dressage and Jumping riding lessons, she was lucky enough to have had an instructor who was on the French Olympic Horseback Riding team. In high school and college Linsey was involved in volleyball and musical theatre. Linsey was able to do an internship at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL. This past May, she graduated with honors from the University of West Florida getting a B.A. in Elementary Education. Linsey found a therapeutic riding facility in Molino, FL and learned how to teach lessons under her mentor, Fran Gersin. Linsey fell in love with the impact horses and horseback riding can have on people. She spent all the time she could learning about therapeutic riding and its benefits. Linsey was married in May 2009 and one year later moved to Hawaii. Linsey was so thankful to have found THH and to join their crew. She feels lucky to be apart of it. "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." ~Winston Churchill |
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Denise Laudenslayer
RN, Certified DM Educator, NARHA Registered Instructor
Denise was born in Warren, Michigan. As a young girl she was able to experience riding during the summer at an all-girls camp in Wisconsin. After graduating from Marquette University with a BSN, travel nursing brought Denise to Hawaii in 1987. A neighbor found THH and they began volunteering approximately 4 years ago. Truly enjoying the positive changes working with the horses can promote, in April of 2010 she moved on to become a NARHA instructor. She currently lives in Makakilo with her husband of 21 years and her 2 teenage boys |
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Irene Nurzia-Humburg
NARHA Instructor in training
Irene was born in Frankfurt, Germany and then moved to Italy, her mother's homeland, at age 5. Her love for horses began with pony rides at Christmas fairs, and she started taking riding lessons at age 8. At 10, she and her family moved to the countryside near Rome, and Irene was lucky enough to be able to see 'her' horse from the bedroom window. For years, weekly riding lessons were Irene's passion. Her instructor was very strict and technique-focused, believing in firm teaching methods: an 'old school' horseman which gave her a strong base upon which to build. Irene was starting to work on jumping when diagnosed with lumbar scoliosis at age 15 and was forced to stop riding. Doctors weren't very familiar with the benefits of riding at the time. Irene went on to get her BS and then MS in marine environmental sciences, specializing in sea turtle nesting biology doing research in Italy, Greece and Costa Rica. In 2007 she got a job with the Marine Turtle Research Program at the National Marine Fisheries in Honolulu and moved to Hawaii. A colleague there told her about THH and volunteering. Being around horses again helped reignite her old passion and discover a new one: sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm with children and young adults. She has been doing chores, riding and volunteering steadily since the spring of 2010. |
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