Meet Our Team

Carol Petitto, Ph.D.

Carol is the executive director and founder of On Eagles’ Wings Therapeutic Horsemanship Center. She is a certified PATH therapeutic riding instructor, PATH Equine Specialist and a PATH mentor. Carol was also an elected official for PATH International as the PATH Region 3 Representative for WV, VA, NC and SC for five years. As an adjunct professor at West Virginia University, she developed and now teaches the classes in the equine-assisted activities and therapies minor that is part of the equine studies program.

She also helped develop and facilitate a WVU Professional and Continuing Education course on EAAT through WVU Academic Innovations with fellow On Eagles’ Wings therapeutic riding instructor Patty Harman. In her past life before being a PATH professional, Carol was a long-time breeder of Appaloosa and Arabian horses. Carol is married to Jim (otherwise know as the facility maintenance guy!), and has two sons, Michael and Brian, and has two granddaughters, Giana and Vivia, and one grandson, Ross.

Joey Curtis

Joey is an integral part of our barn staff. His attention to detail and love for the barn and horses shines through every day that he is here. He loves cleaning stalls and picking up the “road apples,” as he loves to say. A bonus for Joey is that he is also is a riding student!

Stephanie VanGilder

Stephanie is the center’s Program Director, as well as a PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor and an Equine Specialist in Mental Health & Learning. Since 2017, Stephanie’s roles have evolved from volunteer, to Americorps VISTA, to her current roles in the office and barn. Stephanie is a 2023 graduate of West Virginia University with a degree in multidisciplinary studies. As an animal lover, working at OEW is her dream! She loves watching therapeutic horsemanship change the lives of our participants every day! Stephanie enjoys following WVU football, baking and spending time with her family & fur babies. If you have any administrative questions please contact her via email at stephanie@oneagleswingswv.org

Patty Harman, M.S.

Patty is a certified PATH therapeutic riding instructor, PATH Equine Specialist and a PATH mentor. She has volunteered as a riding instructor for individuals with disabilities at On Eagles’ Wings since its inception. Patty has been involved in the horse industry for many years as the owner of a small horse boarding facility, riding instructor, and as a past visiting lecturer of several equine related courses at West Virginia University. She received many years of formal equestrian training in dressage and jumping as a student at both Meredith Manor and Morven Park International Equestrian Institute. Patty recently retired from her job as an Assistant Learning Specialist with the WVU Athletic Department. She is married to Chuck and has two children and four grandchildren, Charlie and his wife Paige (Porter, & Quinn) and Anne and her husband Lucas (Elizabeth, & Ollie). In her free time she enjoys spending time outdoors with her family and friends.

Claire Chantler, M.B.A.

Claire is a PATH International registered instructor. She has volunteered at On Eagles’ Wings since she moved to West Virginia in 2009. Claire grew up on a horse farm in Maryland where she helped her mother teach English riding lessons and summer camps. She also competed in 4-H, local three phase events and hunter paces. Claire has two bachelor’s degrees in business and French as well as an M.B.A. from Loyola University Maryland. Claire currently works as an advocate for people with disabilities at the Northern West Virginia Center for Independent Living. She lives in Morgantown with her husband Paul, daughter Alison and son Keegan.

Rachael Bisecker, DPT

Rachael graduated from WVU with her Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2015. Her primary focus is pediatrics and her passion is supporting children’s motor development. She began volunteering at OEW in 2020 and has been incorporating hippotherapy as a treatment tool into her PT practice since 2021. She lives in Morgantown with her husband, 2 children, and their dog. She loves spending time with her family at home or exploring the wonderful outdoors of WV.

Trent Patrick

Trent began volunteering at the farm through our partnership with Waynesburg University. He became a staff member in the fall of 2022: working part time during the school year and full time during the summer. He is a 2024 graduate of Waynesburg University who plans to continue his schooling to obtain a doctorate of physical therapy. He is involved in the daily chores of caring for the horses, dedicates his time to lessons, and is Mr. Fix-It on the farm.

Briauna Malone

Bri is a 2023 graduate of West Virginia University with degrees in Exercise Physiology and Animal Science & Nutrition. She began volunteering at the farm in 2022 and became a staff member in the spring of 2023. She is a PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor and is currently working on her certification as a PATH Intl. Equine Specialist in Mental Health & Learning. She was accepted early into Lincoln Memorial University’s Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program and is expected to graduate in December 2027. She can be found at the farm in the barn or in the office during her summers off and when she has breaks from school.

Jacob VanGilder

Jacob is our special events coordinator and has volunteered since 2018. With more than 11 years of visual merchandising, event planning, and landscape design background. Jacob has “grown up in a barn” being around horses since he was little. Jacob previously has volunteer experience at various horse camps, animal rescues and child care in the north central West Virginia, and southern PA region. In his free time Jacob enjoys restoring his family’s original farm, WVU sports and of course spending time with his fur babies.