MEET THE LEADERS
Priscilla Lightsey, Founder/Executive Director
Dr. Lightsey is a life-long horse enthusiast who has a passion for serving children with special needs. She worked at R.O.C.K. (Ride on Center for Kids) before moving to Beijing.
Her credentials include a Doctor of Physical Therapy, a Master of Arts in Special Education, Hippotherapy Clinical Specialist and PATH Int’l Certified Instructor. When not in Beijing, Dr. Lightsey works at ROCK and TAMU Grimshaw Equine Therapeutic Program. In addition, she is an adjunct professor at Texas A & M University (TAMU), teaching an Introduction to Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies course.
Luna Sun, Administrative Director
Ms. Sun holds a degree in education, is bilingual in Chinese and English, and owned an English Language school in Shanghai. Originally a volunteer at HOPE, she became the HOPE Director of Operations and Programing in 2015.
Ms. Sun has worked closely with Dr. Lightsey and the HOPE equine team to learn about therapeutic horsemanship and to refine her equestrian skills. In 2016 Ms. Sun participated in a Primary Equestrian Training course at Huijia Equestrian Club. In 2017, Ms. Sun spent time in Texas, U.S., at ROCK and TAMUS CC, to enhance her skills in therapeutic horsemanship, NGO management, and natural horsemanship. It is in large part due to Ms. Sun – her skills and hard work – that HOPE obtained our NGO status in 2017.
Lucia Zhou, Program Department Manager
Chunxia Zhou (Lucia) joined HOPE in August 2018 after working as a volunteer with us for two years. Lucia previously worked at Beijing Xiong Peng Equestrian Club, where she gained experience working at a stable and discovered an interest in horses.
Earlier in her career, Lucia worked as an Executive Assistant and Interpreter to foreign CEOs expatriated in Beijing. She speaks fluent English and Mandarin. She serves as HOPE’s Volunteer & Program Coordinator, with responsibility for the lesson schedule, communicating with parents and orphanages, recruiting volunteers, and organizing volunteer training. She also assists during lessons and therapy sessions as the Side Walker or Horse Handler. Lucia is working to gain the necessary qualifications and certifications to become a therapeutic horsemanship instructor.
Xiao (Yanbo) Zhao, Horse Trainer
Xiao Zhao has 14 years of professional riding experience and is an Intermediate show jumping rider. His international study experience includes going to Australia for jumping training for three months and studying in Texas (USA) to learn about therapeutic riding for three months. An accomplishment that he is proud of is that in 2014 he won the fifth place at 100cm at FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING - CHINA LEAGUE. Xiao Zhao also has experience as a rider and horse trainer in many equestrian films, most noticeably as Willem Dafoe’s riding double in the movie “The Great Wall”. His experience on films has given him extensive practical experience on training and desensitizing horses and working with them to feel comfortable in a variety of situations. His professional equine training experience is a huge asset to the HOPE horses in staying fit, balanced, and prepared for lessons.
Fu Sishuan, Equine Assistant
Born in Gansu Province in Northwest China, Mr. Fu raised horses for farm work in his hometown. Since 2013, he had worked as feeder and groomer in three equestrian clubs, during which he learned basic equestrian skills and horse training from professional members of the Tibetan Equestrian Team.
PAST LEADERS
Amy Tripson, Program Director
Ms. Tripson joined HOPE in 2019, bringing a variety of skills through her education and work experience at therapeutic centers large and small. With a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a master’s in Kinesiology, and 20 years of horse experience, therapeutic riding was a natural fit for Ms. Tripson.
After obtaining her PATH Int’l Registered Level Instructor certification in 2015, she became Program Director at a therapeutic riding center in the U.S. state of Georgia, where she assisted in helping the center obtain PATH Int’l Premier Accreditation. Ms. Tripson went on to work at the Korean Racing Authority (KRA) Let’s Run Park, where she helped develop their program and achieve their Premier Accreditation. She returned to the U.S. in 2016 to serve as Volunteer Manager at High Hopes Therapeutic Riding Inc. In addition to her PATH Intl. Advanced Instructor Certification, she is a PATH Int’l Mentor. While Amy is no longer a full-time staff member at HOPE, she contributes her skills and expertise as a consultant.
Manuela Tournier, HOPE Director of Equine Matters & Therapeutic Horsemanship
Manuela Tournier is a horse trainer with experience spanning over 40 years. After starting riding at the age of 4, her experience includes competing at the international level in Dressage and at regional level in 3-Day Eventing as a teenager before getting starting in the horse racing industry at 18.
Qualified as a riding instructor by Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) in Hong Kong, she has spent many years in China, notably assisting to train the Shanghai team for the Special Olympics in 2007. She has managed stables in China and trained stable staff in different geographic regions and equestrian disciplines.
Ms. Tournier worked at HOPE for just under 2 years, and in that time left a lasting impression on the organization. Under her guidance HOPE established new standards and procedures and worked towards establishing a consistent weekly lesson program which is still implemented. Also during her time, three HOPE staff prepared and passed their RDA G1 (Helper Level Certification), the HOPE herd became better desensitized and responsive to their leaders in lessons and new lesson plans and progress note templates were standardized for all lessons. These changes helped to move HOPE forward in the pursuit of more standardized training for the organization and team.
Ms. Sara Jenner, Volunteer and Leader
Sara Jenner joined the HOPE team in the fall of 2009. As an equine enthusiast, she completed the British Horse Society Stage 3 Horse Care & Management qualification, her primary interests concern horse welfare and training.
In the UK she was a volunteer with the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), assisting with riding sessions to provide therapy, achievement and enjoyment to Special Needs children.
FORMER HOPE STAFF
Omid Ma, Head Groom & Instructor in Training
Mr. Ma is from Qinghai province and joined HOPE in 2017, staying with the team for about two years. During that time he demonstrated natural skills with both horses and HOPE participants. Omid enthusiastically took on the role of “big brother” for many of the young boys and teens in the program, not only teaching mounted lessons, but working with them on the ground to learn about grooming, leading and stable work.
Mr. Ma cared for the HOPE horses on a daily basis, acting as a Horse Handler and sidewalker during lessons. During his time at HOPE, Omid achieved his RDA Level 1 Helper Certificate as well as obtaining Level 3 in the Galop System. We are excited to see what the future brings for this talented young man.
Katy Wang, Development Manager
Wang Yixin (Katy) joined HOPE in August 2019, after having been a HOPE volunteer for 6 months. Prior to joining HOPE, she worked as the Marketing Manager in the state-owned enterprise (SOE) and listed company, as well as a preschool education company responsible for marketing and brand management when she was able to attend a 2-week training course on the Montessori education system.
Throughout her career, Katy has worked to establish good relationships with a number of Beijing equestrian clubs and media outlets throughout the city. At HOPE, Katy’s main roles include marketing development and fundraising activities. Each week she enjoys assisting in lessons as a sidewalker and is training to become a horse handler.
Mr. Xiushang Wang, Equine Assistant
Xiushang Wang, joined HOPE in August 2019 as the Equine Assistant. Mr. Wang does a great job taking care of the HOPE horses and makes sure that they are happy and always have clean stalls. Mr. Wang served in Chinese Army for 15 years then transitioned to working in the village/town government in his hometown in Hebei Province before coming to HOPE.
