About Mustang Forces
OUR MISSION
The Mustang Forces mission is to bring healing and trust between veterans, first responders, healthcare workers, and mustangs. We accomplish that mission by (1) offering no-cost horsemanship and equine-assisted therapy courses at our ranch in Benton City, Washington, (2) growing meaningful connections with community members and leaders to grow our reach and resources, and (3) fostering a non-judgmental, welcoming atmosphere that serves the unique needs of the veteran, first responder, and healthcare demographic, as well as the individual student.
WHY MUSTANGS?
Horses are majestic creatures that has been around for many years. The relationship between man and horse is deeply embedded in history. Today, the horse is considered a part of the family and offers solace in ways that cannot be explained. Their ability to read a human’s emotion without a spoken word is remarkable and the documented research and stories of the impact horses have with people is beyond words. Their capability to mirror emotions has given those struggling a chance to reflect on their inner self without any judgement and develop coping skills.
The mustangs represent freedom, power, and confidence in the wild and has been the center of debate with their place in today’s America. While most see the beauty and power behind the mustangs, some see them as a nuisance and in the way of the land’s intended use. Without interference of being handled at birth, the mustangs bring a blank slate to the table and reflection back of your true self.
While the history of mustangs does not directly intertwine with veterans and first responders, the struggles faced by all is a shared understanding. A mustang’s first interaction with a human once picked up from the corrals is mixed with fear, self-protection, curiosity, insecurity, self-doubt, and a lack of trust. As the first few sessions come to a close, a bond between mustang and human develops into a seed of loyalty and the desire to strive to be their best.
While Mustang Forces will be using horses that will be a good fit for the program in regardless of their breed or history, the heart of the program will be centered around mustangs. The mustang represents a profound history of the United States, and the love of mustangs is shared by millions across the globe. The mustang’s history intertwined with the history of veterans and first responders makes a match made in heaven with their raw past, presence, and future.
Our Team
It takes the whole herd to make Mustang Forces happen - the horses, the staff, the board, donors, and our amazing volunteers. Mustang Forces is governed by the Board of Directors. Operations are managed by its Executive Director with the assistance of the Deputy Director. Keep scrolling to meet the team (including the horses).
The Horses
Celsie
Celsie was born in 2006 in the wild and captured as a 2-year-old. She was adopted in late November 2009 from the Bureau of Land Management and has become a trusting partner for anyone who is around her. Celsie enjoys long slow rides (her favorite speed is “sloth” speed) and loves to stop and say hi to anyone who is outside in their yard or walking on the trails. She loves carrots and apples and will stand with you all day just to be with you.
Calypso
Calypso was born in 2015 in the wild and captured as a 3-year-old. She was adopted in a blind draw for a Mustang Training Challenge in 2019 where she finished 3rd in her division. Calypso was an easy horse to train and tries her hardest to do what is being asked of her. Calypso is becoming a solid riding horse and is very patient.
Pistol Annie
Pistol Annie, born in the wild in 2020 was caught for the Mustang Training Challenge in 2021. She gained her name as she was quite a pistol at pick-up day at the Bureau of Land Management corrals. She loves kids and enjoys being with people. She made an appearance in a parade shortly after the competition and loved the attention from the crowd, she reminded everyone of a rodeo queen waiving at the crowd with a huge smile on her face.
Roz
Roz is the newest addition to Wendy’s herd. She is a rescue from a slaughter-bound feedlot and will be 3 in April. She was born in the wild horse corrals on April 12, 2019 and adopted at 4 months old. Roz arrived under weight and showed battle scars of survival while at the feedlot. With love, care, and food, she has gained weight and healed from the many bitemarks across her body. Roz loves being around people and is learning the basics of groundwork and respect of your space. She stands at 15.1 hands and still has a lot of growing to do, she will be a big girl! Once Roz passes the probation test, she will be slowly incorporated into Mustang Forces’ program. Wendy foresees many snuggles with Roz as she will nuzzle with you and gently lay her head on you while standing next to you.
The Horses
The Staff
Having horses for almost 20 years and working with mustangs is a passion of Wendy’s. She adopted her first mustang in 2009 but it wasn’t until she did the Mustang Training Challenge in 2019 that she realized her potential working with mustangs. She enjoys working with horses and helping others that share the same passion for horses, specifically working with her two nieces who were 10 and 16 to train their first mustang for a training challenge in 2021. It was an experience that will always be in her heart and the opportunity to share this with veterans and first responders is a dream she has had for so long that is now becoming a reality. Wendy has taught adaptive riding classes for two years and received her Level 1 certification for Instructor for Riders with Disabilities (IRD) under Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) in early 2021.
Corey first got involved with Mustang Forces in 2024 as a volunteer and student in the Veterans Equine Coaching Course. After spending just two minutes with mustang Celsie, he knew he was exactly where he needed to be. As Deputy Director, Corey assists Wendy in fulfilling the Mustang Forces Mission in a variety of ways from graphic design and tech solutions to equipment assembly and pulling tumbleweeds. Corey served in the US Navy as a member of the Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps. In 2024, he left active duty to return to return to his hometown and try out life as a civilian (except when he's drilling with the Navy Reserve). His past experience includes teaching and volunteer firefighting. Corey holds a BA from the University of Washington and a JD from the Georgetown University Law Center. \
Jaydin Hansen
Social Media Manager
More info coming soon.
The Board of Directors
Joe joined the United States Marine Corps in 1983. After Boot Camp, he was assigned to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA to study Arabic, where I met and married his wife, a member of the United States Air Force, studying Arabic as well. Joe separated from the Marine Corps in 1990, while working at the National Security Agency, where he remained as a civilian employee. Upon his wife leaving the Air Force, she and Joe relocated to her home town in Washington State. Joe joined the Benton County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy sheriff in the fall of 1992. He was selected as Washington State’s Law Enforcement Officer of the Year in 2003 by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Joe retired after 23 years of service in 2015. During his time with the Sheriff’s Office, Joe worked with all departments but mostly as a deputy on Patrol, as a School Resource Officer in the Finley School District, and as a Public Information Officer (representing the Sheriff’s Office with the local media.) Joe also served as a Lieutenant overseeing the civil and clerical divisions. While serving his community as a deputy sheriff, Joe volunteered with the Young Marines program, helping to start the first Young Marines unit in the area in 1995, and another in 1998. That unit, the Columbia River Young Marines earned the title of National Young Marine Unit of the Year in 2005. With knowledge gleaned from working as a deputy sheriff (and supplemented by an assignment as a school resource officer working in a public high school,) Joe began teaching adults in the Young Marines program about current drug trends nationwide, as the Drug Demand Reduction Resource Officer. Upon retiring from the Sheriff’s Office, Joe was employed by the Young Marines program as the first Deputy Director, West Coast Operations. His area of operations was west of Ohio, to include outside of CONUS in the Pacific. In addition to my role as a Deputy Director, Joe maintained the role of the Drug Demand Reduction Resource Officer. He assisted in developing the Young Marines’ Closing the Gate on Drugs initiative and continued to produce classes, lesson plans and information publications for the organization. Under his leadership, the Young Marines earned the Department of Defense’s Fulcrum Shield Award eleven times - the only military affiliated youth organization to do so more than twice. Joe live Washington State, still married to the young Air Force lady he met in Monterey, CA, over 37 years ago. Joe and his wife have two children, a daughter and a son. Their son, a college graduate, served in the Air Force as an Arab Linguist for six years, and is now back in college studying computer animation. Their daughter is an emergency dispatcher for our local first responders. Joe holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Excelsior College, New York and is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association.
Mike Clark
Board Member
More info coming soon.
Jean Lewis
Board Member
More info coming soon.
Trena McDowell
Board Member
More info coming soon.
Matt Gutzmer
Board Member
More info coming soon.
Linda Rust
Board Member
More info coming soon.