Freedom Hill Horse Rescue
Board of Directors
President/Founder
Melody Parrish
Melody established Freedom Hill Horse Rescue in the spring of 2004. Prior to starting the rescue she worked at Bowie Race Track, bred and raised Quarter Horses for the show ring, worked as a private trainer and riding instructor.
She has been working in the Medical field as a licensed Respiratory Therapist for 18 years. She has experience in establishing several
businesses. She created and ran on line pony tack store called Ponies Only for 3 years. She also started Bay Financial Senior Services an insurance brokerage company that specialized in senior services and then migrated back into her roots of the equine industry after learning about the PMU industry and its link to horse slaughter.
In looking into this practice she found that many PMU mares and foals go to slaughter when they are no longer “profitable”. She visited a rescue to pick up two babies and talked with the owner. That was a turning point in her life and with her business experience she started Freedom Hill Horse Rescue.
Freedom Hill Horse Rescue has grown every year and has a professionally based Board of Directors and strong base of 11 volunteers. Many of these board members and volunteers have been involved since the rescue was established. Educating the public and saving horses at risk of slaughter have been the main focus of the rescue.
Melody has attended meetings on Capital Hill in Washington DC and Annapolis, MD to support anti-slaughter legislation. She is a member of the Humane Society’s Home for Horses Coalition and The Maryland Horse Industry Board. The rescue has been accepted into the Combined Federal Campaign through the Animal Welfare Fund.
Vice President /Treasurer
Lori Harrington
Lori has been a Calvert County resident since 1986, originally from New York. She has over 30 years of experience as a bookkeeper for small businesses. Presently, she is an independent bookkeeper for two dental offices, a construction company, an auto shop and a small farm as well as volunteer accounting for Freedom Hill Horse Rescue.
Previous experience includes 4 years in federal government in personnel department of AID, State Department and 10 years as a production budget manager for a Washington DC based video production company.
She's served as Vice President and Treasurer on the Board of Directors for Freedom Hill Horse Rescue since 2004 and has accompanied Melody to Capitol Hill and Annapolis, MD for anti-slaughter legislation support and Maryland Horse Industry Board meetings. She is married, has two grown children, two dogs, two cats and a 18 year old chestnut gelding, Talutah (Lu).
She enjoys trail riding, spending time with her children and animals, sewing, going to the beach and watching movies.
She is a former Girl Scout Leader (8 years), a Parelli Savvy Club Member and a member of the Unwanted Horse Project with Maryland Horse Council.
Grants and Website Administrator
Aimee Hollins
Aimee comes to Freedom Hill Horse Rescue with over 35 years of experience of working with horses in many different capacities. As a child, Aimee travelled and trained extensively with Quarter Horses in Horsemanship and Western Riding. Over time, the love the movement and partnership that the rider develops with the horse translated into an interest in Dressage and eventually a love for Show Jumping. With her entrepreneurial spirit, Aimee decided to start teaching lessons at the stable at which she trained to fund her riding costs. These lessons eventually translated into her training individual horse and rider teams. That entrepreneurial spirit has driven her in her professional life as well. Aimee has acted in many various capacities in both non profit as well as for profit organizations from administrative support to executive level leadership. Aimee brings not only solid horse sense but also intuitive business sense. Aimee truly believes in taking every opportunity to give back to the horse community, which had a profoundly positive influence on her tumultuous childhood. She is thrilled to be able to work with Freedom Hill in many capacities and believes there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a symbiotic partnership between the horse and rider.
Grants Assistant:
Pamela Hill
Pam began volunteering with Freedom Hill Horse Rescue (FHHR) October 2006. Her previous experience with horses was gained through informal education and volunteer work with riding stables. Having been away from horses for many years, but never losing her passion for them, she sought other equine volunteer opportunity and found FHHR.
Pam has maintained employment in the area of office management and administration since 1989, and brings to FHHR a number of skill sets useful in organizing and presenting information to demonstrate the growth, stability, and success of the rescue. Another aspect of Pam’s paid experience that benefits FHHR is her ability to compose correspondence and documentation. These valuable skills have made her the primary contact for successfully developing grant applications, and other funding and acquisition opportunities.
She is well versed in the perils that exist for the horses of today. Though many years were spent away from the horse physically, intellectually she was always standing by their side. Pam spent innumerable hours educating herself through research on the slaughter, PMU, Nurse Mare, and breeding industries. Her strong opinion against the cruel and abusive treatment many horses are receiving in these arenas has focused her efforts on saving those that we can save, and being a participant in the efforts to push through important legislation to improve all horse’s lives in the future.
After being around horses once again and having always wanted one of her own, she finally did it… In August 2007, Pam adopted her first horse! Indy, a five year-old Mustang who was rescued from starvation in Florida, has turned out to be a wonderful boy - he is her pride and joy!
Equine Assisted Therapy and Children Programs Administrator:
Kristy Alvarez
Kristy Alvarez has loved horses ever since she can remember. She still feels like that horse crazy girl from years ago that always thought about horses, but now those thoughts come with a strong purpose. Her desire is to help rescued and unwanted horses in anyway that she can and in return utilize those horses to help people find hope, strength and healing in their lives. Kristy, along with her husband, Daniel, founded Desire Ministries in 2006, a non-profit charitable organization where people help horses and horses help people through various Equine Assisted Activities and Therapy programs. Kristy is certified by the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association to conduct Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Equine Assisted Learning. She is also certified by the Certified Horsemanship Association as a horseback riding instructor. Kristy is a former private school teacher, a mentor, a horse enthusiast, a member of the Maryland Horse Council, a participant on the National Capital Adult Equestrian League and a member of Parelli Natural Horsemanship. Kristy is eager to use her passion, skills, determination and abilities to help horses that are in need and to help people that are in need through Equine Assisted Mentoring, Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, Equine Assisted Learning, and Horseback Riding and Horsemanship programs. She is the proud owner of Occhi, who came from FHHR, and Ellie, who came from Camelot. She runs various after-school programs at Loftmar Stables and she volunteers her time to help other organizations that help horses such as Halters of Hope, Blankets for Horses in Need, Hidden Haven Farm Horse Sanctuary and Education Center, and of course Freedom Hill Horse Rescue. She is glad to be a part of FHHR so that horses can be "free to live again"!
Secretary/Fundraising Administrator
Susan Shifflett
As a lifelong resident of Calvert County, Susan brings area knowledge to the rescue. Susan is employed with Calvert County schools and spends her spare time caring for her horse, Star, whom she adopted as a foal from Freedom Hill in 2007. Susan enjoys trail riding and spending time with her grandchildren. She prepares BOD meeting agendas, records BOD meeting minutes, assists in various administrative duties in addition to maintaining our horse records on Rendaivu database as well as organize our fundraising programs.
Fundraiser and Adoptions Assistant
Tammy Sommer
Barn Operations Manager
Ernie Shifflett
Also, a lifelong resident of Calvert County, Ernie takes care of daily chores at all our barn locations including ordering and delivering hay and grain, fixing fencing and pasture maintenance. Ernie enjoys hunting and spending time with his grandchildren.
Barn Operations Assistant
Steve Moscati
Riding Team Leader
Terry Pennington
Terry Pennington has been involved with horses since high school where she was a member of a Boy Scout Explorer Post that ran a petting barn in upstate NY. The petting barn was used to educate the public about farm animals. The animals who resided at the petting barn were sometimes elderly or unwanted. She learned to ride while volunteering at the petting barn. Terry also rode on the equestrian team while in college at Oswego State University. After moving to Maryland, she didn’t interact much with horses until 2004 when a coworker talked her into taking riding lessons at Merrymount. She then joined Merrymount’s National Capital Equitation League team and competed with them for 5 seasons. Terry was a big sister in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program where she and her “little”, who is now grown up, participated in Dr. Molesworth’s Hooves4Hope program that taught disadvantaged youth to ride. Shortly after she adopted her horse, Star, from Lori Harrington, Terry began volunteering for Freedom Hill Horse Rescue. In her free time, Terry likes to trail ride, play ultimate Frisbee, hike, and camp.
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