MONTANA CENTER FOR HORSEMANSHIP - Key Persons
A Montana native, Clark has owned and managed Norman C. Wheeler & Associates for more than four decades. The firm is a leader
in ranch and farm appraisals throughout the western U.S. Clark has been associated with MCH since its inception and believes that
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Owner of Schuett Farms
Owner of Schuett Farms and Chairman of the Board of Frontline Ag Solutions, David is a rancher, veterinarian and businessman based in Dillon, Montana, David is dedicated to horsemanship education and long term growth of the agriculture industry. He is committed to education to support career and professional opportunities for the future of Montana youth and to enhance the Montana economy.
Dr. Layne Carlson has been teaching Equine Science classes at UMW since 2009. Prior to this, he owned and operated a busy three veterinarian mixed animal practice in Southwestern Montana for many years. Dr. Carlson brings real life experience to the classroom and provides "hands on" opportunities for the students. His students perform necropsies, palpate and artificially inseminate a mare, learn about equine dentistry, perform lameness exams and practice equine bandage application along with many other procedures applicable in the equine world.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Head
- Member of the Board
- Director of Horsemanship
- Eric Is Director of Horsemanship Education & Facilities for the Montana Center for Horsemanship and Has Been Affiliated With the Center
in several capacities for nearly two decades. Eric is passionate about the value of horsemanship education and the advancement of both
horse and human to make the most of their respective lives. Eric holds a Master's Degree in Agriculture Education.
Eric Hoffmann is Director of Horsemanship and head instructor at the Montana Center for Horsemanship. He has taught natural horsemanship classes at MCH and Montana Western since 2008. In the classes that Hoffmann teaches, students learn the importance of getting their horses to work more willingly with them, in order to accomplish a task or job. As a student of Hoffmann's you will gain the confidence and the knowledge that will give you optimum readiness for a future career in the equine industry or a range of equine fields. Hoffmann holds an A.A.S. in Equine Management and Training from Laramie County Community College. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture Education from the University of Wyoming and received a Master's degree in Agriculture Education from Montana State University.
Iola "Olie," Else has been involved with the Equine and Natural Horsemanship Program since its inception nearly two decades ago. Else served as UMW's Rodeo Coach and Faculty Advisor for over thirty years and was named National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Coach of the year in 2004 and 2018. She is the only woman to have won this award.
Under Else's direction, UMW was a national rodeo power and had seven National Champions and many top ten finishes at the College National Finals. Western Rodeo was a Big Sky Region power. Olie was inducted into the Montana Pro Rodeo Hall and Wall of Fame in 2018 and the 2019 Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Else retired from coaching duties in 2018 but is now Department Chair of the Equine Studies Program and continues to teach. She is also campus liaison to the Montana Center for Horsemanship, meeting with new recruits and serving as primary advisor for Natural Horsemanship students. Olie teaches Introduction to Equine Studies, Herd Behavior and oversees internships and student thesis presentations. Olie is also faculty adviser to Young Farmers and Ranchers and her club won the Presidential Award. She is passionate about agriculture and raises cattle and horses.
Maggie Blandford is the newest horsemanship instructor for the Montana Center for Horsemanship.
She is a 2019 graduate of Montana Western with bachelors' degrees in Business Administration and Natural
Horsemanship. Prior to her graduation, Maggie taught horsemanship in France and
Germany. Upon graduation, she spent 4 years working closely with an NCHA Hall of Fame rider and
is excited to apply her performance horse background to the Natural Horsemanship principles
taught at MCH. Maggie focuses on fundamental horsemanship principles and techniques that can be
Margaux is French-American, now living in Los Angeles, where she works in Business Affairs at HBO as part of the Warner Bros. Discovery
Megan is a 2010 graduate of Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. In 2010, she joined a mostly equine veterinary practice in Corvallis, Montana and worked as an Associate Veterinarian in the practice for 5 years. Megan moved to the Dillon area in the fall of 2015 to take a position at the University of Montana Western as an Assistant Professor of Equine Studies. She is honored for the opportunity to be part of Montana Western's equine education program and to bring practical experience to the students.
Job Titles:
- Instructor at the Montana Center for Horsemanship in Partnership
Robert "Robbie" Chesterfield has been an Instructor at the Montana Center for Horsemanship in partnership with the University of Montana Western, teaching natural horsemanship classes since 2016. A graduate of the program himself, Robert understands the student's perspective, affording him or her the ability to explain things in a way that students can truly comprehend. Before teaching at MCH/Montana Western, Robert worked on ranches and started colts in Montana. He has also gone down the show road with a cutting horse trainer throughout the Southwest. The experience that Robert gained from this, he says, has shown him the importance of putting the horse first and learning to be willing to change yourself in order to help your horse. Robert's goal in the classes he teaches, is to help students build a working relationship with their horses, giving them a chance to succeed in whatever direction they choose to go in the equine industry.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Member of the Board
- MCH Board President
A lifelong horseman, dedicated to equine education, William is co-founder of the Montana Center for Horsemanship and