Meet The Team

Rachel Gardner, LCSW

Founder and director of Windstone Counseling, LLC. After completing her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree at the University of Southern California (USC), she relocated to Utah to begin working as a mental health practitioner. Following several years of working with diverse client populations in a variety of settings, she earned her license in clinical social work and certification in Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) through EAGALA (Equine-Assisted Growth and Learning Association, Inc.). Ms. Gardner’s passion is to ignite hope, encourage perseverance, and promote authenticity throughout her client’s transformational journey so they can reach their highest potential and thrive. She is inspired and finds it rejuvenating to be a part of the process of empowering clients to make sustainable change, and is humbled and honored to be permitted to walk the path of healing together.

Melody Ashman, Equine Specialist

Owner of Mountain Ridge Equestrian Center. Melody’s love for animals came early as she was raised on a cattle ranch near Maryville, CA. She attended Brigham Young University (BYU) and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education in 1971. Shortly after opening her equestrian center in Mapleton, she became certified as an equine specialist through EAGALA and began providing therapeutic services with horses. Melody finds it rewarding to be part of the change process and watching clients gain direction and clarity in their lives. She loves to be outdoors and has explored several horse trails in Utah and the surrounding states. She thoroughly enjoys eating good food if someone else cooks it, gardening and planting flowers.