Our Humans
Laura Heffernan
Owner, Therapeutic Riding Instructor
Laura reestablished Susanna Farms in late 2019, creating a new chapter for a property that has been a family farm through several generations and many different iterations. Today, Susanna Farms is dedicated to therapeutic services, wellness experiences, and community events that foster healing, personal growth, and meaningful connection.
Laura’s background as an educator, combined with years of experience in sales and marketing, provided the skills needed to bring her vision to life. She is a certified therapeutic riding instructor (CTRI) through PATH International and is also a 200-hour certified yoga instructor with additional training in mindfulness and social-emotional learning (SEL).
Laura believes that meaningful change happens one step at a time. Each lesson or session is thoughtfully designed around individualized goals that reflect each participant’s unique strengths, challenges, and aspirations. By focusing on small, achievable milestones, participants build confidence, develop new skills, and experience meaningful progress that extends beyond the farm and into everyday life.
Lara Veon
LCPC, NCC, E-RYT (she/her)
Integrative Psychotherapist
Lara is passionate about a collaborative and holistic approach to therapy. She is an integrative psychotherapist whose work is grounded in somatic psychotherapy and emphasizes the healing capacity of the mind-body-spirit connection. We are excited to have her join us and take on both individual and group therapy work here on the farm.
To inquire and book a session, please contact Lara at (872) 216-2110 lara@laraveon.com laraveon.com
Vivi Couris
Riding Instructor
Vivi’s love for horses began as a child, staying at my grandfather’s farm and learning to ride on his Tennessee walkers. As her passion grew, she began to seek out coaching, started competing, and eventually began teaching riders and training horses professionally as a young adult. She also earned a BS in occupational therapy, which I’d pursued with the goal of enhancing my career by allowing me to better utilize horses to improve people’s lives.
As a riding instructor, Vivi prides herself in developing individualized approaches for each rider based on their goals and ongoing progress, as well as promoting empathetic horsemanship.
In addition to her work at Susanna Farms, Vivi also works as a saddle fitter with Stübben NA and owns an equestrian apparel business “Anovaz”. Anovaz specializes in English riding tops that are fun and functional, with an overall goal of fostering a welcoming equestrian community that encourages confidence and self-expression.
Please check out Vivi’s riding apparel line at Anovaz.com
Katy Padula
LCSW
Katy combines her lifelong passion for horses with over seven years of experience facilitating Equine Assisted Therapy for children, teens, and adults. She supports clients navigating trauma, anxiety, depression, ADHD, life transitions, and more, using evidence-based approaches including Equine Assisted Therapy, EMDR, CBT, and DBT.
To inquire and book with Katy please email her at katypadula@hotmail.com