Staff
Tonya Wells,
Founder & Executive Director
Tonya Wells
Executive Director, Lead Riding Instructor
Tonya believes God has given her a passion for everything related to horses and has a strong desire to share that passion with others. She has been a teacher at heart from childhood; received a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture Education from Illinois State University; and taught at Princeton High School. She started showing horses in 4-H as a child and continued to show at local shows in halter, western, saddleseat, huntseat, trail, and dressage. Tonya has trained horses and given riding lessons for over 25 years. Since 2014 she has been a certified therapeutic riding instructor through PATH Intl.
Executive Director, Lead Riding Instructor
Tonya believes God has given her a passion for everything related to horses and has a strong desire to share that passion with others. She has been a teacher at heart from childhood; received a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture Education from Illinois State University; and taught at Princeton High School. She started showing horses in 4-H as a child and continued to show at local shows in halter, western, saddleseat, huntseat, trail, and dressage. Tonya has trained horses and given riding lessons for over 25 years. Since 2014 she has been a certified therapeutic riding instructor through PATH Intl.
Ashton Mills,
Riding Instructor
Ashton Mills
Riding Instructor
Ashton is a high school student with a heart of gold! She started volunteering at Sol's in 2016. She's been riding and showing horses since she was seven. Ashton attends First Evangelical Free church and has a passion for sharing her faith with others. When she's not in school or being the president of the FFA, Ashton works for Miller Vet in Atkinson as a Kennel Tech. Our horses and students gravitate to her beautiful smile!
Riding Instructor
Ashton is a high school student with a heart of gold! She started volunteering at Sol's in 2016. She's been riding and showing horses since she was seven. Ashton attends First Evangelical Free church and has a passion for sharing her faith with others. When she's not in school or being the president of the FFA, Ashton works for Miller Vet in Atkinson as a Kennel Tech. Our horses and students gravitate to her beautiful smile!
Grace Ciesielczyk,
Riding Instructor
Grace Ciesielczyk
Riding Instructor
Grace has been riding horses since she was six. She will be graduating this spring from Black Hawk College. Grace is originally from Somonauk IL, but now lives in Kewanee where she attends First Christian Church. Coming from a family with seven siblings, Grace loves spending time with children which includes sharing her faith. Sol's has become the perfect mix as she is able to practice all things she is passionate about like sharing God's love, working with children, and teaching them about horses. When not helping at Sol's, Grace enjoys working with her own horses, spending time with family, and working on custom leather products.
Riding Instructor
Grace has been riding horses since she was six. She will be graduating this spring from Black Hawk College. Grace is originally from Somonauk IL, but now lives in Kewanee where she attends First Christian Church. Coming from a family with seven siblings, Grace loves spending time with children which includes sharing her faith. Sol's has become the perfect mix as she is able to practice all things she is passionate about like sharing God's love, working with children, and teaching them about horses. When not helping at Sol's, Grace enjoys working with her own horses, spending time with family, and working on custom leather products.