Joan Aronson is the founder and owner of Green Acres Equestrian Center, LLC. She and her husband, Wayne Aronson, purchased land in June 2002, and designed and built the Green Acres Equestrian Center in memory of Joan's father, Mark Leach. Mr. Leach was a renowned owner, breeder, and trainer of thoroughbred race horses on his Greenacres Farms, Inc. in Lexington, Kentucky and Ocala, Florida. Joan had been born and raised on a horse farm for her entire childhood until she earned bachelor's and master's degrees in Speech-Language Pathology. She then pursued an intense full time career in helping children and adults with communication disorders and subsequently founded Greater Atlanta Speech and Language Clinics, Inc. in 1982. During the year 2000, when she learned about the specialty of hippotherapy, she realized she could blend her speech therapy career with her passion for horses.

     In 2000, Joan earned the credential of a NARHA registered therapist in hippotherapy by the American Hippotherapy Association, and in 2002, she achieved certification by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association as a therapeutic riding instructor. During this time period she also expanded Greater Atlanta Speech and Language Clinics, Inc. to include a new division called Horse Talk. She now houses this division at Green Acres Equestrian Center, LLC.

     In addition to Joan's busy career and family life raising two teenage daughters, she manages to make time to ride and occasionally show her own hunter-jumper. Her philosophy for both horsemanship and horse care stem from her father's early teachings: "A horse will seek to please you, if you provide him with quality care, love, and kindness."

To contact Joan, please email her at greenacresonline@bellsouth.net or call 770-656-7002.