Meet The Instructors
Meet Megan Levesque! Megan is our barn manager as well as an instructor here at SCS. She has lived a few places, including Washington state, but she’ll tell you she grew up in a remote part of Northern California. She moved to Texas in 2018 and has been working and instructing here for the last 6 years. She was inspired to start riding horses at 4 years old by her older sisters who took lessons at a local barn in Washington before moving to California in the early 2000s. She first began instructing when she moved back to Washington for a year in 2017. She continues to teach now and says she does it for the rewarding feeling she gets watching her students progress in their horsemanship. She teaches primarily western lessons, including ranch riding, barrel racing, reining, roping, western pleasure and some beginner english. Her favorite horses at Spring Creek are Zip, Tater, Maisie and Major. She enjoys spending time with and riding her horses, Zip and Tater, and also likes to go on hikes with her dogs, Trigger and Dot.
Meet Lindsay Mechtel! Lindsay was born into a military family and raised in San Antonio. She has been working and instructing at SCS since 2018. She started riding in 2001 because she loved horses, so her dad signed her up for lessons and she’s been doing it ever since! She began teaching lessons professionally in 2016 at Fort Sam Houston, but she had been volunteering and assisting with lessons and camps since she was 14 years old. She teaches mostly western disciplines but can also teach flat english disciplines due to her years showing in the all around. Her favorite horse at Spring Creek is one of her personal horses, Boone. When she isn’t at the barn, she enjoys hanging out with her dog, Abigail, going to concerts and watching baseball. “Go Yankees!” - Lindsay.
Meet Emily Cancilla! Emily is from Winters, CA. She began working at SCS in 2019 after taking lessons at the barn for a year. She was 5 when she first found interest in riding horses when she rode a horse at a family ranch in California. While she has much experience riding and working with horses, she didn't decide to start teaching lessons until 2022. She instructs both western and english lessons, including western pleasure, jumping, barrels and some beginner reining. Her favorite horse at Spring Creek is Major. When she isn’t at Spring Creek, she is spending time with her personal horse, Izzy, or at home with her cat Ottie.
Meet Hayden Nye! Hayden grew up in Buda, TX. She began teaching at SCS in 2023. As a child she always felt a calling towards horses, but she was the only one in her family that felt that way. After years of begging, she persuaded her parents in elementary school to let her take lessons and she has been hooked ever since! Riding and eventually owning horses became a therapeutic way for her to relieve stress and detox from the busyness of life. She started instructing just over 5 years ago at a therapy barn where she learned the tools necessary to be a successful instructor and also got to see the benefits horses have in therapy, not just emotionally, but also physically. That was when she realized teaching was something she is genuinely passionate about. After her time at the therapy barn, she started instructing at the Ft. Sam Houston equestrian center. Hayden is another one of our multi-discipline instructors. She teaches western and english disciplines, as well as therapy lessons. She enjoys helping her students find what disciplines they enjoy the most and helping them progress. Her personal favorite discipline to ride and show, however, is the ranch events. Her favorite lesson horses are Quincy and Gypsy, but her favorite horse at the barn is her personal horse, Loretta. When she isn’t teaching, she is usually still at the barn working with Loretta. Outside of the barn she enjoys spending time with her husband and her dogs. Together, they like to go camping, attend concerts or just go for drives.
Meet Taylor Piering! Taylor was born in Dallas and moved to San Antonio when she was 6. She started teaching at SCS at the beginning of 2024 but has been a boarder here for the last few years. She began riding when she was young on her grandpa’s friends horses and pony’s. As she says, it was the definition of “backyard riding” as his barn was literally in his backyard! After her grandpa sold his horse, Cookie, she didn't have a connection to horses until her and her sister began taking lessons with Lindsay in 2021. She was able to gain a more knowledgable and correct foundation to her riding and was even able to get her own horse, Gloria! Taylor started teaching lessons for a short while at another barn in 2023. She does primarily beginner western lessons, teaching them confidence around horses from the ground up. She thinks the most rewarding part of teaching is seeing her students bloom into confident equestrians both in and out of the saddle. Even though she hasn’t been instructing for long, it has quickly become a highlight in her life. Her favorite lesson horse is Maisie Mae. Her greatest passion is horses and continuing her learning journey with them, however she is also passionate about various nonprofits like PHARM Dog. Her hobbies are painting, golfing, getting food with friends, going to the movies and watching reality TV.
Meet Kara Kucera! Kara is a San Antonio native. She began working at SCS in May of 2024. She has been riding her whole life but became serious about competing when she was 13 after attending a show with her dad and watching the competitors school and exhibition their horses. She began her first instructing job in late 2019 and began with teaching beginners for 5 years. She now teaches western disciplines including pleasure, reining, barrel racing and overall horsemanship. Her favorite horse is her personal horse, Nemo! However, her favorite horse at the barn is Tater. Outside of riding, she is passionate about fitness and wellness. She loves to go to the gym and work on herself so she can improve along side her horses.
Meet Kylie Wheeler! Kylie is from Forest Hill, Maryland. She began working as an instructor here at SCS in March of 2024. She’s has been riding her whole life and grew up on a farm with her own horses. She began taking regular lessons when she was 5 years old. She first started teaching lessons in 2018 in Hawaii and Maryland. She has taught many different disciplines including hunter jumpers, eventing, barrel racing, reining and polo. She loves both western and english disciplines, but took an interest in eventing and jumpers at a young age. Around 16 is when she took an interest in barrels, pole bending and reining. Her favorite horses at the barn are Major, John and Taffy, but she says she loves all the horses at the barn! Outside of riding, Kylie is passionate about health and outdoor sports. Some of her hobbies include surfing, hiking, fishing, soccer, diving, lacrosse and anything that involves physical movement outdoors!