Our mission is to foster a cooperative and real environment for our horses and visitors alike.

Families and visitors will:

  • Work together with horses and each other

  • Learn to accept faults and compromise

  • Learn to open up and communicate clearly

Close-up photo of a brown horse's head outdoors with blue sky and trees in the background.
A person holding a brown horse's face close to their own, with a barn in the background and another horse in the distance.

“My clients are the best!”

- The Brown Horse.

About Us

Flying Changes Virginia, Inc., a 501 (c)3 currently provides equine assisted activities and therapy for individuals, families, and groups as well as organizational teambuilding and development. Flying Changes is based in Riner, Virginia and has years of both equine and clinical experience partnering both licensed mental health providers and seasoned equine specialists.

Flying Changes VA, more easily known as Flying Changes or FCVA, was started with a passion born from equine experiences in residential treatment for at-risk teens. In 2009, Flying Changes became a 501 (c)3 and worked with local organizations for several years. Despite the success and support for Flying Changes, other priorities required a shift that temporarily closed FCVA. In 2023 FCVA reformed and started offering services on a small-scale and by the start of 2025 established a strong standing at Willowbrook Farms and regained its’ nonprofit status in Spring 2025.

Our Home

A private landscape located in Riner, less than 5 miles off I-81 at exit 114, our peaceful green idyll lies far from the noise and pressure of everyday life. Willowbrook Farm welcomes its visitors with the chirping of songbirds, the rustling of leaves in the cool breeze, and the comfort of real companionship.

 
A fall trail with fallen leaves on a dirt path, surrounded by trees with green and yellow leaves, under a partly cloudy sky.
Sunset with vibrant orange, pink, and yellow clouds setting behind trees and a small creek with reflections in a rural landscape.

While we are very eager to talk about our horse family, we also don’t want to influence your experiences with our stories. Take a moment to imagine which horse might match the story but more importantly, what you would add to their story and what they would add to yours.

— Tiffany Slusher

Meet the four-legged Team

  • This horse that has had challenges but has been a grand teacher to everyone from kids, adults, families and even the original human parents. Usually more of the leader, with a life full of reasons, feelings are clear, and listeners are priceless. This horse’s personality is large and best summarized by the age old saying, “some horses will test you, some will teach you, and some will bring out the best in you…” although we believe, some horses will do all three!

  • You could find this pony in the house, your car or in your pocket (especially if there is food!) as curiosity will lead everywhere if the belly will not. The colors are fun, just like the personality. Negotiating horse friendships is ongoing yet, one thing is clear, the size of this pony doesn’t match the love offered. In the words of Helen Keller, “The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart.”

  • This horse comes to us from Richmond with years of life experience. The tallest on the farm and this horse has added color to our life. This horse seeks out mud so much that the nickname is now Pigpen. The love of attention has us enjoying Pigpen’s company and we are excited to learn more about this mystery horse in coming months! It seems most fitting to share a Pat Parelli quote to explain her: "A horse doesn't care how much you know, until he knows how much you care. Put your heart on your horse and your horse in your hand."

  • The quiet one at the end of the day that might go unnoticed. This horse has some wisdom to offer but will share it with those that listen more than they speak. Taking time, making space and creating relationships with this horse is done with intention, the herd makes that choice often as this horse does. “Horses are our silent partners. When we learn their language, this partnership grows stronger.” ~ Monty Roberts

  • To be feisty and curious, yet loving and innocent? They can go together, even within moments of each other! This one often draws people, and we believe that it is a claim to fame this four-legged knows. However, taking the saucy with the sweet can present challenges that we all struggle to balance as a boundary between what is and isn’t acceptable. "Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." - Mahatma Gandhi

  • This animal can teach her version of Nicholas Sparks’ Notebook, having lived a life full of love and loss with one partner. Simply put this friend is working to love again, as normally that attention was on another animal and not humans. Working with this one reminds us all that slow and steady wins the race, for many reasons. "You are built not to shrink down to less but to blossom into more." - Oprah Winfrey

Meet our two-legged team

A woman with blonde curly hair and glasses smiling poses close to a black horse with a white star-shaped marking on its forehead. She is wearing a dark blue ribbed sweater and silver earrings. The horse is wearing a purple halter, and they are standing outdoors in front of a rustic wooden wall.
Woman crouching with a big smile next to a large donkey, in a wooded outdoor area.
A smiling woman with glasses wearing a navy T-shirt and khaki pants standing outdoors with a miniature donkey, gently with her left hand on the donkey's shoulder. The background shows a grassy area, a wooden fence, and leafless trees.
A woman with sunglasses and a cap smiling while holding a gray horse with a halter outdoors on a sunny day.

Stephanie Whited, LCSW

Andi Golusky, LCSW

Heather Cromer, BCBA

Tiffany Slusher, Executive Director &

Equine Specialist

Dawn Viers, Ph.D., LMFT

  • Tiffany Slusher has worked with several non-profit agencies for over twenty years in a variety of capacities from direct service to director in a large organization working in multiple states. Her experience has led her to focus on meeting underserved communities, including at-risk teens and low-income individuals and families while focusing on mental health. Tiffany is a graduate of Radford University with a concentration in Therapeutic Recreation, while her passion is Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies, EAA. Tiffany has held a variety of certifications in the field of EAAT and continues to seek and share her knowledge across many platforms. That spark, starting from her West Virginia upbringing, has continually brought her back to connecting horses and humans for the therapeutic value and changes that can be discovered through their interactions. In 2008, Tiffany launched Flying Changes VA in Riner and is now serving individuals, groups and organizations towards their goals, from personal to professional alongside credential mental health professionals. Tiffany’s love of animals extends beyond Flying Changes into her own life where she, her daughter and husband enjoy their small farm in Riner with horses, ponies, donkeys and all the indoor animals too.

  • Stephanie Whited is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has the privilege of providing mental and behavioral health services to individuals, couples and families through her private practice. For more than 20 years, she has served clients in residential, community and office-based settings, in addition to providing clinical supervision, hospital discharge planning, program development and program management. Stephanie felt initially called to this helping profession as a young adult, after watching her parents provide a home for children in foster care, despite the many ways in which the foster care system left them feeling unsupported or ill-equipped. They taught her the value of serving and how important it is for each person to do their small part to help create change in the world. As a native of the New River Valley, Stephanie is always grateful for the opportunities to give back to the community that helped shape her into the person she has become. In addition to her work, Stephanie enjoys finding adventures with her husband and daughter. Together, they love traveling, eating delicious food, and listening to live music. 

  • I am an almost lifelong resident of Blacksburg and have been interested in working with people for nearly as long. I intended to become an elementary school teacher before I found that my strengths are working with individuals and families where I can develop more significant relationships to effect change. I completed my M.S. and Ph.D. with concentrations in Marriage and Family Therapy from Purdue University Calumet (now Purdue University Northwest) and Virginia Tech respectively. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Virginia and have over 30 years working in mental health with experience in outpatient counseling, assessments, supervision, and education. I worked nearly 17 years in community mental health before going into private practice and have been in private practice for 7 years.

  • Andi Golusky was the executive director of New River Valley Child Advocacy Resources Education and Services (NRV CARES) for five years. Prior to this, Andi worked at New River Valley Community Services for over ten years in children and family mental and behavioral health services. A proud Virginia Tech graduate, Andi fell in love with the New River Valley and has called it home since she graduated in 2006. Also, a Highlander, Andi graduated from Radford University with a master's in social work and later attained her license in clinical social work. Her passion for social work has led her to also be a part time adjunct faculty in the master’s program at RU. In addition to being honored with the American Women’s Business Association NRV’s Community Woman of the Year award in 2023, Andi was named the 2022 Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Non-Profit Leader of year. Andi resides in Christiansburg with her husband, two daughters, and two crazy rescue pups. 

  • Heather Cromer is a Licensed and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) since 2014 and the founder of Bloom Behavioral. She is passionate about helping individuals with disabilities set meaningful goals and achieve them through person-centered, compassionate ABA. As a Certified Neurodiversity Coach, Heather believes in affirming and celebrating what makes every mind unique. She also brings extensive leadership experience, training staff and supporting organizations through Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) to build strong, values-driven teams. Heather believes connection comes first and proudly partners with Flying Changes to offer Equine-Assisted ABA, combining her love of horses with evidence-based practice.

No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.

~ HE Luccock

Four women smiling and standing close together in a casual indoor setting.

Flying Changes Team

Dawn, Andi, Tiffany & Stephanie as we recognize and support NRV CARES (Left>Right)

Three amazing clinical mental health professionals and one equine specialist have been working together as a whole orchestra in the development and growth of Flying Changes, because no one person can make up a symphony.

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