Dee Parker-Fahey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dee Parker Fahey says that she always was, is, and always will be, a tree hugger. After attending Brush High School, Dee began college at Kent State University, however, after that first year, the trees came calling. Dee headed out west to the northern Rockies and spent the better part of that year backpacking through the wilderness.  

  

After that excellent Northwest  adventure, Dee headed back to Kent State where she received a  Bachelor of Science Degree in Recreation Administration, with dual concentrations in Outdoor  Recreation and Therapeutic Recreation. Dee met her future husband when she was a junior at  Kent. Dee's husband,  Brian Fahey, is a neurologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and the two have been married since 1988.  

  

Dee began her family a few years after the wedding, and feels very fortunate that she was able to stay at home during those early years to be with her three children. She spent a great deal of time volunteering at her kid's schools, and at sporting events, but as they entered middle school they sort of didn't want mom hanging around so much anymore.   

  

Dee got the hint and decided that it was time to follow a lifelong passion and put that college education to work. So, 13 years ago Dee and Brian bought their first of six horses and Dee began working for a friend at a therapeutic riding center. When her friend moved out of state in 2014, Dee decided she would take over the reigns and she started a business called Pin Oak Therapeutic Riding Center.

 

By then, the couple had bought a home in Delaware Ohio, on an 11 acre property that would now become home to the Pin Oak horse stables. The mission of the organization is to serve those with a variety of developmental disabilities, in a manner that will allow them to build up their self confidence, their self esteem, and their self awareness.

 

Dee's oldest daughter, Katie, 24 spent eight years showing horses and has joined Dee in the business.​ Not to be left out of the family affairs, Dee's second daughter, Casey, 23 now works at one of her father's medical office's. Their third child, Patrick, a 21 year old, is currently a rising senior at Ohio University and will likely avoid the footsteps of mom and dad and instead stake his claim in the Industrial arts field.  

  

While Dee loves being a therapeutic riding instructor, she also still loves the call of the trees.  The Faheys answer that call by heading up to the Adirondacks where the have a cabin in Old Forge, NY. They try to get up there several times a year, and regardless the season, Dee loves to be outdoors. Be it cross country skiing, or snowshoeing, or canoeing, or hiking, or just enjoying the beautiful scenery, or wildlife, Dee feels akin to the surroundings and loves being up there.   

  

Dee really has enjoyed her life thus far, and she plans to continue doing the things she's been doing. Keeping herself healthy and fit; spending time with her family and friends; and of course tending to her horses. Dee claims that some people are born with a gene that makes them crazy about horses, and that she and her daughter Katie both have it. Maybe she has a tree hugger gene too, but rest assured, that when she's not hugging trees, you can bet Dee is sharing hugs with all of her riders who are thankful  that she goes out of her way to make such a big part of her life a little piece of their life. That gene is called a heart, and thankfully, Dee is using it.  

  

You can learn more about Dee and Pin Oak at www.pinoaktrc.com