A recent addition to the thump crew is Mackenzie. Born in Newport Beach, CA, Mackenzie lived from ages 9-16 in China, Hong Kong and Macau where her father started multiple business ventures, ranging from the production of specialty oil for machinery to environmentally friendly cleaner.

A major portion of her life, starting at age 5, has been spent working with horses. While living in Macau she worked through the race track jockey club, retraining retired race horses for jumping. She then showed these horses throughout China. She also helped start a riding school in Macau.

In the US, Mackenzie has been a full-time volunteer working in a riding program for people with disabilities out of Sun Valley, ID.  She has also helped manage numerous riding facilities.  The last 3 years have been spent guiding trail rides in the Cascades, as well as riding, training, buying, selling and showing horses in the Pacific Northwest.

When coming to work at thump, she decided to let go of some of her horse related work. Amazingly though, she still cares for five horses of her own, continues to help run a couple of riding facilities, rides and shows horses for others, AND, she runs her own small independent dog consulting company that focuses on training, daycare and boarding dogs!  It’s people like Mackenzie who make you wonder if some individuals can manipulate time to take on the responsibilities and embody the talents of three people!

Mackenzie’s interest in coffee, like many of her interests, is deeply rooted.  Prior to joining us a thump, she worked in several cafes in Washington and California. When asked what drew her back to working with coffee, she said, “I decided to make the move to thump for a couple reasons. I wanted to feel more integrated into the community and town of Bend. I also really wanted to get to know more people and explore my interests beyond the animal world, because I also have equal passion for art, travel, and meeting new people.”

It’s always interesting to know what people want to do down the road. Mackenzie is working toward completing a four-year Liberal Arts degree at OSU Cascades. She, like many of our staff, loves to travel and has already lived in or visited China, Thailand, Macau, Hong Kong, England, and Ireland. Zanzibar and Rio de Janeiro are on the list of places still to visit. In terms of her professional future, Mackenzie knows she will always work with animals in some capacity, possibly as a horse broker.

So much to do in life, so little time.  We’re pleased that at least a portion of Mackenzie’s life adventure includes thump! What a bright, interesting person she is!