Biography
A few memorable highlights of my career:
- Took home first at the National Mississippi Jumper Classic Grand Prix.
- Placed 2nd in the Medal Mcclay
- Took a few years off from work to ride the circuits
- I was boarding at a facility in GA, who housed the Olympic Dressage Team in 1996. We all got free lessons. What an awesome experience. Watching these Olympic riders exercising their horses and then a bunch of us would hop on our horses, trying to do copy what we saw. Obviously we were never able to do as well as them, but it was fun to try nonetheless. Leaned a lot about balanced seat, a fast way of cooling down your horses and other meaningful tips.
Calyp and I when we placed first at the National Mississippi Jumper Classic Grand Prix
Favorite Venues
- Washington Invitational
- Anaheim National Jumper Classic
- Lake Placed
- Hampton Classic
- Upperville
Murray and I in Georgia when we placed 1st in the Atlanta Summer Classic. As you can see, we over jumped above the field of vision of the stationary camera.
Trainers I have worked with:
- Kristine Blythe is a dressage trainer, which I learned a lot about proper balance, suppleness, and how to obtain contact and encapsulating impulsion then release it when needed.
- Randy Booth taught me to learn the horse’s movement under saddle for both flat work and jumping.
- Joyce Carmina was very successful in training me to jump from 4 feet up to 5 feet, which includes the change of balance, bringing the horse to the base by waiting. I can remember her saying, wait, wait, wait. J She also helped to improve my balance during the landing and the recover phases of the jump.
- Jane Dow Burt was my first trainer who taught me the basics and intermediate levels. I was a total barn rat and was fortunate to ride all kinds of horses, which made me very adaptable on horses. I was asked several times to show a perspective buyer a horse or more.
- My favorite teacher I never met – unfortunately. Alois Podhajsky was an amazing equestrian. I have read all his books and was inspired. I found the same intensity and passion for training horses as he had. The concept of training the horse on the ground before under saddle is a difficult but effective training technique. This I had found to be his consistent rule of thumb – and it works. My riding really took off as I applied Alois Podhajsky’s principles which are in fact the basics and can be easily summed up with Balance and Conditioning as well as learning to be a good partner with your horse. The ability to echo the horse’s natural movements on mount is the greatest gift to receive for every rider.
When you have a chance read Alois Podhajsky’s books:
- My Horses, My Teacher
- The Complete Training of Horse and Rider
- The Riding Teacher
- My Dancing White Horses
Fitzgerald and I in Connecticut at our fist show - we showed at the Modified 4'0" to 4'3".
I have been teaching and training for the past 12 years. I did not set out to ever teach lessons.
In fact, I just wanted to train horses and compete. I remember the first lesson I taught.
It just happened unexpectedly. I was talking to this person who was so frustrated with her
riding and trainer she didn’t know how to better herself and I felt she just needed a nudge.
After that lesson I was hooked. Seeing the expression on her face that feeling of adulation
and she was on top of the world was the most profound and meaningful experience in my life.
I feel fortunate that I can give that to my students all the time in the schooling or show ring.
Murray and I schooling at my old equestiran facility in GA.
Now that I am 38 soon to be 39, I have been showing for 30 years. OUCH where does the time go?
At this stage in my life, I enjoy teaching students, training horses, and riding my own. I have
slowed down on competing and prefer to work with my students so they can obtain their riding
goals at shows.
