The journey started in a little red barn tucked into the wood’s edge on a back road in Unionville, VA with a little, black, spitfire of a pony. His name was Billy and someone had broken his trust. Our kindly neighbor had bought him as a companion to her horse after her other pony passed away and was kind enough to let us enjoy both her horses.
Over the 20+ years that little pony was with me, he became my best friend and eventually my very first horse. He taught me more than any other horse ever has and I attribute my love of problem solving and working with anxious horses to my journey with him.
My professional journey began in 2009 quite by accident. I had intended to work a year after high school before heading off to college, ended up working with a trainer, and fell in love with the training life.
Over the years I have ridden and worked with many incredible horsemen and women looking to develop myself as a horsewoman and rider. I have always loved learning a variety of disciplines and what they have to offer both horse and rider but always have kept my focus on what works best for the horse long term.
After a pregnancy in 2017 with a rough ending and healing from a c-section, I found myself struggling with things that were easy for me pre-pregnancy. Both mentally and physically. I started having wrecks on horses that never would have been a problem before and it completely shook my confidence.
During this time, I decided to really dig deep and find the answers as to why things were the way they had become and what I could do to get back on track. This lead me into movement and brain based education for the rider and deeper understanding of the same for horses. This is an ongoing and passionate journey of mine to continuously better understand the physical, mental, and emotional struggles of both horse and human and how we can overcome them.
Now, I focus my work on helping horses and riders overcome their fears becoming confident and connected in order to achieve their goal no matter breed or discipline. I do not believe in quick fixes for horse or rider. Our journey of horsemanship is a lifelong one and rushing either horse or rider, leads us to skip over vital foundations that set us up for success. My goal is to always send horse and human home feeling confident knowing they can overcome and be successful together.