My Story.....
Erin and Acrobat
My story starts from the day I sat on a small white pony called "Sassy" , I was hooked. I began riding at the age of six. Throughout my high school days I rode and competed horses in different disciplines including Hunter Jumper, 4-H, Quarter Horse Circuit and Western. At that point I knew I wanted to pursue a career in horses. I was really interested in studying the British Horse Society Program offered in Orlando, Fl. In the fall of 1998, I applied for the program and was accepted. I moved to Orlando to study/live/apprentice at the Grand Cypress Equestrian Center. They had a specific program to prepare their students for exams that were held on sight by examiners that flew in from England. I tested and passed Stage 1 through Stage 3 (Riding and Care) parts of the exams, which included up to 1st Level Dressage, 3'9" Stadium Jumping and Novice Level Cross Country Courses. I then began to prepare for my teaching exam. In May of 1999 I passed my teaching certification to become a BHS-AI Instructor. After my BHS training I wanted to pursue dressage and buckled down to buy my Intermediare 1 Dressage horse, Desmond. He was a 17.3 Dutch Warmblood that was imported from Europe. At that time he knew more than I did and was my personal professor for the next four years. We hit the local show scene with the help of his previous owner, David Smith. We started at square one and worked our way up. I was able to qualify and go to the Regional Championships in 2nd Level. I earned my USDF Bronze medal and sucessfully competed through to 4th Level. Although I never was able to show Desmond to the level of Intermediare 1, because of his age, he certainly was a wonderful teacher of all the movements. It was now time to look to the future. I began making the trip back and forth from Uniontown, PA (my hometown) to Wellington, FL to train and gain experience. I purchased Acrobat, a yearling Hanoverian, and Dresden, a weanling Oldenburg, from a breeding farm in Pennsylvania. I knew that I would soon "start/back" and train the two young horses using all the knowledge and experience Desmond gave me. In the meantime, I also purchased a green 5 yr old Dutch Warmblood mare, Roscia, that I would be taking to Florida for the winters to train. I trained a season with Lisette Milner who helped me bring Roscia to 2nd level and schooling the 3rd level movements but she mysteriously came ill. To this day we are still not sure what happened to Roscia but she has fully recovered now to serve as a wonderful school mistress that I use in my lesson program. My focus changed to my young horses and I worked on backing/training them. I am to this day bringing them along, continuing to show them and also use them in my lesson program. Both are currently showing in Wellington, Dresden scoring in the low 70's in training level (schooling 1st) and Acrobat scoring in the upper 60's 1st level (schooling 2nd and 3rd levels). I have had the opportunities to take some classes with trainers in Wellington some include Lisa Wilcox , Lisette Milner, Marco Bernal and Allyn Schiavone. I have persisted to find my nitch for teaching in Wellington and my horses have really helped me along the way to do that. My horse Rosci has become popular for catering to a group of students that enjoy taking "lunge line" lessons; which allows them to work on their balance, stretch their muscles and improve overall position while I control the horse.
In December of 2011, my fiance Juan and I were fortunate to purchase a small farm in Wellington, FL. Now because of our busy traveling schedules due to Juan's job involvement with Polo, we are able to base the horses in Uniontown, PA for the summer months and Wellington, FL in the winter months. I have been accepting clients for many years now in both areas and continue to keep busy while having great interaction with a wide range of students. I believe that I have a unique approach to teaching because first of all I "love" doing it and it shows. I really want my students to progress forward and to understand quickly the concepts/experience I have aquired over the years. I have been taught to always be concerned with horsemanship and rider position, which is always my first priority.
For the future I am striving to achieve my goals of riding/showing in the FEI levels, in hopes of aquiring my USDF Silver and Gold medals. I will continue to take on a variety of students (children/adults) beginner or advanced. My hope is to continue my progress, while maintaining a balance in all life has to offer.
In December of 2011, my fiance Juan and I were fortunate to purchase a small farm in Wellington, FL. Now because of our busy traveling schedules due to Juan's job involvement with Polo, we are able to base the horses in Uniontown, PA for the summer months and Wellington, FL in the winter months. I have been accepting clients for many years now in both areas and continue to keep busy while having great interaction with a wide range of students. I believe that I have a unique approach to teaching because first of all I "love" doing it and it shows. I really want my students to progress forward and to understand quickly the concepts/experience I have aquired over the years. I have been taught to always be concerned with horsemanship and rider position, which is always my first priority.
For the future I am striving to achieve my goals of riding/showing in the FEI levels, in hopes of aquiring my USDF Silver and Gold medals. I will continue to take on a variety of students (children/adults) beginner or advanced. My hope is to continue my progress, while maintaining a balance in all life has to offer.
