Having always thought horses were beautiful animals, I jumped at the chance to go trail riding with a friend when I was about 10 years old. That became an unforgettable day that changed my life forever. My horse took off through the woods, very nearly scraping me off on trees several times before he decided to slow and return to the trail group. I returned home and insisted on riding lessons - I loved being on that horse, but never wanted that to happen again!

Since then I’ve ridden at many places, spending several years with a backyard instructor, Susan Roth, who instilled in me a love for not only riding, but also for taking care of horses and just being around them. She was also my first introduction to Dressage. While with her, I rode and leased several horses - a QH mare named Peridox who taught me how to jump and took me to my first show, a flea-bitten gray arab named Giddeon who gave me funny looks the first time I took him out without a saddle, and an off-the-track TB named Revolution who always thought he should be first in the warm-up ring, to name a few.

I also spend 4 wonderful summers at Black River Farm and Ranch while I was growing up, learning about all aspects of horse health, care, and riding, and just generally having fun. Black River instilled in me (through riding bareback) the desire to really be able to feel what the horse was doing - I hated saddles every summer when I got home from camp - I just couldn’t feel the horses motions enough.

When college stated, there was less time for horses, and for a couple of years I actually stopped riding. However, I had heard through a friend that MSU offered riding classes at a local barn, and decided to take them. What a wonderful decision!!! I began riding out at Rowe Stables with Tracy for a semester, and then the following semester with Lani, and could really see my riding skills take a flying leap forward.

Due to other circumstances, I had to take the next year or so off of riding again, but just missed it too much! I called Tracy in the middle of winter, and set up weekly lessons again, and was once again amazed at how quickly my riding skills improved. Since then, I’ve become a working student at Rowe Stables, am riding several times a week, and learning everything I can about horse care and training.

Outside of Rowe Stables (my home away from home), I spent lots of time on my computer, either playing games or perusing horse websites, or studying for classes. I’m currently a student at MSU, working on my certification in Horse Management, and am enjoying my Horse Behavior class, and even my Farm Business Management class isn’t too bad. My boyfriend Peter thinks I’m nuts, but supports me just the same, although the only way to get him to the barn with me is to remind him that there’s a foal there that is just adorable to watch. :-)