1) Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from, how did you get involved with horses, what do you do for a living, etc.
I was born and raised in Vermont. I met one horse at the age of three, and by five I was reading the classified ads in the local paper asking for a pony every single day. I was textbook “horse crazy.” My parents took me for my first lesson at seven, and the rest is history. I was a working student for both dressage and H/J trainers. I took a break from riding after college, but got back into it a few years ago and have found my calling in the jumper ring.
My “day job” is the coolest. I am the global volunteer manager for a Pleasanton, California based tech company. I get to help our thousands of employees volunteer and give back to their communities. I work with so many cool nonprofit organizations and the employees that love them, but my personal passion is my work with CANTER.
2) What’s your role w/ CANTER?
I serve on the board of directors for CANTER California and am the volunteer manager. I first got involved by going on weekly track visits to Golden Gate Fields, working with trainers and owners to photograph and list available horses. I was also the trainer/rider for CANTER grads Hello Walls and Unusual Beam (aka “Beamer”).
3) So that’s how you found your horse Beamer then, right? Tell us about that.
Yep, my Beamer came to me through CANTER for training/adoption and never left! I knew that I wanted my own horse again eventually, but I didn’t think I’d find that horse as a randomly assigned retraining project that showed up on a trailer from Southern California.
4) What’s it like been riding and training a horse off the track?
I’d like to say it was all smooth sailing…but in reality it has been anything but that. It has been hard work. Beamer is not an easy horse. He’s opinionated, disturbingly athletic, and can be very playful! But there isn’t a mean bone in his body, and he’s so much fun to ride. His athleticism is a real strength. And his canter is to die for – so balanced and rhythmic.
It took him a while to settle into his training routine. He had these super exuberant canter transitions at first where he would air punch with one or both front legs. We called it his “Spanish Canter.” And he would have these little temper tantrums. He was very vocal when he was displeased, letting out these funny squeals before having an explosion. But with time and consistent work, he definitely is looking more and more like a jumper. And his behavior is much better!
It’s that thoroughbred heart of gold – giving 110% every time.
5) Tell us one great story about you and Beamer
When we first got Beamer in, he was very cute over little cross rails. His knees were to his eyeballs. It’s that thoroughbred heart of gold – giving 110% every time. But we didn’t have the right set up for free jumping, so there wasn’t really any way to know what he had in there. Our first peek at his raw talent came when we were schooling over an 18” cross rail. Tiny fence! He tended to rush jumps – like many green horses – so we had a rail down in front and a rail down on the landing side to help him shorten his stride and jump correctly. He went through the little exercise once, and the rail on the landing side kind of surprised him, but he shortened his striding correctly. I think he thought the rail was a challenge. The next time he went over it, knowing the rail was there, he just decided to jump the whole thing like one big oxer. That rail was six feet out, so his whole jump was at least ten feet wide! That’s when I knew I had a very talented horse on my hands and that I also should probably start super gluing myself to the saddle.
6) What advice would you give to anyone looking to get an OTTB?
I think anyone shopping for an OTTB should know that it’s okay to ask for help. Whether it is your first time or your tenth retraining project, we all need help sometimes! And there are so many people who can offer assistance – your friends and immediate community of riders, trainers, CANTER volunteers and staff, even total strangers that are happy to help via online forums. Green horses in training rarely follow linear paths. You are going to have good days and bad days. Don’t give up. Get help on those bad days, and know that you ARE making progress even if it doesn’t feel like it.
You are going to have good days and bad days. Don’t give up.
One other thing: fitness, fitness, fitness! Your horse is getting an entirely new career. If you picked up running, you wouldn’t start with 5 miles at top speed. Don’t ask your horse to dive hard work like jumping or advanced schooling in a collected frame. Start slow. Spend time asking for correct movement at the walk, then the trot. Teach the horse to move off both legs, and stretch down and accept the contact. Mix up your exercise routines and include long, relaxed, stretchy trot sets. If done correctly, you’ll set your new horse up for success every time and will build lots of confidence along the way. I highly recommend following Tamarack Hill Farm (written by event trainer Denny Emerson) on Facebook. He talks about this stuff often and has very funny posts!
7) What’s your favorite piece of tack and why?
That’s the hardest question you could possibly ask me (my tack addiction is pretty severe). It’s a 100-way tie between everything in my tack box! Ok, ok if I must: I am particularly proud of my half pad/saddle pad collection. I can fit my saddle to just about any horse. Front rise, rear rise, all over rise. I have ‘em all. Saddle fit is so crazy important – I encourage everyone to spend time learning how to do it properly! Contrary to popular belief you don’t need an expensive custom saddle. Just a little bit of practical knowledge and you are all set.
Saddle fit is so crazy important – I encourage everyone to spend time learning how to do it properly!
8) Anything else you’d like to tell us about?
My favorite Facebook group ever: English Tack Trader. Don’t ever pay full price!
