I have had a lifetime of involvement in the equestrian field, and am still learning new things all the time.

I began riding a pony in the Guelph pony club, and then accompanied my mother to a dressage lesson (sitting trot was mastered with no girth on the lunge line and XC meant sliding down the bluffs and fording the Grand River). I thank Joseph Thauer for my great seat. I then did a number of years in the hunter jumper ring and still kept actively riding in pony club and the Wellington Waterloo hunt field.

During this time I had many mentors, Trixie Montgomery, John Zaharie, Trish Towndrew. I even qualified and rode at the Royal, not bad for a 14.3hh palomino in the hunter division. Then I became more interested in dressage again and rode with Ed Rothcranz. Ed's greatest lesson to me was that if it doesn't work, try to figure out how to explain it to your horse in a different way. Not always does the tried and true work with every horse. Ed also developed my eye. I learned to watch the rider's body and the mirrored response in the horse. I learned the mechanics of developing muscles and balance. I also learned that there are times when one needs to move on in order to appreciate what you've been given.

As an older teenager I met Michael Gutowski when I was asked to join the Ontario Young Riders' team. Position, position, position and the horse is valued above everything else, especially your aspirations. repeatedly throughout my career I would return to theses two mentors for the perspective and "back to the basics" I really miss them both, it is hard to believe that we are now the "old horseman" generation.

I was very fortunate to be awarded the Potamac scholarship through Pony cub. So I packed up Spider, my young riders mount, and perhaps my best mentor on cold winter's day after xmas with Mom as co-driver and off we went. It was the trip form hell! Freezing rain, closed highways, and a finicky alternator. Nevertheless we made it 27 hours later. At Potomac I learned it was better to be subservient, if one was going to survive as an instructor in the horse business. Talent will get you so far but eventually you need some people skills. Also at Potomac I saw the value in a structured lesson program. I also got to watch Nino Olivera school his client's horses and wanted to be like him and Ed and make horses dance, willingly. I also decided that I was equally interested in teaching as well as riding. I had been teaching to supplement my horses for years but had never really considered it as a full time career.

So since my early twenties I've been teaching and riding and constantly trying to be better at both. In those thirty years I've produced, bred, raised and developed some very good horses, and I've had my share of good students. It's a gift to be given a truly dedicated, natural rider to work with and I hope I have more to come. I also enjoy seeing the average person catch the moments of what its truly like to dance with the horse and that's what keeps me teaching!