United States Eventing Association

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My Dad says it’s all my fault. A typical six-year-old girl, I walked into the family room and announced that I wanted a pony. Unlike most six-year-old girls, however, I had horsey parents. We ended up with a 40” pony who would run off back to the barn any time the lead line was removed. The horses quickly accumulated, and my family soon added a small piece of land and a barn. My pony was followed by an elderly mare, and then I “moved up” to a 16’3” 1500 pound dun AQHA western pleasure horse. I ruined him by teaching him to jump. Next, I had a Saddlebred gelding who taught me saddle seat and pleasure driving; I ruined him by teaching him to jump.

Running out of room again, we traded for a 40 acre farm with two barns and 36 stalls. My family operated it as a boarding facility, so there were always friends to ride with. I’d join them for long Saturdays riding across rural Boyd County, accessing interconnecting four-wheeler trails used for hunting, crossing private property (usually with permission), and connecting it all up by jumping the occasional obstacle or sneaking through a fence aided by a pair of wire cutters. (Kids, don’t try that at home.)

Meanwhile, my interest in jumping grew, but my horses didn’t share my enthusiasm. So, one week, we trialed a 16’2” leopard Appaloosa stock horse named Prince Rasputin. At the end of the trial week, I actually put him on the trailer to ship back. My parents pulled him back off, and said, “We’ll take him.” Best decision ever made.

I quickly put Razzy’s Versatility ROM and his good heart to the test by jumping, and jumping, and jumping, while continuing to trail ride. Cross-country jumping enticed me by combining both interests. Encouraged by my instructor Linda Strine, I completed my first event at Champagne Run in Lexington, rode my first Novice at the Kentucky Horse Park Team Challenge in 1993, and won 4-H state championships on Razzy in Dressage and Hunter over Fences.

The stories of Razzy bellyflopping (successfully!) over his first bank jump, and the time he kept himself from falling in stadium by using his nose as a fifth leg, are still classics – he had a heart bigger than Texas. I still credit Razzy with winning me the Singletary Scholarship to the University of Kentucky: I appeared “well-rounded” and discussed dressage with a professor on the scholarship review board!

I went off to school, finished my engineering degree, and returned home to work at an oil refinery. In April, 2000, without any intention of buying a horse, I tagged along with Dad and my sister Megan on a horse hunting trip. Our first stop was a 17’ 1500 pound dark bay/blanket Appaloosa who was about 30 days under saddle. He knew next to nothing, but he’d jump anything! When Megan decided to buy another horse, I bought the Appaloosa. True to his character, the first thing “Indy” did when turned out in a paddock was jump the 4-board fence to join the other horses!

By the mid-2000s I had completed my professional engineer’s licensure and an MBA degree, which took up a lot of time better spent riding. But I had back-up. My sister was now a full time professional with her own eventing barn, so she trained Indy and kept him fit while I dropped in any time I wanted to ride. I even made it to the occasional event. My last show on Indy was at MayDaze in 2009, where we finished second in a large Novice class.

I recently accepted a job transfer, strategically locating closer to my sister’s barn. And I continue to compete occasionally. For Octoberfest in 2009, my sister threw me on a Pulpit baby. I didn’t look at my score after cross-country, but I knew something was up when she whispered to me before stadium, “You might want to pick up the speed a little.” He showed what a tremendous horse he was by cutting some very unlikely corners, picking up his feet, and winning his class! Most recently, my sister honored me by letting me ride one of her new horses, affectionately nicknamed “The Sausage”, in her cross-country jumping clinic. At the end of the clinic, Megan offered to let me ride him at an event this spring. I didn’t say yes. But I know my sister, and I know that gleam in her eye.