I am 20 and have been riding for around 14 years. I started out doing dressage as a child riding at Blue Goose Stables then changing to jumpers after the purchase of my first (real) horse but am now getting into hunters with my new prospect.
As a 10th grader my parents moved me to the Grier School in central Pennsylvania to finish out my years in high school and it was probably the best thing that could have happened to me and my riding. I am lucky enough to still work, ride, board, and show at the school and have the best trainer in the world.
In the summer I teach lessons at Grier’s camp and it is a blast. Although I am not super fond of children it is a great experience each year and I believe it has helped me grow not only as a rider but as a person as well.
As a freshman I attended Randolph Macon Womens College (now randolph college) and rode on the team for a semester before quitting and bringing my pony down. It ended up just not being what I thought it would be and it was too far form home for me. I just felt like I was starting all over with a new trainer and that if I was back in Pa I would be improving instead of backtracking. (though I did learn how to sit the trot the right way 
) I now attend Mount Aloysius college and am actively trying to start an IHSA team. I continue to ride with my old trainer and it has been a blast.
My old pony was an andalusian quarter horse cross who took me through all stages of eventing and jumpers and taught me how to sick in the saddle when things get western. When I outgrew him I started listing him for sale with no interests until my trainer suggested that maybe I needed to trade him for something else. I finally came across someone wanting a smaller horse that could cart children around but all she had was a frisky four year old OTTB. Daisy has turned out to be a high maintenance typical chestnut thoroughbred mare, never a dull moment.
I want to share my experiences while re-training this wonderful gal and help others who may be in the same position as me in the future and to have something to come back to when I am starting all over again with another thoroughbred. I have never even dreamed of owning an OTTB but after having even only a few months with this mare I know I will do it again.
My Overall Goals:
- To share my experiences with my ottb with others that may be in the same situation and to get feedback from others who have done it before.
- To train Daisy to the best of my ability and sell her as a finished hunter in a few years or keep her if i cannot bare to part with her after all the years together. (as long as I don’t grow out of her)
- To eventually show Daisy in the first and second year hunters.
- To show others that there are other ways to do things, not just the traditional way of training an ottb and to demonstrate how the bond between horse and human greatly effects the training process.
