I was very fortunate to grow up with parents that were in the breeding and importing business, which gave me a lifetime of horsemanship experience. I’ve had my hand in raising a myriad of horses from birth, managing stallions, starting and showing young horses, and sales. I started off as a hunter/jumper and then moved solely to dressage in order to focus on the NAYC and advanced young riders. As of the present, I have spent over 30 years dedicating my equestrian education to classical dressage. I spent high school vacation time with my parents hauling to top barns in different states for lessons with Olympians and top coaches, missed my school functions to attend shows and went to clinics on weekends in between. It wasn’t until I was old enough to work student long term that I really honed in on my skills.
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My first stint as a work student was right after high school and the 2001 NAYRC (Region 9 Team) in Wellington, Florida with Pan Am Gold Medalist Lynda Alicki while showing on the Wellington circuit to qualify young riders a second time. Directly after returning from Florida, I began my second work student position back home in Louisiana with Pan Am Gold Medalist and Olympic reserve Heather Blitz while employed as a groom and assistant at USDF Gold Medal breeder, Oak Hill Ranch. My third and final time as a work student was with 6 time Olympian Steffen Peters in Rancho Santa Fe, California. That was my dressage college education – learning the advanced concepts used by the best of the best. After I left California, I went directly to Australia to participate as part of the US Team for the CDI*** in Sydney. Upon my return, I was also lucky enough to shadow Volker Brommann in a few clinics in Texas. I firmly believe that if a trainer has not had such in-depth experience then they have not trained enough. My education is still ongoing. I met Conrad Schumacher, German master and coach of both Dutch and British teams, as a young rider and have been working with him multiple times a year since then. Conrad’s teaching style is unmatched, and a style that I try to emulate in my own teaching. Simplicity.
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Teaching and coaching is one of my favorite aspects of this business. I’ve helped riders to their first dressage shows, their first FEI classes and silver medal scores, coached riders through their first Grand Prix’s, helped kids into the Juniors and Young Rider’s ranks, and to regional championships. Aside from that, I’ve trained horses from halter breaking to Grand Prix, worked with Grand Prix jumping horses, rehabbed many a backwards trained dressage horse, and helped riders find their perfect horse. My training philosophy is that of the German System of Dressage training and over 30 years of experience training horses. I know them better than I know people, and that makes training so much more effective and enjoyable for the horses. My aim is to create horses that love their work, and do their jobs without pain or forcefulness. I welcome anyone to walk through our barn here at Hebert Sporthorses and find a horse in our training program that is not ready to put their clothes on and go to work, with ears perked and a calm eye.
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