My First Pony

Vick Russell is a third-generation equestrian trainer, still active with horses in his 70s. He owns Ly-Nard Hills Farm in Columbus, NC where he specializes in sale horses and training hunters and jumpers. He has six children; four of whom are competitive equestrians. Vick has more than 60 years of experience riding and training horses, and continues to compete. He is the author of Vick Russell Com...

Kristen Vanderveen runs Bull Run Jumpers, a training and sales stable in Wellington, FL. She began managing the stables at age 18. Riding her current mount, Bull Run's Risen, since 2018 has led to a run of successes including winning the show jumping competition in 2021 at the Traverse City Tournament of Champions and claiming the Horse & Style Magazine Style of Riding Award. (The award celebr...

A lifelong equestrian, Daniel Geitner has moved up from ponies to horses to owning his own stable with his wife, Cathy, in Aiken, SC. Riding and competing is a family affair. Their daughter, Lilly rides and is following in her parent's footsteps with wins of her own. The results page on the stable's website shows a slew of recent wins for Daniel including a recent set of wins for the whole family....

Jennifer Bauersachs owns and operates Spring Hill Farm in Frenchtown, New Jersey with her husband, Rolf, where they focus on young horses and train high-level, winning, hunters and jumpers. Spring Hill Farm has become known for producing champions and grand champions in the professional, amateur, and junior hunter divisions at shows such as the Washington International Horse Show, Penn National, H...

Havens Schatt is a top hunter rider and trainer who enjoyed a very successful junior career, then trained under top trainer Tom Wright for nine years before starting her own business with her husband Fred Commissaire. Together they own Milestone farm in Lexington, KY. Schatt has consistently won championships at all of the top horse shows including the Devon Horse Show and Indoors as well as many...

Victoria "Tori" Colvin is an accomplished rider and trainer who now has her own company; VICTORIA COLVIN, LLC, which she began in Wellington, FL after a successful junior career. Colvin was one of the winningest young riders in history. Colvin offers clients the opportunity to train with an acclaimed show rider/trainer and compete in AA horse shows across North America during the spring and fall,...

Amanda Steege and her Belgian Warmblood, Lafitte De Muze recently won the $20,000 Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club 3'6”-3'9” Hunter Derby. Steege is known for her success in the hunter ring and has won championships and accolades in that discipline. She has participated in the USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship, the Devon Horse Show, and the Winter Equestrian Festival....

McLain Ward has represented the USA at five Olympic Games, three World Championships, many World Cup Finals, and three Pan American Games. He gives full credit to all the horses who made it possible. Ward was riding a Belgian Warmblood Mare named Sapphire at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic games and won team gold. Sapphire retired May 14, 2012 at the Devon Horse Show; the night Ward won the $100,000 Wel...

Lauren was born in Sydney and have been based in Duffy's Forest, on the Northern Beaches of NSW. Her family also owns a farm, known as Lamondale, which is located in Wilberforce. This is where they breed their quality performance horses for dressage, showjumping and eventing.

Legendary hunter rider and trainer Danny Robertshaw is a United States Equestrian Federation “R” licensed judge and serves as a committee member for both US Equestrian and the United States Hunter Jumper Association. While he was competing, Danny became the first rider to earn championships in the Regular Working Hunters at Devon, the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, the Washington In...

Mimi Gochman is still a young equestrian and has already won numerous awards and accolades in the industry and is highly regarded for her abilities as a rider. She earned the Individual Bronze in 2022 at the FEI Youth Equestrian Games and the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation's 2022 Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Trophy when she was 17. And earned the gold medal in the $25,000 Young Rider Individual...

Sharn represented New Zealand at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and went on to compete at the FEI World Equestrian Games 2018. Sharn Wordley is a top ranked international grand prix show jumper, originally from New Zealand Lexington, Kentucky, USA – May 22, 2021 – As the penultimate day of the Kentucky Spring Classic drew to a close, a total of 55 international athletes took to the...

Scott Stewart recently earned his 14th Leading Hunter Rider Award and Grand Champion Professional Hunter at the 2021 National Horse Show. Other notable achievements include, 2015 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals Champion, and seven consecutive wins (2007- 2014) at the Washington International Horse Show (WCHR). Stewart is also the winner of numerous Grand Hunter Championships at top horse s...

The equestrian life is a family affair for Savannah Unger. Her mother, Monique Kent, is her trainer. Her grandfather, Donald Kent, attends all her shows. Even her brother, Austin, helps out. They travel together and show together as a family, and they own and operate Savannah Show Stables, LLC in Ocala, Florida. Savannah credits her family with her success. Recent wins include the $25,000 SmartPak...

He's known as one of the most successful trainers and developers of young riding talent in the country. Jack Towell began his career as a hunter/jumper trainer at the age of 17 and has earned numerous accomplishments as the trainer of more than 75 champions and reserve champions at the Devon Horse Show (Pennsylvania), Capital Challenge (Maryland), and the East Coast fall indoor shows, including th...

Liza Towell Boyd is one of the country's top equestrian riders and trainers. She has won more than 25 USHJA International and National Hunter Derbies and rode her current horse, Brunello to victory in the 2013, 2014, and 2015 USHJA International Hunter Derby Championships. In the USHJA World Championship Hunter Rider program, Liza's is the only rider to have won the WCHR Pony, Junior, and Professi...

Hunt Tosh is a winner on any horse he rides, but each mount is special. Tosh won the USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship in 2021 and 2022 riding Cannon Creek, the Wheeler family's 2011 Holsteiner gelding. Tosh also won the 2021 Pennsylvania National Horse Show Grand Hunter Championship with Cannon Creek and took home the title of 2021 Leading Hunter Rider. He became a business owner in h...

Will Simpson rode to gold in 2008 as part of the United States show jumping team at the summer Olympics in Beijing. Over his career, he has been a five-time World Cup finalist, the winner of over 75 Grand Prixs, and held the World Wall Record for ten years. He currently holds the North American High Jump Record. He began riding at age 11 and can credit many horses for his career success, but it wa...

Don Stewart, the former top hunter rider known for his namesake stables and sales barn, spent decades as an accomplished equestrian with a long list of distinguished honors. He scored multiple championship wins as a rider and a coach at all the major horse shows including the Washington International, Devon, the Pennsylvania National and the National Horse Show. Don served as chairman of the U.S....

Top equestrian Aaron Vale is one of the greatest Grand Prix riders in the USA. From his 275 wins, he holds records for most Grand Prix wins in a year and the most money won in a year. Aaron has also had the opportunity to represent the USET on European Tours and in Nations Cups, and placed in the World Cup Finals. In other disciplines, Aaron has earned Reserve Champion at all three of our Nations...