Meadowgate 

As a teacher  my greatest joy is watching my students build their confidence in their riding and deepen their partnerships with their horses.  

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I believe in a very methodical training process whether I work with horses or riders.  I believe it is important to allow a horse  time to develop strength and gain confidence through understanding.  Building a working relationship with a horse comes from hard work and perseverance.  The bond you create comes from the issues that you overcome together.  You both gain confidence in your accomplishments.   

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With riders, I believe that riding in a balanced position is paramount.  Horses will always respond better when the rider learns to move with the horse in harmony.  I spend much time working on a rider's basic balance position so that the horse and you can work together.

 

Whether you are a child or an adult, horses are a great vehicle to teach us important life skills: respect, responsibility, patience, communication, teamwork, hard work, perseverance, problem solving, cooperation and leadership. In lessons with adults and kids alike, I relay to students how they are developing these important life skills through riding and how they are developing a partnership with their horse.

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Education has been the basis of who I am.  With my BA in Psychology and my Masters in Education I apply these classroom management skills to my arena lessons. After grad school, I traveled the world for 12 years raising my kids and seeing the world.    I was able to further my riding experiences with lessons in France, England, Germany and Russia.  

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I had the great fortune of growing up in a thriving and inspirational pony club family   My mother and mentor, Betty Tukey,  taught me everything there is to know about horses and teaching. She furthered my learning by sending me to work with instructors like: Melissa Beardsley, Tami Masters, Kari McClain, Bruce Davidson, Jim Graham,  Kim and Dietrich Von Hopffgarten.  

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Pony club  has always played a major role in my life and I grew up competing in rallies and Eventing. Through these experiences I learned about  being a competitor, teamwork, responsibility, horsemanship and leadership.  I graduated from pony club with my 'B' which establishs my strong base of knowledge.    Now I have the fortune to give back and play a leadership role in pony club.   I hope to pass on the values and learnings that I grew up with in pony club and give this to my students. 

 

I have been working with Stephanie Blockley- Clarke at Meadowgate for the past 6 years.  Stephanie has taught me how to ride with more finesse and with more compassion.  With her teaching I have taken my Dutch Warmblood Aslan up to 3rd level in dressage.  

   

I have taken the life lessons that I have learned over the years to become a strong educator with deep understanding in the training methods that work best in teaching riding. I combine all these elements (dressage, jumping and pony club) in my teaching to provide a very well rounded lesson program.