About Me

Me & My Team

Growing up in a rural Illinois town we enjoyed all four seasons by spending lots of time outside. Whenever winter would show up my dad would strap skates to our feet and we would rush down to see if the ice was thick enough to hold us.  I will never forget the late November days gliding on thin ice, rushing adrenaline and hearing the otherworldly cracks and creaks a.k.a Wild Ice. My introduction to farm life began running around Woodland view Farm with my best friend Lily. This is where I discovered my love for animals, especially horses.  During the late summer my family would take us to the New Windsor rodeo where I was first introduced to trickriding at the age of seven.  After watching Lindy Neely race around the arena dragging in the dirt, standing in the saddle and barely hanging onto her horse, I was hooked!  Fortunately, my mom had started my riding lessons when I was four.  This gave me a strong riding foundation that allowed me to build and expand my skills. Early on I found myself not always content just riding in the saddle, but instead I would like to stand, ride backwards or even hang on the side of my saddle.  My mom had the foresight to find an outlet and proper training for me to safely learn to ride in these wild positions. After many weeks of learning and searching my mom discovered a week long clinic in Pueblo, Colorado taught by cowgirl hall of famer Karen Vold and Linda Scholtz.  After two more return visits and lots of pleading with my parents I was lucky enough to get my first horse Sage, an eleven year old quarter/arab cross, to start working on specific tricks and techniques on my own. He had previously been trained as a jumper and was easily spooked. Since I did not know the first thing about training a trick horse it was a learning process for both of us. Some days were great and others seemed hopeless. However, after lots of patience, practice and training he turned into an amazing trickriding horse that loved to perform. He took me to the North American Trickriding Finals in Las Vegas in 2016 where we placed 2nd against the best trickriders in the United States and Canada.  Earlier that same year I had an opportunity to get a two week old quarter horse that I named Zeus.  Luckily I knew the owners of his dam and sire which allowed me to visit their farm and work with him as often as I could.  By the time he was almost three I was able to start light riding and introducing him to as many spooky situations as possible. At age four I started training him on the specific trickriding pattern and secret tricks. In 2021, Zeus had his first competition at the Super Ride in Athens, Texas. He was a very quick learner and we were blessed to finish first in the Open age group.