About Me: I currently live in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, which is a suburb of Boston, with my husband of 8 months Glenn, my Australian Shepherd Jack, and Glenn’s cat Peeps. I am an attorney for a large corporation, so most days it seems like I am either working, at the barn, or driving between the house, the barn and work! I grew up riding and showing in Indiana and then took a 19 year break until last year. I started riding again in January, 2007, taking lessons “just to see if I still liked it” and in less than two months was looking at horses.
I am currently showing on the Paint circuit in New England and beyond. I have always loved big, pretty hunter under saddle horses, so that is definitely my favorite class to watch and to ride. I learned to never say never, because I was certain I would never show in showmanship (I REFUSED to show it in youth), but we started working on it last winter, and now I actually love showing it too.
Our main goal this year was to successfully compete at the Paint World Show in the Novice Hunter under Saddle, Showmanship and Equitation. We were prepared, entered, plane tickets purchased, etc…. when our entire facility was quarantined! My dream of showing at the Paint World this year was over. It was a pretty tough blow for all us, but there is always an “up” side. I realized that we were 1 point away from pointing out of Novice in the Hunter under Saddle, and have more room in Showmanship and Equitation. So, we decided to pull off for this year and next year we will hopefully be even more prepared.
I will continue to show this year in Showmanship and Equitation, and on the rail in some of the Non-pro Hunter under Saddle events. It was a tough decision (we are currently (as of 7/23) 1 point out of the Top 5 on the Honor Roll in Novice Hunter under Saddle), but showing at the World Show has been a goal since I was about 12 years old, and I don’t think that after a 19 year vacation I will quite be ready for the Classic Amateur for next year!
About my horse: Shez Packin Iron (AQHA Shez Real Natural) “Rosie” is a 6 year old double registered Natural Iron mare that is EXACTLY what I wanted in a horse. Anyone who has met me or seen me with her knows that I LOVE this horse!
When I started riding, I told Chuck Patti, my trainer, that I just wanted a really great hunter under saddle horse. Rosie was in Canada at Glen and Tracey Patterson’s (she had been Tracey’s 2005 futurity and junior horse), and Chuck had watched her since she was a two. I didn’t want a mare and I didn’t want a sorrel one, but I got the “just go look at her” speech. We went to ride on my birthday and brought her home about two weeks later. I love to watch her go almost as much as I love riding her. She has a BIG personality and is very entertaining. She loves anything sparkly, so we have to be careful with any jewelry or crystals because she wants to run her nose over it or gently pull it off of whatever it is attached to (the first time she met my mother-in-law she tried to lift a gold bracelet!). This is supposed to be fun, right?
She currently has 145 open hunter under saddle points, and ROMs in Novice and Amateur Hunter under Saddle, and Novice Showmanship. She was a finalist at the Paint World in the Hunter under Saddle Challenge and Jr. Hunter under Saddle, and has multiple futurity wins and circuit awards.
Thanks to GoHorseShow.com for picking me as the member of the month. Checking GoHorseShow.com has become part of my daily routine-I check email, and then go to the website for anything horse-related I need to know!
