About us

I began riding at the age of four at a local stable that was located just one mile down the road from my home. It was here that my love for horses was born!

At Willowdusk Farms, I spent several years riding a variety of ponies and horses. I progressed from a week long half day camp, to full days, to multiple weeks before finally taking weekly lessons.

Around my eleventh birthday, my parents were kind enough to buy me my first horse: "Fly Away Champ" - a black 15.2hh, AQHA gelding. 

Champ and I soon moved to a new stable at the other end of town so that I could further my education and begin showing.

At Fiddler's Green Stables we began on the Trillium circuit (now referred to as the Silver Circuit). It also introduced me to Pony Club.

As a member of the Saint Lawrence Ottawa Valley (SLOV) Pony Club, I enjoyed great success playing Prince Philip Games. Participating in these Mounted Games I was a member of the National Championship team in 1992. I was also chosen as one of five members from across Canada to compete on the International team in Perth Australia in 1994!

Although I started out in the Children's Hunter Division, by the time I moved to my first big "A" circuit stable (Juniper Farms) some seven years later, I had been regularly competing in both the Trillium Hunters on my Thoroughbred mare Montego Bay and the 3'6" Trillium Jumpers with my Mom's horse Calarco, then later on my Belgian Warmblood Luka.

At the age of 16, I moved with Luka (a 17hh, Belgian Warblood gelding by Lys de Darmen) and began training with Bob and Jill Henselwood. 

Under Jill's tutelage, I qualified for the High Junior/Amateur Division at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in my first full year competing at 1.40m. 

During my time at Juniper Farms, I was able to develop and compete with my various horses (Luka, Platoon II, Chakotay, Leobalia and Gloria) from the Low Junior/Amateur Division up to the Rising Star and Modified Grand Prix's. 

Highlights included being selected as the junior representive for Canada at the 'Copa Caracas' held in Caracas, Venezuela (1995) and a memeber of the 1996 Ontario Young Riders Team held at Temple Farms (Chicago).

In 2002, the opportunity to train with Ian Millar presented itself and so I moved my horses (Leobalia and Gloria) to Millar Brooke Farms. This wondrous opportunity allowed me to further develop my horse training skills and finally make the move into the Sunday Grand Prix's/World Cup Qualifiers (Chianto). 

During my time at Millar Brooke Farm, I enjoyed many success with my horses Leobalia, Chianto and Navarre.

The vast majority of this success was with Chianto - a Danish Warmblood gelding by Carano - i.e., placing at various classes at Spruce Meadows (2003, 2004, 2005); being named the Next Generation Champion at the Tournament of Champions horse show (2004), winning 3x while competing at 1.35m level in Valkenswaard, NL (2004); 3rd in the Atlanta Grand Prix 2005 (behind Joe Fargis); etc. 

In the spring of 2007, only days before I was to compete in the first of the Pan-American Games Trials with Chianto, I sustained an injury (broken fibia) that would see me sitting out most of the competition year. It was during this period, as I watched both Jonathon Millar (Chianto) and Amy Millar (Navarre) competing on my horses, that I realized the pride I had in developing my horses to the point that others could take them into the ring and win... so the decision was made to focus on the breeding and training of young horses.

In 2008, I began my own small 'business' - the idea being to have one or two horses in competition and a small selection of quality young stock to bring along. Knowing that Chianto had so much talent in him, a partnership was formed that saw Chianto move to the stables of Canadian John Pearce to continue showing at the highest of levels. Amazingly, this included a team fifth and individual 8th place finish at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky!!).  

Due to the success of Chianto and John Pearce at WEG, I received the honour of being named the "Jump Canada Owner of the Year" for 2010!!

With more than one million dollars in lifetime earnings, Chianto finally retired from competition at the age of 20. Chianto got to enjoy his years in retirement living with John Pearce at his home farm in California.

While not competing in the Grand Prix myself,  I have been enjoying breeding and developing the next-generation of sport horses. 

The young products of from my breeding have already been successful in earning top honours from their registries:

• Ellamieka: ster predicate - 2012, prok predicate - 2016, competing at the 1.20m level - 2017
• Faizemieka: keur/elite predicate with an IBOP score of 81.5 - 2013, competing at the 1.45m level - 2018
• Finnan: first premium foal & top 5 with the KWPN-NA - 2010, ster and Top Jumper Gelding in the KWPN-NA keurings - 2014, Winner of the Clay Brook Farms Cup - 2014
• Gwenhwyvar: first premium foal - 2011, keur predicate with an IBOP score of 75.5 - 2014
• Haven: first premium & top foal with the CSHA for their video foal championship - 2012
• Kiernan: first premium foal with the KWPN-NA - 2015
• Lestrade: selected and sold at the Prinjesdag Foal Auction - 2016
• Ladyhawke: Keur, Elite, IBOP, PROK predicates - 2019
• Night's Watch - licensed stallion with the CWHBA - 2020
• Olenna: selected and sold at the Starsale Auctions - 2019
• Payden: selected and sold at the Youhorse.Auction - 2020
• Pendragon: selected and sold at the Starsale Auction - 2020
• Rohan: selected and sold at the Trigon Auctions - 2021

I always look forward to seeing what each new generation will become as they grow and develop!!