Abby was born with a God given love of horses, though her family was not involved in the equestrian world. By age three she was telling people she was going to be a horse trainer, to the amusement of friends and family. 

 

At age twelve she volunteered for the summer at a local horse stable, mucking pens and leading around camp children on ponies and her family knew she was hooked for life!

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Abby's start in the horse world was with trainers who followed Natural Horsemanship methods. The trainers she had the opportunity to learn from studied under people like John Lyons, Ray Hunt, Buck Brannaman, Monty Roberts, and Parelli. This is a training foundation she still uses to this day, especially when it comes to colt starting. Abby has always connected with the idea of training the horse in a way that they can understand.

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Later on, Abby had the opportunity to study under Cody Harrison as working student. Cody, who is well versed in Classical Dressage and Monte Foreman style western horsemanship, added many new layers to her understanding of training and riding. 

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One of Abby's most exciting opportunities was being invited to intern for two months under Eitan Beth-Halachmy, the creator and founder of Cowboy Dressage. Abby loves the mission and vision of Cowboy Dressage, with its emphasis on Soft Feel and kindness to the horse.

 

Education is important to Abby and she has spent thousands of hours in clinics, lessons, and lectures presented by various excellent horsemen and horsewomen. Abby has had the privilege of riding under all of the Cowboy Dressage founding partners, Eitan, Lynn, and Garn as well various other clinicians within the discipline. She has invested time into internships or working student positions with multiple different trainers to move her skillset forward. One of the more unique clinics she had the chance to attend was with Jeff Sanders. From him Abby dipped her toe into learning about the vaquero tradition and riding with a hackamore.

 

Because of her unique and varied background, Abby's program has its own special flair, a blending of the old and the new. 

 

In addition to being a certified Cowboy Dressage clinician, Abby specializes in Groundwork, Liberty, Obstacles, Trail, Cavalettis, and La Garrocha. She enjoys the variety and believes that cross training creates for well-rounded horses and riders. Her passion as an instructor is helping her clients to develop a meaningful connection and true partnership with their horses.