Meet Melissa

Commitment...that word describes Melissa in all her horse-related activities. She has always been an extremely dedicated horsewoman: going to the barn no matter the weather extreme; taking the best care of her horses, regardless of the circumstances. Her horses, her riding, and her teaching are the passion of her life.

Growing up in Southwestern Ohio, Melissa started riding at the age of 5 when her mom, who  homeschooled Melissa, was looking for a phys ed activity for her kindergartner. Mom started giving Melissa lessons on a little paint pony at a boarding and riding facility owned by long-time friends of the family. There at Old Stone Riding Center, Melissa continued her riding activities, eventually leasing a palomino pony, Goldie. With Goldie, Melissa got her first taste of eventing at the age of 9, competing in Old Stone's "mini-trial" in the 18-inch division on Goldie and winning both individual and team gold!

Melissa continued having fun and learning on horses of her own: first Chloe, a petite, unraced thoroughbred mare, and then Maddie, who Melissa took to her first pony club rally at the Kentucky Horse Park in 2001.

Melissa also enjoyed working with her dogs during this time: participating in junior showmanship, obedience, agility, field work, and conformation with the family's Flat-Coated Retrievers. She even assisted teaching agility and obedience classes, starting her on her way towards her love of teaching. But, horse stuff soon kept her too busy; the dog activities began to take a back seat to the horse activities and finally the dog stuff "surrendered!"

More horses soon followed. In the summer of 2002, Scotch joined the family, followed by Zero in the fall of 2004, and Deacon and Finn in 2007.

Scotch and Melissa have twice competed in the North American Young Riders Championships, earning a team bronze one year and a team silver and individual 8th the next. And Melissa has done some long format FEI events with both Scotch and Deacon--loving that challenge.

Melissa is a "B" rated Pony Club member and hopes to fit the H-A/A into her busy schedule in the future. She "graduated" from homeschool in 2006 and is now taking business classes at Miami University, working school into a busy training, instructing, and competition schedule.