New Jersey trainer Danny Desmond understands the value of hard work. He says a very wise man – who happens to be his own father – once told him that “your results are directly proportional to how much time you have spent.” That’s something Desmond has never forgotten. “Any successful man knows this is true […]
Native of: Warren, Pennsylvania. Age: 30. Activities: I played baseball when I was young until I got more involved in the horses. I was involved in 4-H and also did a lot of skiing, hunting and fishing. Introduction to Horses: I grew up around horses. We had a little farm and my family had a few horses. When I was […]
Native of: Ludington, Michigan. Age: 28 Family: Parents, Brian and Gerri Schultz; sister, Bre Schultz; brother, Brian Schultz. Education: Attended Ludington High School but was home schooled most of high school, living with my horse trainers at the time and hauling for national titles; 2006 graduate of American Schools. Occupation: National Director of Donor Relations for Be Someone’s Hero, a […]
Age: 17 Hometown: Gretna, Nebraska Family: Parents, Gayle and Robert Sharf; sister and brother-in-law, Nichole and Kent McKendry; brothers, Kevin and Will Scharf. Education: Member of the class of 2017 at Gretna High School, Gretna, Nebraska. Career Goals: I am planning to go into business. I’ll probably get a degree in general business, although, I don’t know for sure. I […]
Native of: Brockport, New York Age: 31 Family: Parents, Don and Sue DePalma; sister, Lynette DePalma.. Education: Earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Corporate Finance and Speech Communication in 2007 from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Member of the Delta Zeta Sorority there. Occupation: Regional Vice President for Prudential Financial, covering Georgia and South Carolina. I help financial advisors create strategies for retirement […]
Age: 18 Family: Mother, Tracey Woods; Father, Charles Ogilvie; Brother, Dylan Ogilvie Education: Glenella State School from preschool to grade seven ( 2003-2010); 2015 graduate of Pioneer High school. Career Goals: Next year I am going to study for my certificate III and IV in fitness. I became interested in fitness when I was living in Victoria with my trainers, Kelly […]
Native of: Norwich, Connecticut Family: Met my husband, Jim Naumann at a sales training class in New Jersey. Married in 1980. We have a daughter, Stephanie, 29, a yoga teacher extraordinaire. Education: Quinnipiac College, Hamden, Conecticut 1972-1974; University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, 1974 to 1977. Majored in Biology/Chemistry. Occupation: Senior apparel and footwear buyer for Mary’s Tack & Feed, Del Mar, […]
Age: 18 Family: Parents, John and Michelle Nirenstein; brother, Parker. Education: Elementary and middle school in Tiburon, California; Redwood High School, Larkspur, California (graduated in 2015); currently attending the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor but in the process of transferring to a California school so I can show my horse more. Career Goals: I want to work in the automotive industry […]
Jenna Tolson, of McPherson, Kansas, first fell in love with horses while on a trail ride in Colorado with her family. For months she and her sisters, Jillian and Gretchen, begged their parents to take lessons somewhere, so Brent and Sue Wall found a semi-local pony club for the girls to join. All three girls would be dropped […]
Youth competitor Madison Anger has only been showing for the past four years, but her love for horses began at an early age. Growing up in Clyde Hill, Washington, the only daughter of Kristin and Matt Anger began riding at her grandparent’s barn in Clovis, California. Ginger and Bob Thomas promised they would get her a horse so she could […]
New York trainer Dodie Howard said it’s not always easy to tell people what they don’t want to hear but if it’s truthful and comes from the heart most will understand. Howard’s parents always instilled in her the message that honesty is the best policy and as a professional horse trainer that advice has always served her well. “I […]
When she was just 6 years old, Jaclyn Landers asked her mother if she could have a horse. The answer was simple: “If you still like horses in a year I will get you riding lessons.” Sure enough, Landers was riding a year later. “My first lessons were on an old horse named Smirf,” Landers recalled. […]
