Eighteen-year-old Lacey Olejar marches to the beat of her own drum. Always has. A self-proclaimed tomboy, this Whitehouse Station, New Jersey native has been horse crazy for as far back as she can remember.

“I started showing on the open local circuit when I was 9 years old,” Olejar says. “The first horse my parents bought me just so happened to be an Appaloosa. I started to research the breed and followed the Appaloosa World Show online, which was going on at the time. I found myself glued to the web cam watching the results.”

Olejar’s grandfather, Lawrence Olejar, took note of how engrossed his granddaughter was with the show and surprised her the next day with airline tickets to Fort Worth, Texas so she could watch the show live. While at the ApHC World Show the family met Pat Odell, a trainer for whom Olejar now serves as an apprentice.

“Lacey wouldn’t leave the arena that year, we ate those baked potatoes they sell next to the arena for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Lacey’s mother, Litty Olejar, recalls. “It has been horses and horse showing ever since.”

At the time Olejar was showing locally, but she knew if she wanted to reach her goal of showing at the ApHC World Show she would have to make some changes. After selling her first show partner, Hot Diggity Dandy, the Olejar family purchased Im Kinda Scotch, a horse Lacey showed for a few years with some success on the regional level. But Lacey’s sights were still set much higher so she began “upgrading” horses every few months before finding her current show partner.

This year Olejar is showing Certainly A Charlie, a 2009 bay Appaloosa mare, sired by Colored By Charlie and out of UF Secret Potential, in Showmanship, Western Pleasure, Performance Halter and Horsemanship. The team will also be adding Trail and Western Riding to their repertoire. All of Olejar’s hard work has paid off, in 2013 she and Certainly A Charlie were named the ApHC Youth World Champions in Showmanship 16-18. The pair returned the following year to win a World Championship title in Western Pleasure 16-18. She was the Texas Equine Mercantile Junior Western Pleasure highest placing youth limited rider and earned $2,100.00 at the ApHC National Show.

Olejar’s goal is to one day become a horse trainer herself. Over the years she has had the opportunity to own and ride 13 different horses and believes having experience on many different horses gives her the advantage to reach that goal. She has also worked with several trainers throughout the years including Casey Pelletier, Tracy Reynolds, Gayle Matson-Kozak and Pierre Briere. Olejar says each has contributed something special that has helped her become the rider she is today. However, it is her mom whom she credits with being her hero and biggest influence.

“My mom has been there for me through thick and thin. She is my biggest fan and my toughest critic,” Olejar says. “I also have a lot of respect and admiration for some of the female horse trainers who are paving the way to open doors and create opportunity for girls like me to pursue horse training as a career in a sport that has been dominated by men.”

School has never been Olejar’s favorite thing, even though she was a straight-A student at Hunterdon Central Regional High School. Instead she graduated early in January 2014 so she could focus on her goals for the 2014 Youth World Show.

“My friends forced me to come home to New Jersey for prom, which I did, but they could not persuade me to come to the graduation ceremony. Instead I was on the road to Texas yet again to show,” Olejar says.

After graduation Pat Odell offered her a position as an assistant trainer at his Connecticut-based facility. Olejar had been training with him for years so it was a logical fit.

“He needed help and I wanted to learn more about training horses,” Olejar recalls. “It was an easy transition since I’ve been showing with Pat for so many years. I understood what his expectations were and he was willing to teach me his program.”

When she’s not at a horse show you can usually find Olejar fishing or spending time on the beach. She is also a pretty good shot and enjoys going trap shooting.