Anne R. Adams (Wednesday, Thursday)

Riding should be fun, a lifetime sport.   Living near Short Hills, NJ while growing up, I had the opportunity to take instruction from some well known horsemen and women. I participated in everything I could convince my appaloosa mare and my parents to try. I did hunter/jumpers, English equitation, dressage, western pleasure, competitive trail riding, barrel racing, pole bending, and finally ending with endurance riding. I exercised trotting ponies to help pay for all this which resulted in a love for driving. Currently I am taking First Level dressage instruction with Carolyn Heath-Leininger (a former FEI competitor). I just finished up a successful show season at Training Level with average scores in the high 60s. A lot of my instruction technique comes from her, as she is as focused on training the horse and rider to work together. I also work with Samea Baker (American Driving Society judge) to improve my driving skills and train my seven-year-old, miniature horse to harness. A surprising amount of riding instruction and technique can be improved by driving. I'm a big fan of Kenny Harlow, I like his well thought out, structured approach to horse and rider training. I attend his clinics when he's nearby and always when he's at the Horse Expo in Timonium.  Scribing for dressage judges is like an intense, five-hour lesson. It helped me develop not only an eye for what correct looks like, but the results of poor posture, improper bitting or saddle fitting, and horse and rider teams that don't work well together. I've also learned how to fix these problems. I always ask my new students (and even some of the older ones), what do you want do with your riding? A few people come in knowing they want to show or jump 3', but most aren't really sure. The ultimate goal  of all of my lessons is to get everyone confident and skilled enough to ride (walk, trot, and canter) outside - on the trails. If they can take a few jumps while they're out there, that's just icing on the cake. Confidence outside the ring is the direct result of training and skill in the ring, so even though most of my students don't even want to set foot in a show ring, they could. I also like to encourage people to do as much as they can with their horses. There is life outside the ring, and let's face it, after one trip around, you've seen everything there is to see. Those who are getting bored with the hunter/jumper scene learn cross country. The kids like pole bending. Adults enjoy longer and more demanding trail rides, even going on the Paper Chase of a Judged Pleasure Ride. Everyone learns dressage, which I believe is the foundation of good riding whether your aspirations are the show ring or the trails. Who wouldn't want their horse to be a relaxed, cooperative partner no matter what they're doing? Even if the student couldn't even imagine putting on a pair of breeches, they all concede that a balanced, canter transition sure beats the running trot into a sloppy lope. People are constantly surprised that they didn't need years of riding or instruction to get their horse attentive or focused or just moving smoothly from one gait to the next. Plus the feeling that they are always in control gives the much need confidence a huge boost.

Karen  Bowersox (Sunday)

 I have been riding since I was 7 years old and was very active in 4H. Grew up mainly competing in Hunters then went to the Big Equitation and Medals. Always wanted to Event but my parents wouldn't let me. Started training with Wonderland Farms where I got to ride and train Trakheners. I also owned two Arabians and competed on the East Coast in Arabian Halter classes. I was also given the opportunity to train with the Olympic coach for Show Jumping and was going to go on the Florida Jumper Circuit but life got in the way and I got married and had kids. Once we settled here in Maryland I bought a OTTB Thoroughbred that I trained to be my event horse. I was training with Bruce Davidson and clinician Jimmy Wofford. I ended up selling my horse due to being very busy being a mom. Now I am the Co-DC and instructor for a local Pony Club. I have two sons that ride and compete. Robby is 15 years old and is very active with Delaware Pony Club and competes mainly in Jumpers and Tetrathlon. Joey is 9 years old and belongs to the Tailwinds Trotters 4H Club and just joined Delaware Pony Club and wants to grow up and be another Phillip Dutton in Eventing. In lessons I mainly teach Dressage, Jumpers, and Eventing, but during the Fall Series we focus a lot on Hunters. I include a lot of lessons that I have learned being a part of Pony Club by teaching the kids Horsemanship - not just being a rider.

Jen Facciolo (Friday)

I started riding twenty years ago with the Dawsons at Carousel Farms in Delaware.  There I rode and competed in the hunter ring before branching out to include some dressage training.  I purchased my first horse at 14 and began learning to work with and retrain off the track thoroughbreds, using dressage as the solid foundation in the training, competing lightly as an eventer.   After a few years of working with my horse and a few other thoroughbreds I was ready for a change and got a quarter horse which I participated in some western gaming and barrel racing.  During this time I had started teaching riding lessons at Red Wood Stables in Elkton and teaching day camp at Carousel Farms and later at Fairwinds and Fair Hill Stables with Ted and JoAnn Dawson.  I started teaching lessons at Fairwinds full time soon after and became a trail guide at Fair Hill Stables.  I made the switch back to English when I was asked to start working with a green broke Nokota horse gelding which I rode for five years and evented with locally.  I now teach preschool at a school in Newark but still teach lessons on Friday at Fairwinds and a few private lessons on Saturdays and Fair Hill Stables.  I now own a warm blood gelding and hope to reenter the dressage ring soon. I try to use my diverse riding background in my lessons.  I try to not limit myself, and students, to one discipline instead, introducing the different riding styles, letting the student find his or her own niche and set the appropriate goals.   My goal is for each rider to learn and grow while having fun, riding responsibly and most importantly, safely.  I continue to take lessons myself and am always trying to improve and further my riding and this helps further my students' riding education too.

Caitlin E. Adams (Monday, Saturday)

I have ridden since I was about 8, starting at Fairwinds, and was and still am an assistant Instructor to Anne Adams for over 2 years. I have been teaching solo for 1 year and have taught summer camp at Arundel Hill Farms. Some of my many interests include Hunter Shows, Low Level Eventing, Dressage, Trail Riding. I have trained with: Beale Morris, David Meacham, Carolyn Heath-Leininger, Amanda Church-Hansen, and Danny Warrington and I frequently refer to: Anne Adams, Carolyn Heath Leininger, George Morris. My method of training has as soon as a new student has mounted we start working on balance by removing stirrups and reins so that the student learns that they stay on with their own balance. Many feel more comfortable without them and many students take their first trot with either no stirrups or reins. I jog along beside the horse in the beginning, but after a few lessons- everyone feels ready to ride solo. I find that jumping is one of the best things to learn how to have balance yourself and control your horse. If you are comfortable going over at least an 18" straight rail- you're ready for anything. I have found students jumping 18" are more willing to get a horse into a canter than those who are uncomfortable with jumping. I have also found that it is a great way for students to stretch out their legs- and have found it boosts their confidence drastically. We practice emergency dismounts frequently to get over the initial fear of falling. I encourage all my students to try all aspects of riding- since I enjoy all of them. I try and incorporate dressage in everything- since I firmly believe that dressage is the foundation of all riding. (Who doesn't want a balanced, straight, and relaxed horse that listens to them?) When weather permits, I take my students on trail rides- so they learn how to ride cross country. I always encourage showing for my students because I personally find that competing is fun, but I do not make it a requirement. I do encourage my students to ride in the student shows to add their educational experience.

Sarah Shutt (Private Lessons)

I'm 22 and I've been riding and working around horses my entire life. I grew up on a horse farm until age 12 and then moved to Maryland and met the Dawsons, who I've worked with for the past 5 years. I teach beginner lessons and summer day camp at Fairwinds.  Some of my past trainers include Sue McDade, Carol McCarthy, and Steven and Erica King. I showed at Quentin Riding Club in 1995 and for the past 8 years I have been showing more frequently in the area. I enjoy Hunters and equitation. This past year I showed at Fairwinds Farm and was Year End Champion, Pleasure horse champion and Pleasure pony champion which I accomplished with 2 horses and a pony. My family bought the Warmblood that I competed on from the Dawsons and she is hopefully going to be my new equitation horse by 2011. I have worked with a wide variety of horses with each of them teaching me something new. I am currently enrolled at Cecil College to pursue a degree in Equine Management. I teach my beginner students the basics of riding. They learn about form and how to control their mounts. My goal for each of my students is for them to learn how to be safe around horses and to learn to be the best rider that they can be. I try to keep my lessons fun so that they learn that they can have fun while also being safe!  I warn them that if they do fall off to get right back on so they can overcome their anxiety and work on the cause of the fall.

Drue Chichi (Tuesday)

*Photo Coming Soon!*

I grew up in Delaware and began riding when I was 6 at the old Highland Stables in Wilmington, Delaware.  I was a typical horse-mad kid, who enjoyed every minute of being a “barn rat” and spoiling my favorite barn ponies. I graduated from Sanford High School in Hockessin, Delaware, where I trained with Bodgie Read.  I spent the months after graduation in Yorkshire, England as a groom for British showjumper John Whitaker and his first world class mount, Ryan’s Son.

 During college at the University of Delaware, I worked as Director of Riding at Aloha Camp in Fairlee, Vermont.  I graduated university with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, and went on to receive a Juris Doctor from Widener School of Law, which I utilized in my service as General Counsel for the Department of Agriculture, State of Delaware.  

I have spent the last three years teaching intermediate and advanced hunters, jumpers, and hunt seat equitation at Fairwinds Farm in North East, Maryland, and serving as the co-trainer for the barn's show team.  My training methodology relies heavily on the basics taught by the old-school stylists:  George Morris, Bill Steinkraus, Joe Fargis and Frank Chapot, among others.  I believe that form follows function, attention to detail is critical, and above all, success comes with hard work! My students have enjoyed a great deal of success in local and regional show series, and are looking forward to a terrific 2010 show season!