At age 4 and the youngest of 6 kids, I was riding ponies in the back yard along with my siblings and attending horse shows one year later. My father bred and raced Thoroughbreds, while we showed Hunters on The Maryland & Virginia Circuits. Our Round The Bend Farm was a happy place where friends and boarders were welcome to share the joy of horses with us. My siblings and I were responsible for all care and daily work for 20 horses, with the help of our Trainer Jim Sweeney, who lived on the farm. He taught us all the intricacies of equine care, stable management and horsemanship necessary to excel in all areas of the horse world.

I witnessed the birth of Thoroughbred foals and we handled them daily to earn their trust. We trained the 2-year olds with good balanced flat-work and galloped them for fitness to prepare them for formal training at the racetrack. We traveled throughout Maryland and Virginia accumulating points on the A-level Hunter circuit with the goal of qualifying for The Washington International Horse Show and other elite indoor shows. Horses were our entire life throughout our school years, and we learned the value of hard work and many valuable LIFE-lessons along the way.

After graduating from The University of Maryland, I took a break from riding. The next chapter in my horse journey started in 2003 with all the credit and much thanks to my wonderful husband Charles, who surprised me with a horse he leased for me to ride. Since then, I have ridden with top trainers and had the pleasure of showing and winning at the A Level again. In 2009, Charles surprised me again and bought me a lovely Paint Mare I was training for her owner.

She came with the barn name Anitra, which means merciful and is reflective of her true nature. Unfortunately, she suffered a serious suspensory injury at the young age of 6 resulting in a short show career. After a year of extensive treatments, top vets determined Anitra was best suited for light trail riding.

My Equine Massage/Bodywork journey started organically trying to relieve Anitra’s compensating pain in her Sacrum. For years, I intuitively did Massage and Acupressure on the areas she communicated were painful. She validated my efforts to relieve her pain, melting into my hands and releasing built-up tension. As a result of these compassionate modalities our relationship is deeper, and Anitra is happy and more comfortable.

Because I am so passionate about helping horses feel and perform their best, I decided to formalize my Massage techniques and became Certified as an Equine Sport Massage Therapist as well as a Craniosacral Therapist. I also continue to learn other Equine Wellness modalities to help all disciplines, ages and performance levels of my client horses, from high-end athletes showing competitively to retired horses. My style is compassionate, intuitive and specific to each horse on each particular day. I listen intently to each horse and adjust my work to their needs based on how their muscles feel, how they communicate during each session, and their unique personalities.

Horses are the
best teachers
of all.