A Little About Me

WELCOME!

I'm so glad you followed whatever link you followed to find yourself on this page! I hope that I can in some small way add a little value to your life. This blog is to catalog and expound upon the lessons I have learned and am learning through my work with horses. I find that while you are learning something in one thread of life, often times it applies to much more than you would think it does!

MY PAST

I come from a little town in New England called Colrain. I like to refer to my home as "New England" instead of Massachusetts or Vermont, because I feel the area as a whole defines my upbringing. I was born in Vermont, grew up in Mass, vacationed in Maine, fell in love with New Hampshire... it is all is a part of who I am!

My paternal grandparents bred and showed Morgan horses, but had retired from that business before I was born. My maternal grandmother did a little with horses as well, including working in a tack shop. Neither of my parents inherited the love, as my father grew to dislike the equine scene and my mother watched her mom get run over and put in a hospital by a horse. But then I came along. I say that horses run in my blood... My father was dead set against getting me a horse, since he had seen too many young girls get one and then discover boys, and poof! the horse is a thing of the past left for the parents to take care of. My mom tried to encourage me how she could, taking me to lessons for a few years, some of which my paternal grandmother helped pay for. 

Eventually, I met a wonderful lady, Crescent Pierce, who also owned a Morgan breeding farm. She had a small group of girls who came a few times a week to clean stalls and groom horses in exchange for time riding. A few of the girls in that group are still some of my best friends. I also met my childhood best friend, whose mother owned five horses and allowed me to ride whenever I came over. She introduced me to Parelli Natural Horsemanship, a nationwide membership headed by the revolutionary Pat Parelli, which is dedicated to "making the world a better place for horses and humans."

After Crescent died tragically of cancer, her herd of horses was dispersed, one of which, a young bay gelding named Gabriel, was able to become my very first horse of my own! With my father's and brothers' help, I built a barn and was able to bring him home. After that, I truly became serious about horsemanship, and even spent four weeks on the Parelli campus in Pagosa Springs, CO. 

From the summer of 2017 to the spring of 2019, I interned with Nate and Amy Bowers of Bowers Farm in Fort Collins, Colorado. Amy is a top level three day eventer, just entering into international competition. She has studied with gold medal Olympians, David and Karen O'Conner, and other high level competitors such as Maya Black. She is also the niece of Pat Parelli, grew up in his program, and is one of his few four star instructors. From her, I learned the art of English style riding, focusing in dressage and jumping. I competed up to Novice level in three day eventing. Nate is a renowned driving and saddle horse trainer. His late father, Steve Bowers, was a teacher of Pat Parelli's. From him, I learned the art of Western style riding, with a focus on working ranch disciplines and cattle husbandry. During my time there, I started a number of young horses and worked with a variety of problem horses.

MY PRESENT

I currently live in the Massachusetts tri-state area and offer lessons in a wide radius. With such a broad foundation from my education, I can help guide you in any direction you would like to take your horsemanship. Whether Western or English, competitive or non, I just want to build a community of like-minded horse women and men who want a better relationship with their horse first.

MY FUTURE

As I look forward beyond where my business is now, I hope to expand and broaden my business. Once an appropriate property presents itself, I would like to build a facility to enable a broader range of on farm lessons and low maintenance boarding. I wish to keep a broad scope of versatility within my dealings, with a possible dabbling into the Morgan breed and showing, a returning to my roots. I will continue, as I do now, to lean on my faith in God to guide my footsteps forward. I hope you enjoy as I write about the adventures and lessons I learn while He leads me!

You can also find me on Facebook and Instagram under the username @harris.horsemanship