OHS Judge

Hi! I'm Laura, and horses have been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember!  I grew up near Chicago, IL (USA) and started taking riding lessons in 1988 when I was 8 years old.  In high school, I started working at the stable (grooming and tacking up the lessons horses), and I also had the opportunity to share board a horse named Sherlock Holmes.  I bought my first horse, Dealer (a retired racehorse who was donated to my college), when I was 19, and I owned him for about 6 years.  While in college, I was a member of the equestrian team and competed on the Hunt Seat, Dressage, and Western teams.  I also majored in Equine Pre-Veterinary Studies for 1 year, but ended up getting my degree in Education instead. A few years after graduating, I moved to Phoenix, AZ and found my current horse, Brontesaurus, when I was living/teaching there.  Bronte is a Percheron/Thoroughbred cross and was born at (and eventually rescued from) a PMU farm in Canada.  He was 5 years old and barely started under saddle when I bought him.  Over the past 15 years, we have learned and accomplished so much together!  We regularly compete in local dressage shows and have earned a USDF Bronze Medal, as well as several USDF All-Breeds Awards.  Bronte especially enjoys competing in the Musical Freestyle classes, so I am really looking forward to putting together a 3rd Level freestyle for this upcoming show season.  If all goes well, we will also hopefully make our 4th Level debut later this year! "