Shannon

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My love for horses began before I could walk. I grew up on my grandparent's farm in North Canton, Ohio and spent my days feeding their horses handfuls of grass through the slots in the fence. I remember waking up early to help my Grandpa feed the horses and spent my afternoons cleaning stalls and preparing dinner for the horses (and the 8 barn cats).

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I turned 8 years old, had a pony-themed birthday party and was finally old enough to start taking lessons.  This is where my story begins.

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I knew from the moment I sat on a horse, I wanted to be a jumper. Olympic Games, here I come. By the time I came back to reality and realized what horses really cost, I tweaked my plans.

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I started high school in 2011 and there were only two things I knew for sure; I loved horses, and I loved teaching. It only made sense to put the two together. And then, Carpe Diem was created.

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Since then, I have ridden with top trainers such as, Nona Garson, Greta Heimbold, Armand Lacoya, Alexandra Gainer and Sara Ring. 

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I currently compete in 2'9" and 3' Jumpers with aspirations of making it to Grand Prix, one day.

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The most important thing to me is to teach my students things about the horse world that they're able to utilize in other areas of their lives, like how to win, how to lose, and how to stand back up when you fall down.