Teaching groundwork, riding, and rider seat lessons with the same goal of balance and long term soundness for both rider and horse. I was born and raised in Austria and began my horse career as a teenager, tending horses and ponies on a farm in the Italian countryside. I later studied equine management at the Austrian Landwirtschaftliche Fachschule Tullnerbach (Agricultural College Tullnerbach) an
d Landwirtschaftliche Fachschule Edelhof (Agricultural College Edelhof) while obtaining my dressage, jumping, and driving licenses and an instructor’s license in vaulting. During research for my graduation thesis on the natural asymmetry of the horse, I discovered Marijke de Jong’s Straightness Training program – an innovative dressage training program based on the teachings of the European Grand Masters of the Art of Riding, comprised of five distinct training components (groundwork, longeing, work in hand, riding, and liberty) – and began my studies with Marijke in 2013 while simultaneously undertaking the pursuit of becoming a Certified Hoof Care Professional through Liberated Horsemanship. In 2016, I married a fellow Hoof Care Professional, moved to the USA, and qualified for training to become a Straightness Training Instructor. In 2017, I completed my certifications as a Hoof Care Professional and Straightness Training Instructor. I am now one of only 23 ST Instructors worldwide and the only Grade 2 Instructor in the USA. My educational experiences include attending clinics in Austria, the Netherlands, England, Germany, Spain, Scotland, Sweden, and the USA. In my teaching career, I have taught Straightness Training throughout the USA, Canada, Austria, and Slovakia in person, and also teach a worldwide community of students and Trainee Instructors in the form of online lessons as an Evaluator, Academy Coach, and Mentor Instructor. In 2019, I was invited to become a Field Instructor for Liberated Horsemanship, where my ongoing experiences include one-on-one trimming instruction in my daily practice as well as group instruction at LH’s annual international clinics. To deepen my understanding of the rider’s seat, I also obtained certification as a Seat Instructor under Hanna Engström, a Rider Seat Specialist native to Sweden, and most recently co-taught hoof care classes at The Ohio State University to Horse Management program students, and to veterinarians and doctors of animal chiropractic at the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association’s annual convention in Dallas, with my husband and hoof care practice partner Steve Hebrock.
