Jennifer grew up in California as the typical horse-crazy girl, dreaming of riding horses and owning a horse of her own. When she was 8, her Girl Scout troop volunteered at a therapeutic riding center and Jennifer was in heaven. “That was the beginning of my horsemanship journey,” Jennifer says.
She continued to volunteer at the therapeutic riding center before taking a position as a working student at a nearby hunter/jumper facility. She worked there for most of her teenage years until she got a horse of her own.
In 2013, with a solid riding career behind her, Jennifer found herself on a quest to better her horsemanship. She’d recently ventured beyond the English-riding world and began exploring other methods of training. “A dear friend is extremely passionate about Clinton and her horse is always a model student, so I naturally was curious about the Method,” Jennifer says.
Her friend took her to a Walkabout Tour, and after watching Clinton work with the local problem horses and his own horses, Jenifer found that her curiosity about the Method was piqued even more and she began studying it in detail. “What I love about it is that it’s not discipline specific. You can use it on any breed of horse and for any discipline. It’s all about building a foundation,” Jennifer says.
The more Jennifer studied the Method and interacted with Downunder Horsemanship, the more she considered attending the Clinician Academy. “I was in a place in my life where I wanted to raise the bar and challenge myself as a horsewoman,” she says. “Plus, the more I interacted with the company, the more impressed I became with it. I’ve been a businesswoman for many years. How Downunder Horsemanship is run is how I’ve always aspired to run a company of my own.”
The dedicated horsewoman excelled in the Academy and now enjoys teaching lessons and putting on clinics. “I saw a real need in my area for the Method after years of observing people not communicating with their horses and the frustration, mishandling and dangerous situations that resulted from it,” Jennifer says. “The Method gives you a clear line of communication with your horse. It keeps you both safe and allows you to enjoy your partnership. Horses have given me so much throughout my life, and this is my chance to give back. I love helping people learn how to be successful with their horses and stay safe while doing it.”