Intrustctors's history & experience
Riding and Instruction Background:
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Hannah's passion for horses has been a driving force in her life, shaping her approach to horsemanship and riding instruction.
Her journey began at the age of 6 when she started riding sporadically on a family friend's horse. At age 13 she received a 5 month old colt who she still owns to this day.
At the young age of 15 in 2010, Hannah started working at an equine assisted therapy and learning center, where she gained valuable experience in horse training and teaching. The facility also had a breeding program she assisted in for 3 years.
She assisted with therapy sessions for emotionally distressed youth, families, and children on the autism spectrum, deepening her understanding of people and their diverse needs. For nearly eight years, she dedicated herself to this program, facilitating EAL/EAP sessions, conducting riding lessons, leading 4H groups, organizing pony parties, and hosting various events and volunteer organizations. Interacting with the public and youth in different settings allowed her to thrive in diverse environments.
In 2013, Hannah joined the workforce at Nationwide Children's Hospital, where she worked on the Rehabilitation floor, providing care for individuals with spinal and brain injuries. She also cared for children with varying levels of physical abilities, offering support and companionship during their stay. Her experience working with individuals with special needs, both medical and behavioral, equipped her to cater to a wide range of riders and adapt their lessons accordingly. She holds training certifications in CPR and First Aid.
Currently, Hannah is pursuing certifications related to sports psychology and rider mental health to further enhance her expertise and provide evidence of her training and experience in these areas.
While Hannah used to teach lessons at clients' homes or barns more frequently before 2020, her visits are now limited. Over the years, she has instructed hundreds of students, some of whom have been with her since the beginning, over 9 years ago, while others seek specific lessons before moving on to other trainers. Her focus is always on ethical and safe yet empowering learning, prioritizing the development of good horsemanship basics before advancing to higher competitive levels. Hannah understands the challenges faced by beginners, as she has personally dealt with ADHD and extreme anxiety. Her deep empathy for these struggles motivates her to provide extra assistance to those who need it.
Throughout her career, Hannah has taught at various locations, including Northup Heritage Farm, Equine Partners Unlimited, private barns across the city, Jasper Farms in Baltimore, and Beautiful Shoes in Dublin between 2019 and 2021. There have been periods where she taught up to 52 hours of lessons per week with a waitlist of 12. Despite the location, a quarter of her current students commute an hour or more for their lessons, which has been the case for the past three years. Hannah acknowledges that her program is not for everyone but encourages those who have been searching for a while to "find the right place" to try a lesson with her.
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Training Background:
Hannah's philosophy and education in horse care and training are constantly evolving as she strives for excellence in a sustainable and ethical manner. Her style can be described as a fusion of positive reinforcement, new age natural horsemanship, and practical traditional horse management. In recent years, since an injury weakened the use of her left arm, she's more focused on classical riding and using our seat to influence the horse.
She started her training journey by backing her first horse in 2007, followed by another in 2013, and another in 2014. Since then, she has worked with an increasing number of horses each year, including restarts, problem horses, and feral rescues. Between 2016 and 2024, Hannah started dozens of colts and worked with a hundred or so horses, ranging from off-the-track Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, walkers, Gypsy Vanners, Friesians, and her favorite, Quarter Horses. Her experience includes riding lessons with local instructors in reiners, cutting trainers, and dressage instructors. She often gets in behavioral cases that struggle elsewhere or have underlying medical issues.
Between 2013 and 2018 Hannah trained multiple horses for non profit organizations and the OhioSPCA at her home barn. She has volunteered herself to special cases as she has learned from them.
Hannah has trained and raised multiple horses of her own, some of which are on-site. In 2018, she trained Pico, a black mare, from being untouched, flighty, and difficult to catch. Within 100 days, Pico attended her first show, but unfortunately, she fell ill after her second round of vaccines and couldn't compete further. Nonetheless, Pico found her final home after being featured in two more events.
In 2020 and 2021, Hannah held her TIP certification, and in 2023, she made it to the second round (out of 300 original applicants) of The Horse Guru's trainer challenge but chose not to apply further due to scheduling conflicts.
Efficiency and fairness are central to Hannah's training philosophy. She prioritizes creating a relaxed and enjoyable experience for both the horse and owner, aiming to train a willing animal that enjoys its time with people.
Her approach focuses on training for relaxation, developing a calm and responsive horse rather than creating robotic and dispirited machines. Hannah believes in building an unshakable partnership with the horse, emphasizing fairness, equality, and giving the horse the benefit of the doubt.
Before bringing a horse into training, Hannah prioritizes addressing any physical causes of behavior issues. She believes that there is often a physical reason behind a horse's behavior and encourages owners to ensure their horses are up to date on deworming, core vaccines, farrier appointments, and other necessary healthcare. By identifying and fixing simple issues such as saddle fit or dental problems, which can significantly affect a horse's behavior, she aims to avoid unnecessary expenses. We have received and rehabbed many PSSM horses back to full riding functionality.
Hannah strives to simplify the training process, enabling owners to continue the work at home and actively involving them in the training and education process.
She believes in providing explanations for specific equipment and training methods. Her training methods revolve around understanding the horse's perspective in a natural environment, utilizing natural responses to create lasting solutions.
Hannah's goal is to train horses and riders for a genuine partnership, where both parties feel comfortable, empowered, and motivated to succeed, while expectations and boundaries are fair and consistently enforced. Horses teach great accountability with relationships.
Although, for the last 19+ years Hannah has worked at various local barns, raised her own foals and yearlings, finished them out, and trained horses for rescue agencies, her full time professional focus on horsemanship began in 2020 near Pickerington.