Carol writes:

The horse in the first picture is a Desert Sands bred stallion named "Pro" owned by Dr. Ann Swinker. The picture was snapped in the stabling area of the Buckeye Sweepstakes in 1984. Pro is wearing an authentic Egyptian Wedding Saddle and authentic bridle. Pro liked to make the tassels swing around into his eyes for some reason (boredom?). I am wearing very non-authentic homemade harem outfit. I can tell you that riding in slippers is challenging and my knees rubbed. During the Buckeye Sweepstakes Pro and I stood 3rd place Native Costume, 6th Place Western Pleasure and Reserve Champion Dressage. 

How did I get to this place in my life? Well, a fter years of deviling my parents for riding lessons, they relented when I was 16 yrs. old by providing once a week lessons from a friend of my parents. Mrs. Nussdorfer was a pony club instructor who eventually became a D.C. for the Delaware Valley Pony Club. I learned to ride on "Sunny", an elderly off the track Thoroughbred gelding of the Man O'War line.

While attending Pennsylvania State University I was on the first Intercollegiate Riding Team and won the team's first ribbon at the first Intercollegiate Horse Show we attended in New York. After receiving my Bachelor of Science in Animal Industry from PSU, I spent 5 years in Sarasota, Florida studying dressage with Dorita Konyot. You may know Dorita's niece, Tina Konyot who rode to fame and the Olympics on the wonderful stallion Calecto.

I had fabulous luck when I first started out training horses for a living in chilly Western Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. My clients were owners of diverse interests who admired the dressage principles that I used to train all my horses.  I would show Arabians one week, Quarter Horses the next week and Hunters the following with an occasional dollar bareback at a fun show thrown in the mix. I used dressage principles wether I was riding saddle seat, western, hunt seat or dressage. 

I returned to sunny Florida in 1990 and  started freelance teaching, worked the Orlando Dressage Shows, became a USEF Technical Delegate and then worked at Grand Cypress Equestrian Center for 5 years as Head Dressage Trainer. 

I met William H. Bulmer while setting up rings for Klaus Fraessdorf (Bill knew how to set a square corner, it was love!). We bought 11 acres in south Clermont and set up a small training facility. The last 26 years have been challenging and fun. Some of the horses that I have trained and shown recognized dressage are: Night Owl (3rd level TBxArab mare), Casual Attire (3rd level AWB gelding), Sheilk (3rd level Arabian gelding), Marley (PSG Draft x mare), Strutt (Intermediare 1 HanxTB mare) and Mr. Promotion (1st level TrakxArab cross). Lately I have been assisting Janet Buckner and her bay Lipizzaner gelding, Chester, achieve many successes in the show arena. I am presently preparing to show another FEI horse this year.

I enjoy serving as CFD Vice President with one of the most fun group of volunteers ever and I hope all of you have enjoyed the E-News that I have been editing for the last few years. I wish everyone in the CFD the best and most fun summer. See you at the Hawaiian Shirt Show September 23rd!