About Me
A Washington state native, Kristin set out for the East Coast with aspirations of team selection. With her first Advanced horse, Gryffindor, she caught the eye of the US selectors by notching up top fifteen finishes at the two spring CCI***’s in 2005. In 2006, they contested their first four-star at Rolex Kentucky, finishing 27th and in the fall were sixth at Fair International CCI***. They were the winners of the American Eventing Championships during their preparation for Fair Hill.
A series of riding lessons while growing up in Nebraska hooked Kristin on riding, after cantering and jumping in her first lesson she gave up all the other things she was doing and focused on horses. She was eight years old. Involvement in Pony Club and the hunter/jumper world followed and then a lame horse introduced her to eventing. “I probably would still be doing the hunters but I was leasing a mare, a really nice hunter and we were just about to buy her and she broke her coffin bone, so then I leased a foxhunter/ event horse.”
Kristin’s family moved to New Mexico, where she got involved in the Young Riders’ program while finishing high school. She attended Kenyon College in Ohio and double majored in English and French Area Studies.
Kristin sold her Young Riders’ horse Greystroke during senior year in college after gong to two championships on him. She took a job teaching at a riding resort, Fox Equestrian in Colorado, and stayed for two years. Noel Parker-Ortiz came to Colorado for a horse show and offered Kristin a job, Parker-Ortiz was short listed for the U.S. Team at the time.
After a stint with her in California, Kristin moved to Washington in 1996 and was based there for 10 years. Kristin found Gryffindor through fellow event rider Meika Decher. Purchased off the racetrack by Decher, Kristin knew she had to have him. “I usually have a really hard time finding horses, there are lots of horses that I like but few that I want to own,” says Kristin. “I’ve always said that Gryffin is the only one who’s not for sale.”
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