About
the Owner
 The
riding atmosphere and teaching philosophy that set Spring
Down apart are the product of Carol's lifelong love
of animals, her dedication to and mastery of horse training,
and her ambitious vision of what horses and humans have to
teach each other.
Carol
first started riding horses at summer camp at age seven. When
she came back from camp she began taking lessons at San Francisco's
Stanyon Street stable across from Golden Gate Park. As a teenager,
Carol moved to St. Francis stable, also in San Francisco.
While attending Lowell High School, she became the assistant
riding manager for the after-school sport of horseback riding
at St. Francis stable and assisted with the lesson instruction
and horse show program for Lowell. During this period she
rode dozens of horses and learned to understand their individual
personalities. From this, Carol developed her own training
philosophy - try to find the easiest way for the horse to
understand what you want him to do and then try to accomplish
this by riding the horse the way he wants to be ridden.
In
1967, Carol started attending horse shows for Region Six of
the California State Horseman's Association, which extends
from San Francisco to Morgan Hill and, eventually, for the
entire State of California. She won the championship in her
division for both Region Six and the State of California and
was captain of the Championship Region Six team for several
years. In 1972, Carol decided to change her status from amateur
to professional and was ready to face the new challenges of
establishing her own business.
As
a result of her experience and devotion to teaching horsemanship,
Carol has been the recipient of many awards, among which was
Horsewoman of the Year presented to her by the San Mateo County
Horsemen's Association.
Carol
has also conducted English riding clinics and annually presents
a very useful and popular Horse Safety Demonstration and Lecture
that is open to the public as well as Spring Down customers.
In
addition to her own clinics, Carol has advanced her own skills
by attending seminars/clinics presented by such professionals
as George Morris, Nick Karazissis, Linda Tellington-Jones
and Monty Roberts (the Horse Whisperer).
The
training philosophy she has put into practice at Spring Down
is still to ride the horse the way he wants to be ridden.
Carol is quick to point out that a good trainer must understand
how horses think, make it easy for them to learn what you
want to achieve, reward when they do it right and properly
correct if they are doing something wrong. However, avoid
having a battle because you could lose the war.
As
Carol often tells her clients, "The horses are the teachers
- I am simply their interpreter."
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