This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
“…Ali blurs the lines of equestrian disciplines. As much at home in a western saddle as she is in a jump-off, Ali’s approach is unconventional, but she’s unshakeable in her resolve to combine the best of both worlds.”


she explains. She also likes to ride western with horses that may need a change of scenery. Ali’s mom Tina, who grew up with horses and intro-


duced her daughter to the sport, helped guide the pair. Theo was Ali’s first “project” horse and he was a chance for her to test both her skills and her determination. “Theo and I were both learning, and it was important that we stuck to the basics. We wanted to build that foundation with him,” Ali explains. Labeled a problem horse, Theo would rear, refuse to go in a frame and not respond. It was a challenging time, but after a year, the pair had progressed enough to enter their first show together. “The biggest thing with him—and with any horse—is


that it takes a really long time to do it well. It took us three years before he was finally ready to compete in the bigger equitation classes,” Ali says. Before Theo, Ali had never competed in any of the presti-


gious indoor circuits that are the year-end highlights of the hunter/jumper calendar. Although it’s an accomplishment for any rider to qualify for these shows, for Ali it was espe- cially rewarding. “I’ve never been able to show a lot, so we always had to make them count when we went,” she says. And that’s exactly what she did. With limited shows together, she and Theo qualified in


2012 for the prestigious Pennsylvania National in Harris- burg. Later they went head-to-head with some of the stiff- est competition in the country at the Washington Interna- tional in D.C. Ali’s years of hard work with Theo paid off and they walked away with the coveted reserve champion title. Earning a spot at the ASPCA Maclay Finals in Lexington, Kentucky, at the 2012 National Horse Show, Ali is filled with gratitude for the horse that got her there.


Unconventional Foundation In an industry that can be all too focused on immediate results with a horse that can step into the ring and pin, Ali enjoys the day-to-day work of schooling. Each day she starts her horses with the simple goal of building on the day be- fore. She’s learned that the rough patches are more apt to occur with horses like Theo, who she says was temperamen- tally fragile at the start. “My time with Theo, well, it was a waiting game…a lot of


patience and a lot of years of not being the winner, but you go home with a happy horse. That’s what is important to


Ali and Theo competing at the ASPCA Maclay Finals in 2012.


me,” she says. She admits it was a hard lesson to learn, how- ever, especially when it seemed as though every other kid her age walked away with a ribbon. Yet, hard lessons learned are ones that can lay the foun-


dation for future endeavors. At 19, an age when many are still figuring out who they are and what career they want to pursue, Ali has found her identity and her profession in horses. “Theo pushed me to want this path for myself,” she says with fierce determination. Ali returned to the family ranch this past fall to start a business bringing along young hunter/jumper prospects and restarting ones that have been pushed too much too fast. “Being able to do it my way and, hopefully, build some clientele that has an appreciation for horsemanship and not so much getting them in the show ring quickly, that’s really important to me,” she explains. She’s resolute in her belief that adhering to a particular training style should come a distant second to each horse’s individual needs. Ali knows launching her business, especially at such a


young age, won’t be easy. But she believes that given her personality, she’s up for the task. “It’s funny because with the horses I’m so patient, with everything else I’m not nearly as much,” she says with a laugh. “[With the horses,] I don’t get bothered by a lot and really just try to make it work. You have to constantly remind yourself though, especially with the babies, that all the horses are different.”


Horsemanship Plain and Simple Ali has been lucky, she says, to grow up with a family that doesn’t see horsemanship as black and white—or as spe- cific to a single style of riding. Neither have the trainers she has worked with. Well-known show jumper Melanie


Warmbloods Today 33


Shawn McMillen


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100