There comes a time in life when we must give up beauty for beauty because of physical ability, so at the age of 32 I hung up my toe shoes and entered the world of the equine. I have never, ever, regretted this decision. Since that time, I have struggled and sweated with great trainers such as, Gina Krueger of Garland Farms in Georgia, Marina Genn of Germany, Betsy Steiner of the US of A, "I" judge Maryal Barnett, and World Champion Patrick Burssens. I have been humbled and uplifted in adult riding camps and clinics with Max Gawyhler and Carol Lavell. And I have learned to hear a horse breathe and be bigger than myself in lessons with Leslie Desmond and John Lyons.

Through all this, what I have never forgotten or lost feeling of, is the tremendous responsibility and gift I have been given in the care and training of another living thing. What I have found through horses is that life is all about balance. It is about a balance between their strength and our ability to interpret. About their grace and ability to live simply and our ability to enter and embrace that life. It is a balance between silence and motion, exhilaration and fear, need and independence.

Why saddle fitting? I acquired a thoroughbred off the racetrack, packed in one year into a first level frame, who couldn't even stand to have a brush touch his back without kicking out and biting in pain. He had thrown his junior young rider more times than he was allowed and was headed to the slaughter house. But there was something in him... you know how that goes. No one that I brought in could resolve his discomfort. So it became my personal quest. Three years later (sigh), for the first time in his life most likely, I placed a saddle on his back that fit, and from that day forward he has given back to me 100 fold. I gave him balance and harmony, he has given me laughter, comfort, strength, patience and joy. I gave him a safe and comfortable place, he has given me the wind in my face and a freedom I would otherwise have never known.

That is my goal now, to give back to the horse. I continue to learn in every way I can, not just about saddles, but movement, anatomy, muscle function, capillary action through classes at Michigan State University and attending clinics at the McPhail Foundation. I read everything I can, and listen quietly to the "oldies" when they talk. People ask what I do, and I reply, strive for balance. Between my job and my riding, my life and my passions, and between a rider and their horse.