Raven was just 7 months old when she first rode a horse. Her mom is a lifelong horse lover and took her to the barn and put her up in the saddle every chance she had. When her mom discovered Downunder Horsemanship, it was only natural that she shared the Method with Raven. “I think I was 3 at the time,” Raven says, “and by the time I was 6, I was going to my first tour.”
A couple of years later, she got a pony of her own, a plucky gelding named Applesauce. When she worked with the pony, she did her best to mimic Clinton’s training videos and practice the Method exercises on him. When she outgrew Applesauce, she got Lighting Bolt, a Quarter Horse gelding, and took him through the entire Method, from Fundamentals to Trick Training.
From the time she was a little girl, Raven knew she wanted to one day have a career in the horse industry. “Because my mom and I followed Downunder Horsemanship so closely, I knew about the Academy ever since I was little and got serious about attending it when I was 13,” Raven says. “Working with horses is what makes me the happiest and I couldn’t picture myself doing anything else with my life.”
To gain experience and refine her sense of feel and timing, she worked with family friends’ horses and eventually got a job working at an Arabian breeding facility. In the meantime, she picked up a job as a videographer, where she’d film competitors riding dressage tests at local and rated shows. “I saved the money I made doing that over the years so I could go to the Academy,” Raven explains.
When she graduated high school, she became a full-time barn manager and continued to oversee the day-to-day operations of the facility until she headed to the Downunder Horsemanship Ranch to attend the Academy. When she received certification as a Method Ambassador, it was a surreal moment for the young horsewoman. She’d finally achieved the goal she’d thought about every day for years and had worked so hard for.
Raven’s passion for the Method and helping horsemen is evident in everything that she does as an ambassador. “I absolutely love training horses and helping people learn how to better communicate with them,” she says. “There’s nothing more rewarding than helping people have fun with their horses and achieve their goals.”
Raven is based in Athens, Georgia, where she trains horses for the public and teaches private lessons and clinics that focus on the Fundamentals level of the Method. Learn all about Raven on her website and contact her directly at 706-765-4785 or [email protected].
