Leah Sippel, Barn Owner
Leah has her USDF Bronze & Silver Medals, plus her USDF Bronze Bar, earning all of her scores on horses that she started from scratch and trained through the levels on her own (with the guidance of some great clinicians along the way!).
She has been involved with horses basically her entire life. She "rode" her first horse at the age of 2--a mini named "Blue." At age 5, she began official riding lessons and the rest is history...
Growing up, Leah lessoned at a barn that concentrated solely on the fundamentals of "classical" dressage vs. "competitive" dressage. While her peers were collecting ribbons from the local show circuit, she was establishing a solid foundation that would serve her well for years of riding to come.
During high school, Leah began training with Stephany Fish, USDF Silver Medalist, and acted as her working student during the summers, learning from and riding all types of horses at various levels. All the while, she trained her own horse, an ex-race-trained Arabian to 2nd level.
In college, Leah worked for various barns training and retraining horses. Specifically, she picked up rides retraining OTTBs straight off the track and green youngsters needing miles. She has worked with and ridden everything from ponies, to OTTBs, to warmbloods, to drafts. She greatly enjoys starting young horses & the challenge of "problem" horses.
Leah is of the strict opinion that any breed of horse can benefit from and succeed at dressage with the right rider & ambition. One of the great benefits of dressage is the ability to compete against yourself and gain fulfillment from personal improvements vs. simply gauging success by placements & ribbons. She believes in being a "true" rider & trainer--bettering each horse she works with--vs. just being a passenger.
Currently, Leah mainly rides & competes her mare, Elly's Whisperwind, working towards her USDF Gold Medal. She also dabbles in a couple other disciplines--namely eventing & hunters--to help cross-train both horse and rider! She regularly clinics with USDF Gold Medalists Ashley Madison, Christine Betz, and Ellie Rawle.
Leah is not currently available for lessons or training services as she is maintaining her Adult Amateur status.
Leah can be contacted via email at [email protected].
She has been involved with horses basically her entire life. She "rode" her first horse at the age of 2--a mini named "Blue." At age 5, she began official riding lessons and the rest is history...
Growing up, Leah lessoned at a barn that concentrated solely on the fundamentals of "classical" dressage vs. "competitive" dressage. While her peers were collecting ribbons from the local show circuit, she was establishing a solid foundation that would serve her well for years of riding to come.
During high school, Leah began training with Stephany Fish, USDF Silver Medalist, and acted as her working student during the summers, learning from and riding all types of horses at various levels. All the while, she trained her own horse, an ex-race-trained Arabian to 2nd level.
In college, Leah worked for various barns training and retraining horses. Specifically, she picked up rides retraining OTTBs straight off the track and green youngsters needing miles. She has worked with and ridden everything from ponies, to OTTBs, to warmbloods, to drafts. She greatly enjoys starting young horses & the challenge of "problem" horses.
Leah is of the strict opinion that any breed of horse can benefit from and succeed at dressage with the right rider & ambition. One of the great benefits of dressage is the ability to compete against yourself and gain fulfillment from personal improvements vs. simply gauging success by placements & ribbons. She believes in being a "true" rider & trainer--bettering each horse she works with--vs. just being a passenger.
Currently, Leah mainly rides & competes her mare, Elly's Whisperwind, working towards her USDF Gold Medal. She also dabbles in a couple other disciplines--namely eventing & hunters--to help cross-train both horse and rider! She regularly clinics with USDF Gold Medalists Ashley Madison, Christine Betz, and Ellie Rawle.
Leah is not currently available for lessons or training services as she is maintaining her Adult Amateur status.
Leah can be contacted via email at [email protected].
Elly's Whisperwind
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Red River Meadow
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