I was born and raised in rural New Zealand outside a small town called Bulls, a community where everyone rides, hunts and goes to the races and shows.

My parents were accomplished riders – my mother was the Deputy Master of the local hunt club and my father represented New Zealand as a member of the show jumping team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Both of them encouraged me to ride and put me on my first pony at the age of 5.

My parents are my biggest hero’s. They taught me so much in regards to the horses and horsemanship. To this day I use a lot of what they both taught me, from feeding to training, to old remedies to help horses. 

I rode a lot of racehorses in my younger years and did my fair share of field hunting with my mother. I look back on those experiences as a child/young adult as so beneficial, I learnt to ride off of feel and instinct.

I had a lot of people help me with my riding as a child but it wasn’t until I got to the US that I really started to train. Working for Willow tree farm/ Butch and Lu Thomas was my first job in the US I worked as Lu’s groom for many years.

After Willow Tree I worked for Wild Turkey Farm and Barbara Ellison while she was developing her property in Oregon.

I then moved to John French at Waldenbrook farm working mostly with hunters which was very new for me. At the time he was riding some nice jumpers as well so I got some major experiences going to Olympic trials and world cup finals with him.

In 2007, I won my first GP at Thermal – the only one clear out of 80 odd horses and on a horse who was starting only in his second GP.

During this time I worked exclusively for the Mendez Family at Maple Leaf Farm. 

This was a very successful partnership with both Cathy Mendez and I winning many championships in both the hunter and jumper arenas. 

In the Fall of 2009 I branched out on my own and started SandHaven Farm. In early 2010 Jeff Fields, now my husband came on board as my partner. 

Since we started Sandhaven Farm we have experienced a lot together, our share of highs and our share of lows. But the one thing that has stayed constant is our love for the sport. 

I have been lucky enough to of formed a longtime business relationship with one of the top barns in Europe and to this day we have purchased over 70 horses from Stal Hendrix. My Friendship with Both Paul and Emile Hendrix has now moved into a great friendship with their sons Michel and Tim and we all continue to do business together. The Hendrix family has been an intricate part of our businesses development. With Karl Du Chateau being the first horse I  got from them while working for the Mendez family, we have gone onto riding other great horses from Stal Hendrix, Ballerina, Cyrano Z, Buell, Chakira to name a few. 

My passion for the sport hasn’t changed and it is for filling to watch other young riders come through our barn and start to learn from us and also develop the same love for this sport that we have.

I was born in Riverside, California into an equestrian family - both my parents were active competitors in team roping horses.

With horses being such an important part of my parents' lives, it seemed only natural that I would start riding at an early age. I was four years old when my mom put me on Rex, her own team roping horse. 

When I was seven, my mom and I moved to Mendocino County, California and my mom switched from roping horses to dressage. Naturally, I switched too. After a couple of years, my mom decided that she missed the action of roping, and we switched to hunters and jumpers. By the age of 11, I was competing in children's jumpers on a Morgan cross named Mister Dan. What a blast!

Even though I was having a great time, it wasn't until I was 15 that I got serious about horses and riding. It was at that age that I watched my first international jumping competition on television. I saw Ludger Beerbaum and the amazing German jumping team and I was captivated by the power and precision of competing at the international level. 

I knew right away that's what I wanted to do with my life. As a result I became a serious student of the top jumper riders and began to emulate how they rode.

I credit my next horse, Lyttle by Lyttle, with being my best teacher. He wasn't really little - he was 16.3 - and he didn't do anything for free. 

Lyttle had a very low tolerance for half-hearted rides - and I had work hard for everything I got out of him. He was honest and direct, and when I put all my heart into my riding, Lyttle was there for me 110%. Lyttle taught me confidence, focus, teamwork and the discipline that must accompany the passion for winning. Lyttle was fast and sure, and I loved that big unforgiving horse. During this time I was riding with Elizabeth Killham, better known as Lumpy. With Lumpy, Lyttle and I moved quickly through jumper divisions.

My first big-time horse was an 8 yr. old Dutch warmblood called Laremy. With Laremy, I moved up to do the high juniors and from there to doing national standard grand prix. As a team we achieved, multiple championships. Laremy had a difficult personality - one minute he was sweet the next he'd take a bite out of you. However, he would work for food and treats. In fact, my grandmother taught him to do all kinds of tricks for treats.

Making a living in the equestrian world is not always easy, and when I was around 19, I almost quit. In fact, I had just signed up to be a firefighter when I got a call that would change my life. Creekside Equestrian Center in Woodacre, California was looking for a hunter/jumper trainer. Along with my mom, I started Ridgetop Ranch within Creekside.

Running Ridgetop taught me a lot running a business and a lot about myself. One of the things I discovered was teaching, and through teaching I learned a lot about what it takes to become a better rider. It takes a lot of dedication and discipline to become a good rider. I see that in others, and I apply that to my own riding. I also really enjoy learning what makes each horse tick, and how to get the most out of the partnership between rider and horse. But for all the discipline and hard work, it also has to fun, otherwise it's not fresh. So that's my motto: Be disciplined. but keep it fun!

I enjoy teaching the fundamentals, and watching and aiding the progression of both student and horse. And I continue to learn about myself as a rider when I teach.

Since we started Sandhaven in 2009 my love for the sport has only deepened. Rachel and I both teach very differently but we work great together as her strength is my weakness and vice versa. There are certain horses I ride and certain ones she rides, we make for a great combination. 

My dressage background helps with all our flatwork lessons and my time at Duncan and Gry McFarlands helps with all of our exercises that we do before jumping our team of horses. Overall we couldn’t be more blessed with the way we work together and the results that we get. 

I have been hugely lucky to of ridden some superb horses since owning sandhaven farm. Already owned by the Goltz family was my first top horse, I also rode Watch Me for Fred and Emma as well. I also got to compete on Bybalia SMH who was owned by the Mawhinney family. All three horses came initially from Stal Hendrix. 

One of the best horses that I have gotten to compete on was Kiwi Iron Mark. It was sent to us by Katie Laurie and Rachel was going to ride it but the horse was huge so I ended up randomly showing it. It was a brilliant horse and catapulted me into realizing that I was capable to compete at a high level. Mark was a gift, such a kind, big hearted animal that always tried every time he went in the arena, he was always in the money that horse. 

Today until that next horse comes a long we work hard on sustaining and developing our group of riders and there horses, that gives us as much joy as if we were riding one for ourselves.