A person riding a horse over a wooden obstacle during a show jumping competition at a historic estate with large stone building and trees in the background.
A woman walking a brown horse with a bridle in a lush green park with trees in the background.

How I got here

When I was five my parents bought a farm in Oxford,  PA and I started riding.  I soon joined the local Pony Club and was introduced to the sport of eventing.  Additionally, I showed ponies in the hunter divisions and also fox hunted; both sports helped me develop as an all-around horsewoman.

By my mid teens, I completed my first one-star 
three-day event and continued to move up the levels. At 20, I traveled to England to compete at the 
Badminton Horse Trials, stayed in England that year, and completed the Burghley Horse Trials in 
September. 

During that stay in England I bought Strike-A-Light 
following Spring and then completed the Badminton Horse Trials.

When I returned home in 1986, I took a job working as a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch, while continuing to compete at the highest levels of the sport, including numerous runs at the Rolex Kentucky four-star event.

A rider on a horse jumping over a wooden obstacle during an equestrian event with an audience watching in the background.
A man in a purple shirt and black cap is petting a brown horse ridden by a person in riding attire, including a black helmet and sunglasses, on a sunny day at an outdoor equestrian facility with green trees and mountains in the background.

In 1991, I won the Essex Three-Day with Castle Cay and soon after, announced my engagement to Nat Cousins; we were married on July 6th (needless to say there were no competitions that weekend).  

I continued to produce event horses and started catch riding horses for other riders, winning the Bromont Two-Star on Drizzle, and competing him successfully in many three-star events.

After 16 years at Merrill Lynch, I decided to become a professional and devote myself exclusively to my riding career.  

In 2005 I purchased property in Aiken, SC so I could compete and provide instruction for the three months of winter when Pennsylvania is covered in snow and ice.   

Thanks to a successful competition schedule and the depth of experience I garnered as an amateur and a professional, I have been ranked among the top 10 riders on the US Eventing Leaderboard for six years.  

I have relished competing at the top levels but I have equally enjoyed the time spent training and instructing students and their horses. Quite often I draw from my own lessons with Mike Plumb, Bruce Davidson and Torrance Watkins, and because I believe in drawing on other disciplines’ strengths, I have also ridden with Frank Chapot, Anne Kursinski, and George Morris. My dressage training has been with Gunnar Ostergaard, Donnan Sharp, and Scott Hassler.

A person dressed in traditional equestrian attire, including a black top hat, riding a white horse during a competition. In the background, spectators sit on bleachers, and there are decorative flowers and a sign.
Equestrian rider mid-jump over a white obstacle during a show jumping event, with spectators and greenery in the background.

My journey to the upper levels of eventing has been anything but ordinary and that is one of the reasons I love to teach, train, and support positive progress for all levels of horses and riders.

A woman holding a golden doodle dog inside a restaurant or cafe, with outdoor seating and a field visible through the window in the background.