Kristin began riding at five and competed extensively throughout her youth in hunter/jumpers, equitation, eventing, and dressage. By the time she graduated from high school, she had evented through Training Level and qualified for and competed at Fourth Level at Dressage at Devon, along with winning individual state and national championships through 4-H and the United States Pony Clubs.

While studying painting at Tyler School of Art, Kristin began teaching and training professionally. After college, she spent many years as an assistant trainer to an FEI judge and coached championship teams for the Oley Valley Combined Training Association while continuing her own education and building her business.

Her most influential dressage education came through international rider Jessica Jo Tate and renowned author, cavalry master, and Dressage Hall of Fame inductee Charles de Kunffy. Their classical approach deepened the principles that remain central to Kristin’s work today: strong fundamentals, respect for the nature of the horse, an appreciation for the therapeutic qualities of correct training, and the understanding that excellent performance and good horsemanship belong together.

Throughout her career, Kristin has helped horses and riders progress through the levels while placing particular value on teaching riders to think, feel, problem-solve, and ultimately continue the work themselves. Many of her students are now trainers and instructors, but that same emphasis on understanding and independent thinking is central to her teaching at every level. Her most recent competitive experience includes training and riding a client’s horse to the 2019 USDF All-Breeds AHC National First Level Championship.

Kristin is also the founder of Silver Linings Sanctuary, a nonprofit animal sanctuary providing permanent homes for unwanted, neglected, and otherwise vulnerable animals. Her work there reflects the same belief that has shaped her horsemanship throughout her career: good care begins with seeing the individual in front of us and taking responsibility for what we ask of them.