Educated and experienced as a behavioral psychologist and Master’s level counselor. These principles are essential and have been applied for quality teaching and training for over 20 years.

Specifically experienced with teaching and coaching hunter seat (40 years) and dressage (30 years). These principles have been applied successfully to pleasure and trail horses.

As a rider, Vickie has worked with many gifted instructors over the years, including: Jane Dillon, author of School for Young Riders and Form over Fences and instructor of Grand Prix Show Jumping Riders Kathy Kushner and Joe Fargis (Olympic Individual Gold Medalist); Vladimir Littauer, author of Common Sense Horsemanship; Angela Littlefield, Grand Prix rider and student of Olympic Dressage Medalist, Hilda Gurney; Jacquie Huchison, Hunter and Grand Prix Dressage rider and trainer; and Nancy Nicholson, Ph.D., Grand Prix Dressage rider and trainer and author of BioMechanical Riding & Dressage: A Rider’s Atlas.

Trained as a judge and steward for the American Horse Shows Association (now the US Equestrian Federation).

Vickie has been taught biomechanics and equine massage by a nationally recognized author and trainer. These specialties have been regularly applied by Vickie for over 20 years, with great success for the development of horses and solution of problems (including problems which often may seem to the rider/owner to be behavioral).

Extensive experience with training young horses for various disciplines. Techniques include ground work, various obstacles and patterns, bending, learning responsiveness to voice and light aides, lunging, long-lining. This approach is systematically varied to preserve the interest and suppleness of the horse. We develop the horse’s and the rider’s mind as well as body.

Successful training of various breeds of horses, including, Thoroughbreds, Various Warmbloods & Spanish breeds, Quarter Horses, Appaloosas, Arabians, Morgans, Rocky Mountain Horses, Icelandic Horses...

Vickie has worked with Balance International founders and authors (international leaders in saddle making and fitting, who have revolutionized consideration and development of the horses’ back).

Vickie has shown successfully in recognized shows, e.g., 1st place at the Upperville, Virginia, “A” show in Small Hunters (open/professional division; fences at 3'6").

Vickie was an active member of the Fairfax Hunt Club. This requires much experience in physically conditioning the horse for extremely challenging galloping and jumping over “trappy” terrain.

Vickie’s students routinely win top ribbons in Dressage, Hunt Seat, and Pleasure, if that is the choice and direction of the rider and horse. Students routinely progress to intermediate and advanced levels.

Vickie has much experience training horses and riders to jump correctly and safely. Sadly, in this geographical area (within 300 miles), instructors who are not capable of this work too frequently try to teach jumping. Retraining a ruined horse is very difficult and may be impossible. Further, safety of the rider is severely compromised unless the instructor is specifically capable of developing jumping from start to finish.