"Training and developing horses has always been a passion of mine. I find such satisfaction and enjoyment in being part of a horses learning. Whether it is from the very young age of a 3 year old just learning how to go straight, forward, and stop - or the intense training of the upper level movements, I take great pride in guiding each horse through this journey. We take each horse here as an individual and while keeping true to our training system, we adjust for each horse’s individual needs and understanding of what is being asked."
~ Carrie Wilson
Carrie Wilson
Carrie's riding career began at the early age of four when she began riding and showing at local 4-H shows. As her skills improved, she began to focus more on the areas of hunt seat and jumping. Her interest in jumping continued as she successfully competed her 14.2 hand pony in the sport of Eventing. Dressage became Carrie’s main focus when she outgrew her pony and “inherited” Ransom, her mother’s 17.1 hand Holsteiner gelding. During high school, she was able to bring Ransom from First Level to the FEI levels. This pair compiled a very successful show record including placings at the Region 2 Championships and earning the scores needed for Carrie’s USDF Bronze and Silver medals.
Following graduation from Northwood University in 2004 with a degree in Business Management, Carrie made the decision to become a professional trainer. She was hired as the head trainer at a Dutch Warmblood farm that bred sport horses for both the dressage arena and the jumper ring. As head trainer, Carrie was responsible for all aspects of horse care and training. It was here that Carrie learned and enhanced her knowledge of working with foals all the way up to showing mature horses both in dressage and over fences. She also developed the skills needed to correctly start young horses and learned how to prepare the horses for their breed inspections and mare performance testing. During her tenure, Carrie successfully showed at both USDF and USEF recognized dressage shows and at AA rated hunter and jumper shows including qualifying a young dressage stallion for the young horse championships and a five-year-old jumper for the Young Jumper championships.
In 2009, Carrie had the opportunity to start her own training business and moved to her present location at WinterSpring Farm in Carson City, owned by Mike and Sue Thome. Keeping her program small and only taking six horses for training at a time gives Carrie the opportunity to personally monitor all aspects of the horse’s training and well being. The beautiful WinterSpring facility allows Carrie the opportunity to utilize a variety of components to create an individualized training program that will best allow each horse to maximize its potential. While the main focus of Carrie’s training business continues to center around providing the correct start for and the training of the young sport horse, she also has the talent, education, and expertise to further develop any of the horses and riders she works with. She is currently competing horses from young horse through the FEI levels.
