About Courtney Meitz

This is my actual training biography. My mother swears I never had to learn to post or let my hips move with the canter - I learned all that while she was pregnant with me, as she rode right up to and including the day I was born . . . .

This is the earliest known picture of a future horse trainer at the job - my mother would park me here & I'd sleep. Cloak 'N Dagger was my first babysitter. We understood each other.

My mother says she had always sworn that when she had kids they'd always be neat & tidy. Right. This was taken AFTER she'd washed my face. At this age I was still small enough to ride on the front on an english saddle. I always wanted to go FAST!

That's me in the saddle, trying to see Jake's hind feet, for some reason. That's my sister Gillian leading him. I guess they thought 2 1/2 isn't old enough to ride horses by myself.

This is Trufflehunter (aka Summer) at one of our first dressage shows. I was 12, he was 4. I went on to event him successfully for some years. He was the very first horse I trained & I've got to admit - I did a good job. He's still going strong at 24, teaching kids to ride.

Summer's favorite thing to do is jump, and his ego made me realize he could jump anything I thought he could. He gave me confidence and trust in my skills as a trainer as he has a highly developed sense of humor and fairness & never hesitated to point out where I might be wrong.

From Summer I moved up to Cue The Camera (Le`-C), a rather difficult, opinioned mare. She taught me patience, tact, how to compromise and to not sweat the small stuff. I evented her quite successfully, also.

I then went on to start training horses that belonged to other people . . .

I bought LooWee as a 2 yr old who wasn't even halter broke. Our vet just shook his head when I "led" him up to get gelded. He spent more time in the air than on the ground. This was 6 months later - we got Funniest Costume at the Halloween show that year.

My second Paint was bred for reining. He gave me the bug to train a reiner on my own but he didn't have the hocks for it. He's now doing Pleasure somewhere.

Tootie Two Chex, owned by CeCe Flint at Willow Glen Equestrian Centre, was one of the first reining and cutting horses I started as a youngster. She always does well in the show pen and everyone always comments on what a fun ride she is.

This is my border collie, Jem, and I. The dog of my heart, she's from champion working stock and bred by the Canadays who are also great dog trainers for cattle, sheep or geese. Some days Jem's the only turn-back help I have & she does a great job.

The newest man in my life is Snoot. Like Jem, he's a border collie & Jem has been busy teaching him his job.

The person most responsible for my horse addiction. People who know me will recognize these chaps - I cut the fringe off & use them for work chaps. They're older than I am . . .

But at 7 I'm old enough to be on my own. This was a good old Morgan named Prince. I drove my mother nuts while visiting my Grandmother. All I wanted to do was go riding.