Karen began riding and competing as a child in western New York, starting out in the hunter/jumper world and transitioning to dressage and eventing shortly after moving to the Southeast in the late seventies. Over the years, she has owned, trained, and competed 30+ horses in eventing, not one of them having any previous eventing experience.
She and her husband Mike have owned Dancing Horse Farm in Watkinsville, Georgia for 23 years and Karen continues to compete and teaches a wonderful group of adult amateur eventers. In addition to her work with horses and riders, she teaches business communications courses at the University of Georgia, works as a freelance writer and lecturer, and is a mom, so she understands firsthand the challenges her students face balancing training and competing with other life commitments. Karen “specializes” in bringing horses and riders to the sport of eventing, oftentimes from other disciplines. She embraces the theory that any horse and rider can event, at least at the introductory levels, and that combined training is truly “complete” training which can benefit and enrich all horses and riders. Encouraging horses and riders to progress at their own pace, her focus is always on the “process” and the rewarding partnership that develops as a result.
Karen works as a freelance writer for various equestrian magazines and has been published in Practical Horseman, Dressage Today, Dressage & CT, HorsePlay, Equine Athlete, Horse Illustrated, AQHA Journal, Southeast Equine Monthly, and has several articles in syndication with Green Grass Syndicated Features. She has written a monthly newspaper column and is a blogger for an equine pharmaceutical company. She has also worked with companies and advertising agencies building marketing campaigns, especially for equine and equestrian products and services. She has limited availability as a lecturer on a variety of equine/equestrian/eventing topics and has been a guest speaker at several meetings, conferences, and other events.
About Karen
Contact Karen via email or call/text (706) 540-4899.
