Trainers

Riding a horse is not a gentle hobby,

to be picked up and laid down

like a game of Solitaire.

It is a grand passion.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Barbara Messinger

- Hunters - Jumpers - Equitation - Dressage -

Barbara Messinger is Cygnet's schoolhorse instructor. Barbara began riding when she was nine, and by the late 1980's, had met Leslie Zock and began lessons with her. Barbara progressed into jumping lessons, and was soon managing the schoolhorse lesson program at the former Heather Hill Farm. With the retirement of Heather Hill Farm, Barbara brought the schoolhorse program and her expertise to Cygnet Farm.

Phone: (541) 261-0820

Michelle Woolard

Michelle began riding at the age of eight, when she was allowed up onto the back of a family friend's dressage horse. Though she pursued eventing throughout her adolescence, the seed was planted for a love of dressage, and she has focused solely on it for the last ten years. She has three of her own horses, currently training and competing at First Level through Prix St. Georges. Her primary interests lie in the development of both horse and rider through classical principles. She offers lessons from basic seat skills to mid-level dressage work.

Phone: (541) 535-5492

Mari Austad

Nathan Stiles’ involvement in the Hunter/Jumper industry has taken him throughout the country, as well as overseas. He has worked, trained or ridden under the tutelage of many world renowned riders and trainers, some of which include Olympic Double Gold medalist Joe Fargis, German Grand Prix rider and World Equestrian Games medalist Sören von Rönne, 3-time World Champion Hunter rider Scott Stewart, 2-time World Champion Hunter rider John French, legendary American show jumper Todd Minikus, Canadian World Cup rider and Course Designer Dale Harvey, top Equitation trainer Frank Madden and top Hunter judge Ralph Caristo.

Nathan also has a very extensive show record, which entails multiple placings at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL, as well as riding in a Young Rider’s Team Competition there. As a junior, he was champion in the Junior Jumpers in Attitash, NH, top 12 in the CK Equitation Class at the Hampton Classic, and top 10 at the Ox Ridge Equitation Challenge in Darien, CT. As a professional he has additionally collected multiple wins and championships at shows throughout the East Coast and California, such as Old Salem, Upperville, Woodside, Pebble Beach, Blenheim, Showpark, and Del Mar. In 1997 he won the British Horse Society Horsemastership Class at the Royal International Horse Show in Hickstead, England.

Nathan Stiles