Portraits by Sara Farrell
On an ordinary day at California State University, Chico, Allie Knowles had an “aha” moment that changed her life’s trajectory. “I was sitting in Spanish class, secretly reading a copy of USEA Magazine that I had tucked inside my textbook. The article in front of me was about Jan Byyny being first and second at Jersey Fresh. I didn’t personally know Jan, had never met her, but I idolized her and her achievement resonated with me,” Allie said. “I thought, That is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. That’s what I want to do!”
As soon as she left the classroom, Allie called her dad. “I told him, ‘I don’t think I want to be here in college. I want to go pro. I want to do this for real,’” she said.
With only a year left before graduation, Allie’s dad could have told her to stay the course; after all, she had two upper-level horses with her at school to help her fulfill her riding needs. But he didn’t. “As both my parents were very successful in the military, I understood that failure was not an option. My dad, being the amazing guy he was, said he would support me quitting school and becoming a working student. He saw being a working student as my education if I really wanted to go pro,” she said. “He made sure I knew to take this opportunity very seriously because I wasn’t going to get a second chance at this.”
Allie thanked her dad, withdrew from college and never looked back. This willingness to see a path, take a chance and go all in has been a hallmark of Allie’s career as an eventing professional.
Today, she runs her AK Eventing based at Valley View Farm in Kentucky. Allie equally splits her time riding and teaching. “I wouldn’t want to do just one or the other. I love developing young horses, good riders and good horsemen,” she said.
Long before she was galloping across five-star tracks, Allie was a timid kid who found comfort in vaulting. “I think I felt safer because someone else was in control of the horse. It just seemed more fun as I didn’t have to worry about feeling out of control on a pony,” she said.
After a few years of participating in the barn’s vaulting team, the program was discontinued; however, that early experience helped unlock Allie’s bravery and created a lifelong passion with horses. Instead of seeking out another vaulting program, Allie decided to follow her sister, Victoria, into Pony Club.
“My sister and I were riding at the same barn, me vaulting and her with regular lessons. I ended up having a very traditional Pony Club upbringing. It was a great community and to this day I refer back to Pony Club on so many things,” Allie said. “It had a huge impact on who I am as a horse person.”
With a heavy eventing focus, Allie quickly learned to love the adrenaline that came from galloping across the cross-country field. “At 8 years old I was looking at pictures from the Kentucky Three-Day Event. That’s where the dream started and the path I stuck with,” she said.
It’s the diversity of eventing and the challenge associated with mastering three disciplines that has kept Allie committed to the sport through the years. “I love the technique and discipline of dressage, the excitement of cross-country and I’ve developed a real love for show jumping. It takes a special horse to be good and confident in all three disciplines, but if you take a step back you see they all complement each other. Each day you’re looking for accuracy and discipline, it’s just at different speeds and shapes,” Allie said. “I like how they all work together. I can’t imagine hanging up one to do another.”
Allie credits her childhood instructor, Jackie McRae, with being a guiding light in her eventing career. “I rode with her from the time I was 8 years old until I graduated from high school and moved away, but we are still unbelievably close. During the hard times of eventing, and those lows can be pretty low, she’s always been a good sounding board for me,” Allie said. “I’ve gone further in my professional career than she did, but somehow I still am striving to be like her.”
After Allie walked off the campus of Cal State, she started her equestrian education as a working student for Hawley Bennett in California and then made the move to the East Coast and spent time working for Buck Davidson. “I knew I couldn’t fail, so I went full on and tried to absorb as much as I could from both Hawley and Buck,” she said.
It was after her time with Buck that Allie decided to make the leap, move back to Auburn, California, and start her own small business riding and teaching. Her first “real” Advanced horse, Last Call, helped put Allie’s name out there and continue her education in the saddle.
“She was my best friend and gave me so many unbelievable experiences. It was with her that I had my first big results, did my first Kentucky, and she got me to my first press conference at Kentucky. Last Call put me on the map in California when I was still eventing there,” Allie said. “I can’t thank her enough for helping me experience so many great things.”
In December 2011, when Allie was 23 years old, it was time for her to make her next big move. “Clients of mine owned a farm in Kentucky that they leased out. Their tenants were moving and they asked me if I’d like to take over the lease and move to Kentucky. I was at a crossroads in my life and decided ‘OK, let’s do that.’ I packed up all my belongings, two dogs and six horses and set up shop in Kentucky,” she said.
Although it was a huge career risk, once again Allie jumped right in when presented with an opportunity. That meant taking over a 100-acre farm, with no tractor and little else. “I didn’t know what I was getting into; I thought I knew enough but it’s true that ignorance is bliss when you’re young. I’m glad I didn’t know how hard it was going to be because I probably wouldn’t have tried it, but somehow it all worked out,” she said. “I built a business and stayed at that farm for four years. I taught lessons and rode during the day and waited tables at night.”
During this sink-or-swim period, Allie was fortunate enough to meet Jim and Katie O’Brien. “For the past 10 years, I’ve been working out of their Valley View Farm and built an unbelievable partnership with them. They’ve owned so many amazing horses that I’ve been able to ride. I wouldn’t have been nearly as successful as I’ve been or gotten to this point in my career without the O’Briens,” Allie said. “It’s been a wild journey, but well worth all the work and effort.”
It was through a syndicate that included the O’Briens that Allie was able to purchase her next career-making horse, Sound Prospect. A 15.3-hand OTTB with more of a pony-like shape than horse, Sound Prospect helped Allie reach the top levels of eventing. “He got me my first five-star finishes, first top-10 finishes and just has been an awesome dude his whole life. I went overseas to compete for the first time with him at Pau,” Allie said. “With Sound Prospect, I was able to do an unbelievable amount of four-stars. He had a huge impact on my career trajectory and taught me how to do cross-country for real.”
Eventing has a way of testing riders more than other disciplines. You can be at the top of the leaderboard after dressage only to get eliminated on cross-country day.
Although Allie is a consistent contender at most events, her relationship with the Kentucky Three-Day event is, as she describes, complicated. “My odds of finishing top-level competitions are pretty good, until you just look at Kentucky by itself. I’ve competed in the four-stars and five-star over 10 times and I’ve literally completed once. I’ve fallen, made crazy mistakes, for whatever reason I have bad juju there,” she said.
So, when Allie finished 16th out of 71 entries at Kentucky in 2016 with Sound Prospect, it was a standout experience for her. “To be able to go to the hometown event, which is the biggest event in the country, and pull it off was a big deal to me,” Allie said.
Venturing further from home and traveling across the pond to compete is always something Allie doesn’t fully appreciate until she has time to get home and decompress. “You don’t even know how much you’re learning overseas until you can reflect on it,” she said.
The most difficult day of Allie’s career came at the 2022 Bramham International when her mare, Ms. Poppins, fractured her leg on the cross-country course and had to subsequently be euthanized that day. “Ms. Poppins was one of my absolute favorite horses in life. It was a sobering point in time,” she said.
Allie returned to Bramham in 2024 with Morswood and finished 11th. “To come back two years later and jump the same jumps, the same track, and overcome all the memories from 2022 was a huge deal for my psyche,” she said.
Although Allie doesn’t believe Last Call, Sound Prospect and Morswood would be world-beaters today, the trio took her places she only imagined going. “They taught me how to ride. I may have fancier or more competitive horses today, but I wouldn’t be the rider I am today without those three. They all had enormous hearts, really gave their all to me and we had a lot of fun along the way,” she said.
Allie’s experience with those three “foundational horses” has helped shape her current mindset from wanting to complete five-stars to competing to win them. “My self-belief needs to say, You don’t just want to finish, you want to be at the top,” Allie said.
Over the past decade, Allie and the O’Briens have been intentionally building a string of horses with ages spread out so they have a constant flow of horses at the lower levels working to the top. “I probably have the best string of horses I’ve ever had for this upcoming season. It’s taken years of quietly trying to get the string right, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we have no injuries and a chance to have a very competitive 2026 season,” Allie said. “I’m so excited for this season.”
While Allie is excited about the upcoming season with her string of horses, she’s also loving her current season of being a mom to her 5-year-old daughter, Atticus. “I’ve had to shift the way I do things, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I’ve hired an assistant to help me get through the day riding and teaching. I’ve streamlined my operation to ride the horses that really need my time and focus,” Allie said. “Everything, every horse and my child, all need a piece of me so I have to make sure I don’t spread myself too thin.”
Atticus has become part of Allie’s “must pack” list when it comes to what Allie wants to take to the higher-profile competitions. “The bigger the event, the more stress of that event and the more I want her there. I compete much better with her present. She’s an expert traveler, has her own friends at shows and is very independent, but these days sometimes school makes it more difficult for her to join me,” Allie said.
If Atticus decides to follow in Allie’s footsteps and ride, Allie will go all in, like she has for all things equestrian in her life. “I would love to share the highs and lows of the sport with her, but I won’t cry if she chooses something less expensive and a lot less dangerous,” Allie chuckled.
For now, Allie is soaking it all in. All the risks and hard work have paid off. She’s running a business she loves, raising her best buddy and chasing the dreams she once read about others achieving.
Follow Allie on Facebook and Instagram @AKEventing and @valleyviewfarm_midway
Photos by Sara Farrell, threeredheadsandamoose.com
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