88 SIDELINES JULY 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
teaching and competing in the Rocky Mountain region. She
explains that riders in the Midwest have a longer history of riding
out, trail riding, fox hunting, and exploring the rugged terrain, so
riders are more comfortable with work out of the ring than in.
The different terrain in the region also means that events are run
differently. Riders don’t gallop as fast a pace as the events in the
East, but, conversely, are more comfortable with riding over all
different types of terrain.
Laura encourages her students to show in both disciplines, and
works with a lot of young riders. She encourages her younger
students to get involved with Pony Club, which teaches them
horse care, so that Laura can focus on their riding and how to
achieve success in all three rings. Laura herself has been active
in Pony Club since 1979, and qualifed for the Young Riders
Championship and Rocky Mountain Young Riders team. She says
that Pony Club makes her job as an instructor easier, because she
wants her students “to be good horsemen, not just good riders.”
Laura says she is “addicted to continuing education,” and
studies psychology so that she can adjust her teaching to different
learning styles, and helped with teaching her own child, Madeline
Backus, who placed 9th at the NAJRC in Kentucky in 2011. Laura
also studies sports psychology, and recognizes that riding should
be fun – not stressful or scary – for her students. She reminds her
students that their equestrian pursuits are, after all, discretionary,
and that they could have a different life, in a different country,
without these opportunities.
Not surprisingly, Laura’s teaching has earned nationwide
recognition. In 2012, she received the Craig Ferrell Equestrian
Safety Award, which is an international award given to trainers
who the selection committee feel put safety frst. Laura was
nominated for this award by the Hunter Hill Pony Club, and says
she was humbled to receive it. She was also the 2009 recipient of
the ARIA National Instructor of the Year Award, in recognition of
high safety rating, and the students she has coached to success
on the Young Rider Team. The selection committee for this award
includes such equestrian legends as George Morris and Denny
Emerson.
These awards, however, have left Laura nothing but humble.
“Every year I feel like I might be getting a grasp on my job,” she
says with a laugh. Despite the long hours and hard work that
goes into running a successful equestrian program, Laura makes
it sound easy, admittedly loving every minute of what she does.
She says that she feels blessed and lucky to have her job, and
supported by her amazing family. There is something about the
gratitude in Laura’s voice that makes clear that her success has
been well deserved, and that even better things are yet to come.
Laura with her students on their annual trip to Florida.
Photo by Sandy Fasso