76 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Destined for Success
S
urrounded by horses from the time she was born, it is
no wonder that Hillary Simpson was drawn to them.
Still, that alone never guarantees success as a rider
and trainer. It takes a special ability to ride well and to train
horses and riders so that they achieve their full potential and
that is an ability that Hillary clearly has.
The daughter of renowned trainer Christina Schlusemeyer,
Hillary launched her competitive riding career at a young age
and quickly established herself as a talented horsewoman. In
1986, while only seven years old, she was the overall grand
champion at Pony Finals, a national championship open to
riders up to the age of 18.
She had many more accomplishments as a junior rider,
including being the top ranked junior jumper at the Winter
Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida in 1993 at age 15 and
winning two of the country’s major equitation championships
in 1996, when on consecutive weekends she won the USET
Talent Search Finals and the AHSA (now USEF) Medal Finals.
Following her wins in the major equitation finals and success
in junior hunters, Hillary narrowed her focus to the jumper ring.
During her studies at Rollins College she spent two seasons at
Hunterdon, riding with George Morris and Chris Kappler. While
focusing on both her studies and her jumper ambitions, she
achieved numerous wins in the amateur-owner division, as well
as top placings in the grand prix ring.
In addition to learning from her mom, George and Chris,
Hillary has worked with several other of the industry’s top
professionals including Peggy Wallace, Bobby Braswell, Frank
Madden, Bill Cooney, Tom Wright, Mike Heneghan, Barney
Ward, Jeff Cook and Norman Dello Joio.
After graduating from Rollins with honors, Hillary took time to
explore other opportunities in her new home of Southern Pines,
North Carolina. She chose to go into business with her now
husband, William Simpson, and worked with him for six years
in the restaurant and gourmet food industry. The business was
sold in 2006 when Hillary realized that it was time for her to get
back in the saddle and fulfill her dream of riding internationally
and hopefully going to the Olympic Games. In 2007, she started
her own business - Palmyra Enterprises, in Southern Pines.
In 2009, at the beginning of her winter season in Wellington,
she was thrown from a newly imported horse, leading to
emergency surgery to repair a shattered hip and broken
femur. This was the first major injury for Hillary and she took
it seriously. Instead of rushing back to the ring, she listened to
her physicians and took nearly eight months off from riding. It
was during that time that Hillary found her passion for teaching.
She spent the following two years working with her own
clients and helping her mother with hers at Quiet Hill Farm. At
the beginning of 2011, Hillary and her mother took the first step
to getting her back into the grand prix ring with the purchase of
two mounts, Cantus D and Nopus du gue Joubert.
Hillary and Arkansas at the
2013 Hampton Classic.
Photo by The Book LLC 2013
e
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