By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Lindsey Long
Born in the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Horse, Melody Liu has led a life influenced by all things equine from the start. “Ever since I was little, everything I did was somehow related to horses. I loved galloping around on all fours with my dog and jumping makeshift obstacles. I had a ton of horse toys and everything I’ve ever received from my family has always had something to do with horses,” Melody said. “As you can see, we take our zodiac signs very seriously!”
A Californian by birth, Melody spent her childhood moving back and forth between the United States and China. Her first interaction with horses was in China at age 4, when one of her dad’s close friends invited the family to his retired-racehorse facility. After their tour, Melody and her cousins were given the opportunity to sit on one of the horses for a photo.
After letting her cousins go first so she could have the longest time on the horse, Melody was put on the back of a gelding who seemed gigantic to her at the time. Within seconds, he did one of those full-body shakes—that Melody still hates to this day—and she went flying like a rag doll, landing in a heap.
“That was the moment I was hooked. I sat straight up in my tutu skirt and announced that I wanted to go again. I argued with my mom over it because she didn’t want me to go again, but we compromised when the trainer brought out a pony for me to sit on,” Melody said. “The trainer lunged me in a circle and when my mom wasn’t paying attention, I asked the trainer if I could trot and that was that.”
After that day, Melody begged her parents nonstop to take lessons, for the next three and a half years. Eventually her mom gave in, after wasting so much money on other extracurricular activities that didn’t keep Melody’s interest for more than a few months. Melody has traded in her tutus for white breeches these days, as she is the owner and assistant trainer at her Corsari Equestrian in Moorpark, California.
Barn Rat
When Melody was 7 years old, she began taking lessons down the street from her home in Yorba Linda, California. “I took lessons once a week, where my mom only allowed me to trot. And trot I did for the next three years. In all fairness to my mom, it was probably because during my second lesson the pony spooked at a tractor coming around the corner, bolted out of the ring and I fell into a poison ivy bush,” Melody said.
Once the family moved back to Beijing, Melody was able to take lessons more often and finally was able to canter and jump little crossrails. “I was a natural barn rat and once I got to the barn, I would find every excuse not to leave. I stuck to my trainer’s side like glue and tried to soak up as much information as I could,” she said. “I don’t think any adults in my life knew what to do with a kid who would literally trade her soul to hang with dogs and horses over people.”
Melody made a final move back to California when she was in sixth grade. Once back in the States, she began riding with Heidi Misrahy at Flintridge Riding Club and began competing. “I had the best time growing up at Flintridge with a group of other girls who loved horses just as much as I did, some whom I’m still friends with today, and one of them actually rides with me at Corsari! At Flintridge, I was given opportunities to ride other horses at the barn, help with managing the schedule and feed, help out with the vet, basically run the summer program for little kids—teach them how to groom and do up-down lessons—and be the junior representative on the Club Board,” she said. “I loved staying busy and learning new things every day.”
In 2018, Melody moved to Summerland Farms where she began working with Mike and Leslie Hebert. “That fall we went directly to medal finals, where I missed almost a month of school so I could focus on my riding. That was when I really started getting competitive, and although I was never an equitation star by any means, I liked hearing when people would say, ‘Oh Melody’s in my class, she rides well.’ People knew who I was, and man, did that feel good,” Melody said.
While Melody did the Junior hunters, equitation and jumpers growing up, she always had an eye towards the jumper ring for her future aspirations. Two horses who helped her plot her future in the sport were her Grand Prix horses Carnutelabryere, aka Bryan, and Corsari van de Helle, or Cori.
“They are the loves of my life. Bryan had a very decorated career before I began riding him and I can say with 200% confidence that no horse is braver or more honest than he is. He made all the jumps look tiny and nerves were a foreign concept to me whenever I walked into the ring on him,” she said. ” I jumped my first High Junior classes and Grand Prix on him, and he allowed me to be competitive against some of the biggest names in show jumping.”
Corsari
In February 2019, Melody first met Cori. From their very first ride, it was clear they had a special connection. “I didn’t know what a heart horse was till I met Cori. When I went to try him, Mike thought Cori would be too much horse for me, as I’d only done a handful of 1.40m classes, and he was also out of budget. I was smiling from the moment I sat on his back, and it took quite a lot of leg pulling from both Mike and I to get my parents to agree to buy Cori for me,” Melody said. “I told my parents, ‘I will literally do anything you ask of me if you get me this horse.’”
The duo started their partnership at Thermal 2020 and won their first class together—an open 1.40m class. They won a few more classes, then the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown was announced. “We spent the next few months at home getting to know each other better and once we were allowed to show again, we came out with a bang,” she said.
Melody knew that if she stayed out of his way, Cori would always jump clear and they’d have a chance to win. “In the ring, he was my partner in crime. On the ground, he was my best friend. I’ve loved horses before, but never the way I loved him,” she said. “He tried his heart out for me every time and it’s such a special feeling when your horse fights for you.”
Cori took Melody to NAYC, her first Grand Prix win, her first FEI show and her first World Cup qualifier. “I felt unstoppable when I rode him and even when we had our bad days, I was still winning because he was mine. I saw a huge future for us, and I dreamt of giving him a long and illustrious career, then retiring him to a pasture behind the house so I could have him greet me every morning.”
Unfortunately, Melody couldn’t give Cori that dream retirement: He suffered a life-ending injury when he shattered his pastern beyond repair at the beginning of 2022. In that moment, everything came to a halt for Melody. “When Cori died, I felt all my dreams withering away and a part of me died with him,” she said. “I cried myself to sleep holding his halter for the next month, but of course I still went to the barn every day, because his death made me that much more aware of how limited my time with my animals was.”
For a moment, Melody considered quitting as she just didn’t feel the same excitement about riding without Cori. It soon became apparent that Melody needed more than just “equine therapy” while at the barn to help her cure her blues.
“You would think someone who was in school studying cognitive science would have been a bit more cognizant over the fact that she was depressed, but nope, I thought I was fine. I ended up buying three new horses in July 2022 and felt like I was getting my groove back,” she said. “Thermal 2024 began and I felt like I couldn’t ride my way out of a paper bag—I faceplanted off a client’s horse, chocolate-chipped around half my rounds.”
Melody decided to seek medical advice and saw a psychiatrist who helped her address her depression and ADHD. “I hated relying on medication, but if I could focus and felt like myself, it was better than riding like a potato and being checked out. Obviously, pills aren’t magic, but they helped, along with my horse, Bentley, who made me work hard and gave me confidence in the ring, which is what I needed at the time,” Melody said.
Corsari Equestrian
When Melody decided to open her business, there was only one option for the name— Corsari Equestrian. Even though she would no longer be able to achieve her dreams with Cori, she wanted to build her business in his memory so he could always be part of her journey.
Mike and Leslie are another big part of Corsari Equestrian. After the Liu family decided to buy the property in 2023, they merged with Mike and Leslie’s Summerland Farms business, with Mike and Leslie acting as the head trainers and Melody as assistant trainer and owner. “I had gone to school to pursue a career in forensic psychology or be a doctor, but I realized I wouldn’t be happy with a career away from horses, so I became a professional in 2024,” Melody said.
“Mike and Leslie are everything in the Corsari system. None of it would exist without them and I would not be the person I am today without their guidance. They’ve become second parents to me and have taught me so much, not only in regard to horses, but also just being a person,” Melody said.
Mike is Corsari’s “jack of all trades” and can handle anything that comes his way, whether it’s barn work or training horses and riders. Leslie lays the foundation for riding for all the clients, is the office manager and keeps the ship sailing while Mike and Melody are on the road showing.
As a young professional, Melody is trying to prove to herself, her clients and everyone around her that she’s worthy of the “professional” title. “I want to be a role model for kids and show them that just because you’re young doesn’t mean you can’t achieve big things. I’m incredibly fortunate to have an amazing family backing, which many young professionals don’t have. I think many people would have stayed amateurs and focused solely on their own careers, but I wasn’t raised to only think of one thing,” she said. “I love the business and teaching end of show jumping, and didn’t like the idea of sitting back and not playing a key role.”
Melody’s proudest moment as a pro came at the 2024 NAYC when her working student, Naomi Cate, brought home a team gold medal with a horse no one thought could jump at that level. “When she pulled off two clear rounds in a row for the team competitions, I was so proud to be standing in the kiss-and-cry cheering her on. I love that I’m able to give someone like Naomi the opportunity to chase her dreams,” Melody said.
Dreaming Big
Melody is very thankful that her parents dreamed big and never let anyone tell them they couldn’t do something. “They both came to America in search of achieving a sustainable life. They’re living proof that hard work, perseverance and strategy pay off, and they passed that work ethic on to me,” she said.
As Melody looks towards her future, she’s excited about her current string of horses. “Next year I hope to make it onto a few Nations Cup teams and go to World Cup Finals. I want to travel the world and compete in places like St. Tropez, Paris and Aachen,” she said.
Melody hopes her three horses Napoleon van den Dael, who goes by Simba; Newton K; and Athena help make those dreams come true. Simba is currently Melody’s top horse, whom she hopes will help her achieve her goals in the near term. “He knows he’s the best and I wholeheartedly believe it too,” she said.
Newton and Athena are Melody’s stars of the future. Athena and Melody just started jumping the Grand Prix together, while Melody hopes to ride Newton in the Grand Prix in the future. “Athena is super brave and careful and quite a different ride than what I’m used to, so I’m still trying to learn how to give her the ride she wants so I can do her justice. Newton is 15.3 hands and has all the heart and scope to do Grand Prix, but I’m taking it slow with him because he’s too nice of a horse to rush the process with,” she said.
Not only does she want to pursue her own riding goals, but Melody also wants to make Corsari Equestrian one of the top equestrian facilities on the West Coast. “I want to build future horsemen and -women while providing the best care possible,” she said.
For her own horses, Melody’s dream is to give them long and successful careers with retirements they deserve. “I wasn’t able to give that to Cori, but I will be doing whatever it takes to make it a reality for the rest,” Melody said.
Follow Melody on Instagram @corsariequestrian and @melodyliu.ce
Photos by Lindsey Long, lindseylong.com
