Saralyn Darmstatter: Living the Horse Girl Lifestyle

By Laura Scaletti

Portraits by Kacy Brown

When it came to turning her love for horses into a career, Saralyn Darmstatter never had a Plan B. “Going pro was always the goal. I always wanted to ride, train and live this incredible lifestyle of being around horses every day,” Saralyn said.

Saralyn’s parents often joke she came out of the womb saying “horse.” “For some reason, I just had the horse bug. I’ve loved horses since I knew what they were,” she said.

It didn’t take long for Saralyn to start begging her parents for lessons. Her wishes were granted when she was 6 years old and received a lesson package for Christmas. After that first lesson, there was no going back—Saralyn was committed to the horse girl lifestyle.

Although Saralyn’s parents weren’t horsey themselves, they’ve supported her equestrian endeavors since her first lesson. To get her dad fully on board with Saralyn’s passion, her mom had him join them at the barn one day so he could see Saralyn in her element. “Once he saw me and how much I loved it, he was sold. They’ve done everything they could to let me live this dream,” she said.

Finding Her Way

Saralyn got an unexpected early jump on jumping shortly after she began riding. After doing her fair share of lunge line lessons, Saralyn graduated to riding and cantering on her own.

“My steering was obviously not great at that point; we had a tiny white fence that separated the ring in half, and I aimed right for it. Well, the pony, being a good pony, cantered right over it. I was unprepared, so I toppled off and somehow scraped up my stomach and had a big scrape on my face,” Saralyn said. “Let’s just say, I was a point of interest in kindergarten that week!”

That initial tumble didn’t slow her down. “I was a barn rat as much as my parents would let me! As a young girl, I was at the barn as much as possible and did barn summer camp too. As I stepped into my teenage years, I also played other sports, so I got really good at time management, but I was still at the barn virtually every day to ride,” she said. “I was that crazy kid who would go to the barn and ride on Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

Growing up, Saralyn leased a variety of horses over the years. “I had wonderful trainers and barn managers who helped me get care leases on horses that I could then show, which I think in the long run made me a better rider because I often had to make the best of the opportunities I had while riding a myriad of different types of horses,” she said. “I didn’t have a big impressive Junior career, but I often got good ribbons and reached the goals I set for myself.”

When it came time for Saralyn to think about higher education, she decided to attend Cazenovia College. “From the first tour, I just loved Caz; I loved the equine program, I loved the location, it just really clicked for me,” she said.

Saralyn earned a bachelor of professional studies degree in management, with a specialization in equine business management and a minor in marketing. “I really liked that Caz’s equine program was more business based rather than science based, which is what a lot of equine college programs are. I took all the regular business classes plus a great mix of equine classes that were business focused and others that were science and practical focused,” Saralyn said. “I carry on a lot today of what I learned in college: practical knowledge that I apply to caring for the horses; management and efficiency skills that I learned through the equestrian team; and a lot of riding techniques that I developed.”

While earning her degree, Saralyn also competed for Cazenovia’s IHSA team on both the Hunt Seat and Western teams. “I have lifelong friends from college and a big part of that was the camaraderie of the team. You spend so much time with the team, and it was just such a fun and exciting experience,” Saralyn said.

She competed for four years on the Hunt Seat team, where she was the captain and the Cachionne Cup Champion for their region. For three years, she also experimented in the Western world. “I really do think being on the Western team added a depth to my riding that I absolutely use today. I rode horsemanship and played around with reining as well,” she said.

After graduating from Cazenovia, Saralyn remained an amateur for a couple of years as she wasn’t ready to take on a professional role at the time. Once she was ready to go pro, she began working for Audrey Robison and became a horse owner for the first time.

“Working for Audrey was a great experience. It was a small operation, so I was multifaceted with my duties, but I was her head groom for a few years. I purchased my first horse with Audrey’s guidance, and she helped me a lot with that,” Saralyn said. “It was very much a family-like atmosphere, and I’m still friends with her today.”

Coast to Coast

When Saralyn was ready to pursue another position in the industry, she asked a few of her friends to keep their ears open and let her know if they heard of anything. That’s how she found out about Will Baker and his Coast to Coast Equestrian business.

“My friend, Savannah, saw Will at a horse show and he mentioned to her that he was looking for someone, and she put us in contact. Will and I spoke a lot about what I wanted my role to look like and my personal goals,” Saralyn said. “He just gave off the vibes that he would do everything he could to help me achieve them, and he absolutely has.”

When Saralyn first started working for Will in 2022, he was based out of New Jersey and his farm was only 15 minutes from Saralyn’s dad’s house. “Everything was sort of working out right, then he told me he wanted to move the barn down to Ocala full time. I thought, Well, I love this job and this atmosphere, so I guess I’m moving to Florida,” she said.

Saralyn is the assistant trainer and barn manager for Coast to Coast Equestrian. She’s responsible for riding and training both sale horses and client horses, while she also trains and develops her personal horse. She also does a myriad of managerial duties such as feed and bedding orders; organizing vets, farriers and bodyworkers; organizing and prepping equipment and horses for shows and much more.

“Working for Will has been amazing. We have such a good working relationship and spend so much time together that we’re actually quite good friends. It really brings a daily dynamic that’s fun and lighthearted, while remaining serious about our goals and the goals for our horses. It’s awesome to work for someone who is very passionate about the success of his horses and his riders—from sales horses to amateur hunters to myself,” Saralyn said.  “Will is truly an incredible teacher and has improved my own riding immensely both in confidence and technicality.”

Although Saralyn learned the basics about running an equestrian business at Cazenovia, she has thoroughly enjoyed putting her book knowledge into use in the real world with Coast to Coast. “The business revolves around sales, so it’s really important to be personable and open. Networking and word of mouth are huge. Will’s taught me a lot about how to navigate clients and how to negotiate different deals,” she said.

One of Saralyn’s favorite things about working with Will is that he values her opinion and what she brings to the table. “I love that we often work together to make a horse successful. Will really encourages me to have my own ideas, take the reins and learn from the experience,” she said.

Young Pro

Saralyn believes being a young professional puts a little less pressure on her than seasoned pros feel. “Going into the ring and making a mistake can often be looked at as a learning curve rather than an atrocity. I’ve also noticed that a lot of the seasoned pros might notice you and appreciate the hard work you’re putting in,” she said. “A kind word of encouragement from them can mean a lot.”

As a hungry, young pro, Saralyn is always willing to throw a leg over anything and everything. “Every horse you get to ride is an opportunity and you never know what you can reap from it,” Saralyn said.

Saralyn admits sometimes the challenges of being a fresh face in the industry can outweigh the benefits. However, that’s when she lets her passion kick into overdrive. “It’s hard to be a young pro and try to make a name for yourself. It’s exponentially harder to do so when you didn’t have a great big, successful Junior career, and even harder than that when you don’t have any form of financial backing,” she said.

Saralyn imported her own horse, Xena, in 2023 as a young, green mare, with the goal of making her a Grand Prix horse. “She has absolutely exceeded expectations for me. We jumped 1.0m at our first horse show and just kept moving up the classes from there. We’ve certainly had our ups and downs, but she has turned into a truly special horse. We recently began to move her up to the Grand Prix level,” she said.

From her earliest days, Saralyn has been a fan of a good mare. Xena is just that—a mare that is smart, brave, scopey and forgiving. “She was bought to be a sales horse, but I’ve been enjoying riding and showing her until the right buyer comes along. I plan to keep getting us both experience at the 1.35-1.40m classes, while working to become more competitive,” Saralyn said.

Looking Ahead

As Saralyn looks towards the future, she’s happy with where she is on her current career trajectory. “My main goal the past several years was to jump a Grand Prix by the time I was 30. I thought it was a hard but achievable goal. I’m 28 now and recently achieved that goal,” she said.

Now she wants to be a consistent, successful presence in the ring, with eyes on continuing to move up the ranks. The next difficult but achievable goal Saralyn has in her sights is competing FEI at some point. “I think stepping into the two-star ring within the next few years could be realistic,” she said. “Long term, I’d like to eventually hang my own sign and run my own training business, but I feel like I’m still a couple of steps away from that.”

As she works towards her goals, Saralyn will have Will and her trusty companion, Mocha, by her side. “Mocha’s the most perfect barn dog you’ll ever meet. I adopted her when she was almost 2 and she’s just melded into the lifestyle so easily,” Saralyn said. “She’s my little partner in crime and my source of sanity when things get inevitably hectic.”

Follow Sarayln on Facebook at SaraylnDarmstatter and on Instagram @Saralyncarol

Photos by Kacy Brown, kacybrownphotography.com