By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Lauren Ann Wagner
Growing up as a self-proclaimed “free-range child” on her family’s Dragonfire Farm in California, Taylor McFall beelined her way toward horses from the time she could walk. That idyllic childhood helped cement Taylor’s love for horses at an early age.
When Taylor was 5, her parents, Earl and Jennifer McFall, got Taylor a pony of her own named Rosie. Together, Taylor and Rosie had adventures all over Dragonfire Farm. Most of the time, Taylor was rocking a hot pink helmet and coordinating boots.
From the beginning, Taylor insisted she wanted to be a hands-on horsewoman. “My parents have plenty of home videos of me doing everything with Rosie ‘by myself.’ I thought she was so beautiful, because of her white fluffy hair,” Taylor said. “I was with Rosie all the time, waiting for her unicorn horn to appear.”
Although the horn never appeared, Rosie gave Taylor the confidence that she could in fact do anything with a horse or pony. Since the days of riding Rosie, Taylor has competed up to the CCI3* level, had the opportunity to work with high-level eventing professionals and has become a professional eventer herself alongside her parents at Dragonfire Farm.
Family Affair
Horses are a family affair at Dragonfire Farm. Initially a Morgan horse breeding operation run by Jennifer’s mom, Cheron Laboissonniere, over the years Dragonfire has transitioned to a pure three-day eventing operation run by Earl, Jennifer and Cheron.
Although Earl and Jennifer took different paths to start their equestrian journeys, they both eventually found their place in the three-day eventing world. “My mom did Morgan horse breeding shows, while my dad started off as a hunter-jumper. Once they discovered eventing, my dad competed through the Advanced level and my mom became an international CCI5* rider,” Taylor said.
With a passion for horses in her DNA, it’s no surprise that Taylor’s happy place is in the saddle. “I honestly can’t remember my first experience with a horse; however, I’ve seen photos of myself when I was a toddler on a horse with my mom. Horses have always been a part of my life,” she said.
Taylor’s earliest memories are of her spending all day outside, with friends and ponies. “If I wasn’t riding my pony, I would be playing in the pond, watching other people ride or climbing trees. One of my favorite things to do was to challenge my friends to bareback races on our ponies. It went well more often than you would think,” Taylor laughed. “One time I decided we should do a downhill race. Rosie was trying to catch up with the horse we were racing; by the time we got to the bottom of the hill, we had to turn so we didn’t run into the trees. Rosie went left and I went into the tree. That memory makes me laugh today.”
Although her parents are professionals in the sport, Taylor was never forced to follow in their footsteps. “They wanted me to do whatever I was good at or enjoyed, and tried to get me involved in a lot of different things. I tried swimming, softball and theater, but I always came back to horses and enjoyed showing,” she said.
Taylor began her show career at Morgan breed shows competing in English and Western equitation. When she was 8 years old, she competed at her first event. “My first experience doing cross-country at a show was at Twin Rivers Ranch. It didn’t go amazing; I actually fell off, but I was hooked from that day,” Taylor said. “Regardless of what happens or what placement I get at an event, cross-country is always the most fun phase for me. That’s what makes three-day eventing so special, because it’s the only competition where you can do cross-country riding.”
Finding Her Prince
When Taylor was 11 years old, she leased Kilbarry Prince, a 12-year-old Connemara gelding. When Jennifer told Taylor he’d probably be going to a new home when his lease was up, Taylor came up with a plan. “I loved him so much, I thought, No one else gets to buy or lease this pony. After thinking about it for a little bit, I let my mom know I would figure out a way to make him mine,” Taylor said.
Taylor had to get creative when it came to fundraising, raising about $7,000 over the course of the summer to purchase Prince. Taylor doubled down on all things cleaning related to make money—tack, stalls, cars, she cleaned it all. In addition to cleaning everything, Taylor created and sold her own horse cookies, Pony Puffs. “Fellow eventer Robyn Fisher ordered enough Pony Puffs for her whole barn,” Taylor said.
It was through Pony Puffs that Taylor got the attention of the USEA Foundation. “The head of USEA ordered like 1,000 horse cookies from me. They were big contributors to the fundraising efforts for Prince. They’ve been supporting my career from the beginning,” Taylor said. “For the past decade, at the back of the USEA magazine, a photo of me and Prince has been used in a USEA Foundation ad to protect eventing’s future and help dreams come true.”
With her $7,000 in hand, Taylor called Prince’s owner, Leslie Kreise, and made an offer on him. Although Taylor didn’t have the full purchase price, Leslie was impressed with Taylor’s entrepreneurial efforts and agreed to sell Prince to her. “Prince was so impactful to my career, because a lot of people saw how hard I worked to get him and/or invested to help me buy him. I met a lot of really good people through Prince,” Taylor said. “It’s a testament to our community, how supportive everyone was.”
Taylor and Prince competed together at the Novice level. “I didn’t go that high with him because I was very young, but he did take me to my first Training-level event,” she said.
Team Dragonfire
Taylor always knew she’d join her parents and work at Dragonfire one day. “Rather than just have one horse that I moved up through the levels, I decided that I wanted to really help out at Dragonfire. I wanted to teach lessons and help my parents start horses,” Taylor said.
Part of what makes Taylor want to give back to the sport is the opportunities she’s had through her mom and dad hosting clinics at Dragonfire. “Not only did I ride with Hawley Bennett growing up, but thanks to my parents’ connections, I’ve been able to ride with William Fox Pitt, Lucinda Green, Boyd Martin, Philip Dutton and Susie Hutchinson. When you’re trying to ride at an upper level, you want someone who has done more than you to give you their insight. That’s what I got from these clinics,” she said. “Obviously my parents are upper-level riders who watch me ride all the time, but it’s useful to have someone who’s a high-level rider that can offer a totally different perspective.”
It’s the knowledge-sharing that inspired Taylor to be Dragonfire’s head academy instructor, which she does in addition to riding and training client horses. As the head academy instructor, Taylor coordinates most children’s activities at the farm. “I help plan all the shows we have at Dragonfire. We run schooling shows for beginner riders and anyone who wants a chance to practice having the show experience. I also run summer camps, teach all the kids and make sure we have horses and ponies for them to ride,” she said.
Taylor believes instructing others at Dragonfire makes her a better equestrian herself. “It helps me understand what I’m working on at the moment if I can explain it to others. It’s really fun to share all I’ve learned with my students,” Taylor said.
While Taylor has her own responsibilities at Dragonfire, her favorite thing about working there is the family’s team approach to the business. “When you call the farm, my grandma is who you talk to and acts as our scheduler. Mom, Dad and I teach the clients, help each other ride, watch each other and give suggestions when it comes to training. Everyone gets along really well; there’s only the occasional fake trash talk when we’re competing against each other,” Taylor chuckled.
The family doesn’t just share the workload; they’ve shared horses along the way. Taylor was fortunate to be able to compete on her mom’s five-star horse High Times at the 2019 Young Rider Championships and at a few other competitions. “He really took care of me when I did my first FEI-level events. I was really lucky to get to be his girl for a while and have him teach me,” Taylor said.
Art Ventures
When Taylor isn’t at the barn, you’re likely to find her creating commissioned portraits and personal art pieces. Much like horses, art is a family tradition. “My mom and both grandmas are all really talented artists. My paternal grandmother had one of the first woman-owned art galleries on the West Coast,” Taylor said.
In high school and college, Taylor expanded her artistic horizons and took as many art classes as she could. She works in all mediums, but especially likes painting, both with a brush on paper and digitally. “I think oil paint is really beautiful. At the moment, I’m trying to work with gouache, which is like a fancy watercolor, but it’s a bit less forgiving than oil paints,” Taylor said.
Taylor gravitates toward creating scenery pieces. “With nature you can create anything, and it can be more abstract. When people commission you to do pieces of their horses or children, you have to try to capture them exactly as they look,” Taylor said. “One of the most nerve-wracking pieces I created was a commission of a girl and her horse. I knew the parents would know every detail of their daughter’s face, so I had to get it just right.”
Taylor finds art to be a great escape. “It’s just something I do for me to rest my brain when I’m not doing horse things,” she said.
Next Generation
Taylor recently participated in the USEA Emerging Athletes U21 Program (EA21). The program identifies and develops the next generation of elite event riders. “It was really confirming to have the instructor, Rebecca Brown, give me her ideas about how to continue training my horse, Stoneman. Her insights matched what I was feeling,” Taylor said. “It was a real confidence builder to know I was on the right track.”
With the knowledge gained at EA21 in hand, Taylor is looking forward to continuing her journey with Stoneman and the young horses at Dragonfire. Thanks to Cheron and Jennifer’s interest in Dragonfire’s breeding and young-horse development program, Taylor has a lot of nice young horses in the pipeline.
Cheron’s eye for picking stallions and mares has a proven track record for producing quality eventers, show jumpers and dressage horses. “My grandma is the brains behind breeding the horses here. She’s helping put together a stable of future horses for me. I just have to get them going,” Taylor said.
Taylor credits her mom with why she loves training babies so much. “My mom has a great feel for what should be done with a horse and when they’re ready to be introduced to certain things. She’s passed that along to me,” Taylor said. “I think it’s such a special experience to be the one who breaks a horse that’s never been taught how to steer, stop or go. To be able to take a blank canvas all the way up to being able to compete is an incredibly satisfying experience.”
Whether it’s as an instructor, rider or official, Taylor hopes to always be involved in the eventing community. “So many people in the sport have helped me get to where I am today. I want to do the same for others and give back,” Taylor said. “Eventing will always be part of my life.”
Follow Taylor on Instagram @taylor_mcfall.df and @dragonfirefarm and on the web at dragonfiresporthorses.com
Photos by Lauren Ann Wagner, laurenannphoto.art
