Lucy Donohue: A Full-Circle Journey

By Sarah Welk Baynum

Portraits by Sophia Donohue

Life has a way of leading us back to where it all began—and for Lucy Donohue, that place was a horse farm called Southlands in Rhinebeck, New York. After years of building her own path, Lucy’s career has come full circle as a professional riding instructor.

Along the way, she’s taught riding students who grew up alongside her, juggled motherhood with the demands of her career and realized her dream of competing in the Grand Prix ring. Now, back where it all began, Lucy preserves the grassroots magic of Southlands while simultaneously guiding the next generation of riders to success in the show ring.

Horses first entered Lucy’s life thanks to her mother, who rode casually when she was young. While their mom never cared for competition, her daughters were the exact opposite—incredibly competitive. “She preferred being at home at the barn, but she spent most of her adult life at horse shows instead, giving us everything so we could chase our dreams,” Lucy said.

In Lucy’s early riding years, her mother would drive them from their home on Staten Island to lessons an hour away in New Jersey. But when Lucy was around 9 years old, her family moved to upstate New York—and it was life-changing for her.

Equestrian Journey

They discovered the Southlands Foundation—a nonprofit horse farm on the Hudson River—where 200 acres, ponies and a mission to teach children to ride laid the foundation of her equestrian journey. “I really grew up there,” Lucy said. “The whole purpose of Southlands was to teach kids how to ride—it’s a true lesson barn and such a spectacular place.”

By the time she was 15 years old, Lucy began teaching riding lessons of her own to young students just learning to ride. Lucy’s first steps into teaching came thanks to Southlands trainer Susie Williams, who saw her potential and gave her the chance to learn from the ground up.

“Susie was the at-home trainer at Southlands—she taught almost all the lessons when I was little,” Lucy said. “One day she told me, ‘Just stay in the ring with me and I’ll teach you how to teach.’ I spent a year learning from her, helping with everyone from adults to the tiniest riders, and that’s how I started teaching.”

While teaching was always part of her career plan, it became a far more immersive role than Lucy ever anticipated. “When I was younger, I wanted to be a Grand Prix jumper—because why would you want to do anything else, right?” she said. “I knew teaching would be part of the journey, but I never imagined how significant a role it would play in my career. I started teaching as a teenager, and over the years, the kids I’ve taught have become like my own family. They’ve grown up with me, and I’ve grown up with them—through so many seasons of my life.”

Even while she was away at college, Lucy never drifted far from Southlands—returning to teach and ride whenever she came home. After graduation, she stepped seamlessly into the role of professional instructor at the very place where her journey began. “When I started my professional career at Southlands, they gave me every opportunity to build an amazing business,” Lucy said.

What began with summer camps and taking her students to local shows soon grew into a decision to attend larger competitions. “I’ll never forget showing up at Garden State for the first time with a trailer full of ponies that didn’t even have USEF numbers. I had no idea what I was doing—I was making up names on the spot. But we figured it out, and soon I had a whole group of kids who wanted to show. I’d hold little meetings to teach them how to braid, put on hairnets and get ready for the day. Over time, that group grew from kids just starting on crossrails to showing at bigger venues like HITS.”

Thanks to Southlands’ horses, Lucy was able to chase some of her own riding dreams even after she was no longer a Junior rider. “I’ve ridden some incredible horses, and almost all my connections to them came through Southlands,” she said. “After I aged out, I didn’t have a horse of my own, but I started riding an amazing Thoroughbred named Buck. His jockey club name was This Buck’s For Me, and he looked exactly like Seabiscuit. No one had worked with him at Southlands for five years, but I started riding him and we ended up competing together successfully in the 4’ hunters.”

On Her Own

More than a decade later, in her early 30s, Lucy felt it was time for a change. In 2017, she took the leap and went out on her own, launching her own teaching and riding business. “The only reason I was able to go out on my own and be successful was because of everything Southlands taught me,” Lucy said. “They made sure I was ready to walk out their door and run a real business. But it was also heartbreaking, because deep down, I still wanted to succeed there. I reached a point at that age where I felt like I needed to prove I could do it on my own.”

When Lucy struck out on her own, many of her students and their families followed. “Most of the students that came with me were show kids, since I was the show contingency at Southlands,” Lucy said. “Many of them were also just little kids when they started riding with me. Now, some are about to graduate from high school. Another of my riders is already in college, competing in amateur jumpers, and I started her on a little pony at the age of 2.”

Around this time, Lucy also achieved her childhood dream of competing in the Grand Prix ring, thanks to a special horse named Ray. “Renee, a student who started riding later in life, wanted to finally own a horse and purchased Ray, a 15.2-hand Belgian Warmblood,” Lucy said. “We thought he would be a nice children’s or adult jumper, but he just kept jumping bigger. Before long, I was riding him in national Grand Prix—Ray gave me my first taste of the big rings. People loved to watch him because he was so unusual. You couldn’t warm him up in the high-traffic warmup rings, so I’d jump once and go into the ring. He carried me through two or three seasons of Grand Prix, and he’s truly a sweet, willing horse.”

Lucy spent most of her time running her business while traveling and staying at shows.  During her time out on her own, Lucy also learned to balance life as a new mother with her career. “Lincoln was born in November 2017, and a month later, I was in Florida for the winter circuit,” said Lucy. “Balancing both was hard, but my students were incredible—they carried or walked my son around the show grounds while I was teaching or riding.”

Mom Life & Full Circle

Shortly after Lincoln was born, a horse Lucy was riding tripped in a field and flipped over, breaking Lucy’s collarbone. “As awful as that was, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The injury forced me to slow down and be a mom to my newborn, which I don’t think I would have allowed myself otherwise,” she said. “By March, I was back in the show ring, but I really enjoyed that time with him.”

In 2020, Lucy was offered an unexpected opportunity that allowed her to spend less time traveling and have a home-based barn to return to in her home town after shows. “There was a woman whose little boys rode with me at Southlands, and she always talked about turning this old, run-down boarding school nearby into a barn,” Lucy said. “Decades later, she called me and said, ‘I finished it.’ I ended up moving most of my horses there after that. Sadly, she passed away from cancer not long after. However, she did get to see it complete, thriving and as a working barn—and that meant everything.”

In November 2024, Lucy received a call that once again changed the course of her life, bringing her career full circle—Southlands asked if she would return as head trainer. “I learned so much by going out on my own, and it gave me the confidence to know I could do it without anyone else,” said Lucy. “I might want the support, but I don’t need it—and that changed my whole outlook when I returned to Southlands. Now I feel like I can make a bigger difference here, and that’s a wonderful feeling. Southlands has always been another place people can call home, and it’s important to preserve it as a safe, happy place for people who need it.”

Going back to Southlands also came full circle for Lucy in another way—with the return of the former Southlands barn manager. “When I was growing up at Southlands, we had this young barn manager named Jen, and we idolized her,” Lucy said. “She was in her early 20s, and to us she was the coolest person ever. As I got older, I realized she wasn’t just cool—she was one of the best horsewomen I’ve ever met. When Southlands asked me to come back last November, I said I’d do it only if they would ask Jen to come back too. I never imagined she’d say yes, but she did. Now she’s back, and it feels like everything has come full circle—like I’ve truly come home.”

Sometimes it’s the seemingly unimportant parts of growing up in a barn like Southlands that you later realize shaped you into the rider—and person—you are today. For Lucy, Southlands provided her with experiences such as the pony field and life lessons that have shaped her into who she is.

“Southlands has this huge field we called the pony field, and our job as kids was to catch ponies, ride them and usually fall off at least once,” Lucy said. “They weren’t fancy ponies, but we took them to shows anyway and did everything ourselves. Our ponies lived out in the field together, and to us it just made sense that they’d share a stall too. Everyone else would look at us like, ‘What are they doing?’ but it never even crossed our minds that it wasn’t the way to do it. To us, Tiffany and Raspberry obviously belonged in the same stall.”

Another experience was a time a man came by with a pony in a trailer, asking to trade it for a saddle. “The pony turned out to be pregnant, and we had a lot of fun playing with her foal. But those pony experiences were priceless,” Lucy said. “They gave all of us opportunities we never could have afforded otherwise, and that’s what made Southlands so special. Even now, we’re trying to preserve that—a place where kids can ride, learn and belong, even if they’ll never buy or lease a pony from us.”

Today, Lucy continues preserving the hands-on, grassroots spirit of Southlands’ past while also giving kids the opportunity to participate in both local and rated competitions. “Back when I was growing up showing here, we would sign up for the pony we wanted to show and then beg our parents to half-lease it, so we knew we’d get a turn,” she said. “Sometimes at the last minute we’d have to switch ponies, and there were plenty of tears, but that grassroots experience shaped us. With my students, I want to provide them with the best of both worlds. At shows, their horses are in full care, but when we come home, they still have to trek out to the pony field, catch a pony and ride it—sometimes even riding an auction pony I probably got bamboozled on. That balance keeps them grounded.”

Lucy also strives to make every competition experience memorable for her students—even if it’s just a one-day schooling show. “Some families only have the time or money for a quick one-day show, and that’s all they’ll ever do,” Lucy said. “But that doesn’t mean it can’t still be a great experience—and that’s something I work hard to make sure they have.”

Follow Lucy on Instagram @lrdonohue

Photos by Sophia Donohue, sophiadonohuephotography.com