Nora Pieters: A Living Legacy Learning From Every Ride

By Jessica Grutkowski

Portraits by Sophia Donohue

Third-generation equestrian Eleanor “Nora” Pieters’ first memory of horseback riding was falling off. “In the beginning, I wasn’t sure it was for me,” Nora said. “I was scared, and almost stopped all together.” Nora’s family wasn’t set on her riding, but felt it was their duty to give her a positive experience before she made up her mind for good.

Nora comes from a long line of equestrians. Her parents, Aster Pieters and Annie Dotoli, own Tibri Horses LLC., a 187-acre riding, hunter-jumper training and boarding facility in Chepachet, Rhode Island. Tibri originally began as a breeding farm in Dendermonde, Belgium. Nora’s grandparents, Joe and Fran Dotoli, are also professionals in the equestrian world, and remain an active part of the Tibri barn family. Naturally, everyone was hopeful Nora had inherited the “horse genes,” but they faced a big challenge in finding her the perfect pony partner to overcome her fears.

The Perfect Pony

Contrary to popular belief, some ponies are simply pure sugar. Pentimento Bay was one of the few that didn’t have a mischievous bone in his body. “Norman was a medium bay roan. He was absolutely amazing,” Nora said. “We did the Short Stirrup together, and eventually the Medium Children’s Hunter ponies. Norman was the one that got me hooked on riding.”

Norman and Nora became an amazing team, and her confidence in the show ring skyrocketed. In 2018, they won the HITS Children’s Hunter Pony Finals Championship during its inaugural year at HITS Saugerties in Hudson Valley, New York. The annual event takes place during “NY Horse & Pony Week” and follows a ‘mock’ Pony Finals competition with a three-phase format: model, flat and over fences. Scores are given in each phase, and averaged for an overall winner.

That win sparked Nora’s dreams of competing at USEF Pony Finals in Kentucky, but she was seconds from outgrowing Norman. “We were thrilled Nora wanted to compete at a national final, but we didn’t have an appropriate pony or the means to get her there without support,” Annie said.

Annie helped Nora apply for the USHJA Gochman Grant, an annual program that awards three young riders with the opportunity to attend and compete at Pony Finals. “I won the grant in 2020, but that year it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Nora said. “The Topping family had agreed to loan me their dapple grey pony, Rumple Minze, and generously allowed us to keep him in our care for the year to practice.”

In 2021, Nora and Rumple Minze returned to Kentucky Horse Park for their turn in the Rolex Ring. “We had so much fun! I realized that as a rider, you’re always learning,” she said. “It’s not about the ribbons; every pony or horse can teach you something.”

While Nora hadn’t outgrown ponies, she was strong and experienced enough to begin riding horses. The move up also meant she had a better chance of getting rides on the horses in her parents’ sales barn, and that she could finally compete at the venues she had dreamed of as a pony kid. One such venue was New England Equitation Finals (NEEC) at The Big E in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Traditions & New Challenges

Some of Nora’s fondest memories growing up are from NEEC, an event that her Grandpa Joe was instrumental in starting back in 1976. “I remember putting on my sparkly dress and fancy shoes. My younger brother, Carsten, and I would walk up and down the barn aisles to see everyone’s seasonal decorations. We even got to miss school,” she said. “Some of the barns were decorated for fall, while others would go for Halloween decor—but everyone had candy. We would grab handfuls all day long!”

Tibri had recently imported the quintessential first equitation horse, Tibri’s Graceland, aka Presley. Annie believed Presley was exactly the horse that 12-year-old Nora needed to navigate a technical finals course. It was fall 2020, and NEEC was held at Fieldstone Show Park so exhibitors could better social distance outside in the wake of COVID-19. “Presley went around with her head up in the air—kind of like a giraffe—but she kept Nora balanced. She wasn’t fancy, but she was safe and reliable. As a parent, that was all that mattered.”

Nora’s first year at NEEC was a dream come true. “I was finally one of the Tibri riders competing, and not just watching from the sidelines,” Nora said.

Heading into the winter circuit in Ocala, Florida, Nora was feeling confident in her riding and excited to take on any challenge that came her way. “I started attending Laurel Springs online school,” she said. “At first, it was challenging to manage my schoolwork, but I have since learned how to find a balance. I used Blue Ribbon Scholars for tutoring in certain subjects, like algebra.”

Tibri has a dedicated barn at Post Time Farm in Ocala, making it easy to continue its business as if it wasn’t at a horse show. “We have access to stalls, a private ring and housing, and the horse show is a short walk away,” Annie said. “It’s a great experience for our clients, and allows us to expose the young horses to show life.”

 

Nora’s parents allowed her to show some of Tibri’s sales horses, and she was asked to catch ride ponies in the hunter ring. Nora also got her first taste of the jumpers on INXS, a horse Tibri originally imported as an equitation horse. “I was finally tall enough for him, and he taught me that being brave was really fun,” she said. “You could show him the course and just hang on; he always took care of his rider.”

INXS helped Nora find her passion in the jumpers, and gave her the confidence to move up the levels in all three rings. At the end of the circuit, Nora begged her parents to let her compete in the HITS Equitation Championship, a 3’6” final where riders navigate a technical course at night without the help of a trainer. “We kept giving Nora what we thought were insurmountable goals to prevent her from doing the class, but when she nailed the 1.15m Jr/Am Classic, we decided to let her go for it,” Annie said. “She was the youngest one in the class—but she held her own!”

All in the Family

 

 

Growing up in the business, Nora has been introduced to several professionals, one of whom has become instrumental in her training. After teaching a clinic at Tibri, Olympic champion Peter Wylde, who trained under Joe and Fran as a Junior, began to take Nora under his wing and gave her lessons. “Peter’s horsemanship is unmatched. I ride non-conventional horses, and have learned immensely from his career,” Nora said. “My tendency is to dwell on mistakes. He taught me to fix them and move on.”

For Annie, having Peter as a training resource is invaluable. “He grew up riding with my parents, so his teaching style is consistent with ours—nothing too foreign,” Annie said. “Peter also helps our mother-daughter dynamic; I can step away for a moment to be ‘mom.’”

Peter’s experience in both show jumping and eventing has helped Nora expand her tool kit. “I’m passionate about the jumpers, but he taught me so much about producing a beautiful hunter derby round,” she said. “There are so many nuances, and he’s a wealth of information.”

Since those early rounds in Ocala, Nora has graduated to the 1.40/1.45m High Junior Jumpers and competed in her first National Standard Grand Prix at HITS Vermont 2025. “Ending up in the ribbons at my first Grand Prix was an unbelievable experience,” Nora said.

Nora hopes to compete in the Prix Des States at Harrisburg and the Platinum Performance/ USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Program in Gladstone, New Jersey. “The USET is a true test of the top Juniors riding at the highest level,” she said. “It feels amazing just to be there competing at the iconic USET Headquarters.”

Despite competing on some of the biggest stages, Nora still has a special place in her heart for NEEC. “It will always be my favorite horse show. My dad has already started planning our decorations for this year!” she said.

A big part of NEEC is the Katie Battison Horsemanship Challenge, an optional phase for competitors—but not for Tibri riders. “It’s a tradition, and we’re very competitive. Fran makes sure everyone is prepared and is incredibly hands on,” Annie said. To Fran’s delight, Nora has won the Horsemanship Challenge—three times.

Winners are determined based on their combined scores on the written exam and practicum, and their over-fences in the final. In 2024, Nora finished third overall in the Junior Medal out of 194 riders aboard Tibri’s Goodfella, and won the Horsemanship Challenge for the second time. This has only happened once before in the 50-year history of the event. Then, she followed it up with another win in 2025.

Last fall, Nora competed at the Talent Search Finals and was fifth individually in the Prix de States Junior Jumper Championship at Harrisburg. She also committed to ride for the University of Georgia D1 NCEA equestrian team following her high school graduation. “I don’t want to have long-term goals yet. It’s very rare to go to the Olympics,” she said. “I’ve been to Belgium and hope to live and work in Europe. I would also love to compete internationally.”

Nora plans to become a professional and follow in her family’s footsteps. Someday, Nora also hopes to teach the next generation the joy of horses, and to help shy children be brave through riding. At only 16 years old, Nora has ridden more horses than many riders will get to in a lifetime. “I’m lucky to ride so many horses, but sometimes I wish I could hold onto some of them longer,” she said. “The business has taught me that when a horse gets sold, it’s a huge compliment, and when it succeeds with its next rider, that’s the ultimate reward.”

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Photos by Sophia Donohue, sophiadonohuephotography.com