Story and Portraits by Jennifer DeMaro
Picture a suburban neighborhood in Jackson, Mississippi, with a large yard, a miniature barn with fencing and a miniature horse named Little River in it. Cedar Potts-Warner grew up living every young girl’s dream of having her own pony in her backyard. Cedar’s mom worked tirelessly to obtain a permit to keep a miniature horse within city limits, igniting Cedar’s lifelong passion for horses.
When Cedar was 12, it became evident to her mother that her love for horses was unwavering. “I can’t say where the passion for horses came from exactly, but I can say it has always been there,” Cedar said. “Dale Rose was my first instructor, and she provided me with a strong foundation in dressage and balanced seat riding.”
Majestic Lad & Potts-Warner, Cedar
During summer camps, Cedar discovered her fondness for designing and performing quadrilles. Fast forward to today, she loves designing dressage freestyles, from the patterns to the music. Cedar was also introduced to jumping, driving and natural horsemanship early on in her career.
After graduating from college in 2009, Cedar embarked on her professional career as a working student at JP Giacomini’s farm, Equus Academy, located in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Through dedication and hard work, she gradually climbed the ranks and is now a full-time trainer at the academy. “I feel fortunate to have found training early in my adulthood that just made sense to me,” Cedar said. Over the course of 14 years, she has evolved into the instructor she is today, earning her USDF Gold medal and gold freestyle bar.
Passion for Horses
While Cedar has had the opportunity to work with various horse breeds, it was JP that introduced her to the world of Lusitanos and Andalusians. The academy’s careful breeding program has allowed them to produce beautiful, athletic horses with excellent character and work ethic. “It has been an exceptional place to learn as I’ve been able to work with horses from foals all the way up to Grand Prix school masters,” Cedar said.
Cedar’s passion for horses, supported by her parents during her upbringing, is now also supported by her husband, Phillip. “Phillip not only provides unwavering support but also encourages me to step outside my comfort zone and continually strive for personal and professional growth,” she said. Though her husband is by her side each day, her mom has continued supporting her and stepping in when she can by caring for the horses and acting as Cedar’s personal groom at horse shows.
Cedar competed in the 2016 RRP Thoroughbred Makeover with her first purchased horse, Majestic Lad. They competed in freestyle, and all their hard work paid off as they placed second after the final round. “We went for an elegant dressage format including half-passes, piaffe and the Spanish walk,” Cedar said. Majestic’s breeders and race owners had come to support the ride, and they were over the moon that Cedar was in first place after the preliminary round. “We ended up placing second after the final round, so maybe not a win, but still one of my most memorable moments,” Cedar said.
“I mostly compete in Western Dressage with him now, where we compete at Level 5, the highest offered level,” Cedar added. In 2022 they won reserve champion at the Thoroughbred Incentive Program Championships. “Majestic is the horse I jump on bareback and go for a walk down the road with when I need a mental break,” she said. “As much as we help horses, horses help us, and he keeps my heart full.”
After getting Majestic’s second career started, Cedar’s pursuits of success continued with her successful wins at the 2020 USDF Regional Championships. Riding two homebred full brothers from Equus Academy, JP Orion and JP Zorro, she showcased her expertise in the Intermediate II, Grand Prix freestyle and Grand Prix championship classes. Their performances led them to win champion or reserve titles in most of the classes. “It was a pretty cool feeling, and so fun to do all the award ceremonies and to have achieved this success on horses that I had been involved with for 11 years,” she said.
Competing Bridleless
Through her significant role in his training, Cedar developed a strong connection with Zorro that allowed her to explore liberty work with him. “One winter I hopped onto Zorro bareback for a quick ride and at JP’s request, rode him bridleless,” Cedar said. Zorro was very responsive to everything Cedar asked of him while bridleless and in 2019, they competed in the first International Liberty Horse Association’s championships at the Kentucky Horse Park, where they won the freestyle and received the Heath Harris Horsemanship award.
“That was just a fun event, riding around the Kentucky Horse Park bridleless,” Cedar said. One of her big disappointments was that she was to perform with Zorro in the nightly show of the 2020 Equine Affaire in Ohio, but the event was canceled that year because of the pandemic.
Although showing is an important part of Cedar’s business, her true passion lies in training horses and teaching students of all levels. “Every horse I’ve worked with has given me some little piece of education and I feel that has helped me develop my skill and find success,” she said. One of Cedar’s longtime horse client relationships is with a beautiful Lusitano cross named Joplin. “After posting a video online of Majestic Lad doing piaffe and passage movements in 2018, Joplin’s owner, Keri Hall of Bent Tree Farm in Georgia, found me. Keri liked what she saw, which launched my clinician career and we are up to four clinics a year at her farm.”
Cedar embraces diversity in her horsemanship and she regularly teaches clinics, participates in expos and competes in English and Western shows. She is also engaged in various activities outside the arena, including gardening, traveling and writing. “I would love to write a foundational training manual based on all my experiences one day. I find having faith in yourself and the process is an important attribute to share with others,” Cedar said.
Time is a very precious commodity, and Cedar, alongside her husband, Phillip, takes pleasure in walking their two dogs, Ranger and Daisy, around the neighborhood. Cedar has made a conscious decision not to own a farm at this point in her career. “Not owning my own farm allows me the freedom to prepare and travel for clinics and shows. I’ve been able to immerse myself in my development as a teacher and trainer,” she said, adding that owning a farm one day is her dream but for now, continuing her professional growth is at the forefront.
Cedar has come a long way since her childhood days of keeping a miniature horse in her suburban backyard. Despite the unpredictability of horses and life, Cedar remains steadfast in her goals and embodies the sentiment that doing what one loves leads to a fulfilling and purposeful life. “My primary aspiration is to continue learning and developing myself,” she said, “for the sake of the horses I train and the students that I teach.”
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Photos by Jennifer DeMaro Photography, unless noted otherwise
