Kelly Nolte
Salisbury, MD

Biography

First I want to let you know a little bit about myself and my qualifications. I have been riding since I was four years old. I was one of those lucky little girls that got a pony for her birthday and I never stopped! I started taking formal riding lessons at the age of eight and started Pony Club shortly after. I competed very successfully in Pony Club until I was twelve. In high school I started showing on the local hunter/jumper circuit and then moved to Virginia to compete on the A circuit. I've also shown in the Arabian circuit, AQHA, and APHA. In 1999, I completed the year long John Lyons Certification program in natural horsemanship and began my career as a professional. Since then I have continued showing and coaching successfully in the hunters, jumpers, and dressage. However, my career was just getting started when I met Lynn Palm and Cyril Pittion-Rossillon.

I first saw Lynn Palm at the Maryland Horse Expo in 2003. I was so excited about the knowledge she shared that I immediately signed up for a Dressage Principles school that summer. The greatest thing I learned that week was that I didn't know enough! I needed to learn more and I was ready and eager to learn everything Lynn and Cyril had to offer. I continued going to Michigan and Florida twice a year for schools and private lessons. I have enjoyed so much working individually with both Lynn and Cyril. When Cyril first approached me about the Palm Partnership Affiliates program I was elated! I was so honored that I was invited to participate in this program. I am even more honored to have completed it and to be able to teach using the Dressage Principles.

Currently, I own and operate Brooke Clare Farm on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Brooke Clare Farm is an equine education center that offers its students a variety of opportunities. My mission is to provide a safe and fun atmosphere for all horse enthusiasts to learn and to achieve their goals. My students and I have also just started a club for young riders called Kel's Bels. Though riding is an individual sport, we compete and train as a team, helping and supporting each other at every level. We also travel together to other horse related events: expos, clinics, movies, trail rides, and more. My students range from the casual trail rider to the serious competitor and from the age of four to sixty four!

I am not just a riding instructor, but am also a rider and competitor. I value my continuing education in equestrian sports and feel that it contributes greatly to my effectiveness as an instructor. I will continue to work with Lynn and Cyril, accepting any challenge they give me!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Contact Information
Kelly Nolte
114 May Dr
Salisbury MD 21804
443 944 0116
brookeclarefarm@comcast.net

Testimonial
My daughter, Erin, has been riding since she was six years old.  Her first pony was a well seasoned, veteran show pony and a perfect partner to help her learn basic riding skills.  They performed very well in area hunter-jumper shows and collected many ribbons along the way.   Sadly, little girls very quickly out-grow their first pony!

In 2006 we purchased Cody, a well-mannered paint mare from one of the boarders in our barn.  Cody was eight years old and had been used for trail riding, with very little formal training.   Under saddle she was quite tense, most likely a result of her previous owner not being a very balanced or kind rider.

I contacted Kelly to help me because I knew that with her combined experience with both Palm Partnership Training and John Lyons Training, Cody would be in good hands.   With Kelly’s patience and persistence, Cody has come a very long way in the past year.  With Kelly’s training and guidance both on the ground and under saddle, Cody is now a pleasure to ride!  She is balanced, on the bit and attentive and responsive to the aids.  She is also demonstrating that she loves to jump and is doing quite well at our local shows!

Not only has Cody come a long way, but Kelly has also helped Erin become a more balanced and confident rider.  Kelly is quick to compliment and encourage good behaviors, and breaks down elements that need work in easy to understand steps.  

Kelly has also helped me become a much better rider.  She was faced with the challenge of helping a middle-aged rider with limited amounts of time and lots of bad riding habits.   Thanks to Kelly’s guidance and patience, I’ve come a long way in perfecting my riding skills…. With still a long way to go!   Thank you for everything, Kelly!

Teri & Erin Monahan
Dakota K Buck Ridge (Cody)
Eden, MD

Kris Carey
LaPointe, WI

Biography
Let me introduce myself, my name is Kris Carey.  Horses have been a passion of mine since I was a child.  Ad a kid, I rode at summer camps, but I was not totally able to fulfill this dream until I became an adult.  Over 15 years ago, I started my pursuit of riding.  From my very first lesson I was hooked.  Finally realizing my dream, I knew instantly that I would make learning to ride and understand horses a life long pursuit. 

Being a beginner to riding, my first instructors, in hindsight, were adequate but not excellent.  If someone was a better instructor then another, I did not have enough experience to know.  What I did know however, was that I wasn’t progressing.  Frankly, the true basics of riding were completely overlooked in my instruction. 

My luck changed when I made a move from southern WI to northern WI.  Who would have thought I would have the good fortune of finding riding instructor Cyril Pittion-Rossillon and Lynn Palm.  After my very first lesson with Cyril, I knew I had found a teacher that had more passion for what he did then any other I had experienced.  His enthusiasm for teaching was amazing.  We started at the beginning learning what I was not taught before.  Eventually, all the hard work paid off when I was able to compete in USAE and USDF recognized competitions successfully.  Who would have thought riding could bed so much fun!!!!

Twelve years later, I now own and operate Hippophile Farm.  At Hippophile Farm it is our mission to pass on well founded principles of horsemanship, whatever the students goals may be, whatever the discipline.  From learning to properly care for your horse to the skills required to get into the show ring.  It is my belief that the knowledge we gain is nothing if we don’t share it.  By sharing this knowledge through teaching, we can make the world a better place, especially for our equine friends. 

Teaching riders and training horses has not only fulfilled the need to give back what I learned, but it has also given my something I never realized, patience.  Without patience, you never get to see a horse and rider understand a true partnership.  And for that lesson, I am eternally grateful. 

Testimonial
When we moved to Madeline Island four years ago, I promised my daughter that she could have riding lessons.  I knew that I had a great opportunity on hand because Hippophile Farm was right there in our backyard.  My daughter, Emma, started to ride and I was very impressed with how Kris managed our young beginner of nine years old.  Safety has always been a key factor with her steady instruction.  Kris always makes sure a task is learned thoroughly without letting the lesson become repetitive.  She is always able to find new exercises to keep thing interesting for both horse and rider.  She remembers to keep a light attitude and always end on a positive note.  Emma has a nice solid position that has moved on to dressage and now some jumping.  Kris has been a good mentor for Emma and has taught her everything about horsemanship, horse care and stable manners.  When Emma was ready, she helped us find our first horse.  Finding Larry gave me the excuse to try riding again after many years.  Kris has been as patient with me, a fifty year old Saddlebred person with lots of old bad habits, as she has been with Emma.  Though Kris has high expectations of us, she understands how kids grow and change and how my life and work sometimes takes precedence over my riding.  She has helped us both through the learning process and Emma is starting to show.  Kris helped us find our second horse as well as we just keep getting more and more involved with this great life-long sport. 

From Emma’s point of view
About four summer ago my Mom got me started riding with Kris.  I began learning the basics of riding on her 28 year old school horse.  Within the next year, Kris said I was ready to get my own horse and she and my Mom found Larry.  Larry and I have been through troubles but Kris has helped us along the way.  She taught me jumping on my Mom’s horse Keeper, who she also helped us find, and her own horse Dakota.  I’ve also learned the basics of dressage.  We’ve worked on balance and position as well.  Kris helped me get into my first EZ Riders show that helped me understand the show world.  Last summer, I worked at Kris’s barn, helping her with basic needs around the barn.  Kris has been an excellent teacher and I’ve had a great time at Hippophile Farm. 

Cindy and Emma Dalzell

Jennifer Schultz
Berlin, WI

Biography
Ever since I can remember my dream was to have my very own horse. When I was growing up my parents could not afford to provide me with one or to send me to a stable for lessons.

When I became an adult my passion for wanting a horse was even stronger than when I was a kid. I found a stable that allowed me to ride in exchange for work.  I had no idea what I was doing but knew that being on a horse was going to be a part of the rest of my life.

After working there for a few years I purchased my first horse, a leopard appaloosa named Hopi. He was absolutely perfect to me. I was basically a trail rider and had no interest in anything else. Until one day, someone told me Hopi would do well in dressage and I should give it a try. I was hooked after my first dressage show. I couldn’t get enough of it!

My husband and decided to buy our own farm in the fall of 2000. I started to board horses and teach basic horsemanship. I wanted to learn so much about horses, training and teaching. I would go to clinics and take lessons, but I still felt like I was missing so much and I wasn’t getting any of my questions answered.

In the summer of 2001 I signed up for a week of training at Royal Palm Ranch in Bessemer, Michigan. I had no idea what it was going to be like and I did not know much about Lynn Palm and Cyril Pittion-Rossillon. I was very nervous and unsure.
After the first day of riding and listening to their principles of training and teaching I was hooked!! I finally found what I was looking for!! All my questions were getting answered and I started to understand how and why I wasn’t communicating with my horse correctly.

I continued to go to their schools in Michigan every summer and started to take private lessons from Cyril when I could. I was then invited to their Bronze Level Affiliation week. This was very exciting for me and I am looking forward to this new chapter in my career to continue my training and teaching.

After finishing and passing the first Bronze Level Affiliation, I am excited to share these principles with my students and to use these training tools to build a better partnership with my new equine partner Chiron.

Contact Information
Jennifer Schultz
Heritage Acres Farm
Home:  (920) 361-3911
Cell:  (920) 585-1341
Email:  info@heritageacresfarm.net
Website:  www.heritageacresfarm.net
Services:  Training, Riding Lessons and Boarding
Please visit my website for more information and rates!

Testimonials

When my daughter, Alex, started taking riding lessons with Jenn a year and a half ago, we had tried many different instructors, none of which we felt good about. The first time Alex met Jenn, I knew they were going to connect. Alex's confidence and skill have grown tremendously since then. I feel comfortable with Jenn because I know that she always puts safety first and doesn't push her students to do things that they aren't physically or emotionally ready for. I can see the respect Alex has for Jenn and I feel

Jenn also respects her students. Jenn teaches that hard work and persistence pay off, and it sure is obvious when I watch my daughter ride!

From Alex's point of view:  When I get a lesson from Jenn I feel I really get a lot accomplished. I can tell she knows what she's talking about because when she gives me suggestions to try on my horse, they always work. Jenn is always there to help whenever I need it. Even if I'm not at a lesson, I can call her for advice. She's genuinely interested in the progress that I'm making with my riding; she doesn't just do it for the money. When I do well at a horse show, she's just as excited as me and when I don't do well, she's there to encourage me.

Anne and Alex Forres

In August of 2005 I contacted Jennifer Schultz after seeing an ad in the paper for dressage training.  I had been training with someone else for 10 years currently training second level dressage and showing first level.  I felt that I was not progressing in my training and so I contacted Jenn and my husband and I went to meet her.  Her barn turned out to be only 20 minutes from my house.  Since I keep my horses at home and haul them to training, this is a tremendous savings in gas for me as before I was driving 50 minutes one way.  In speaking with Jenn, we were both very impressed with her philosophy and knowledge and I decided to go to her. At the age of 57 this was hard as change is difficult for me and my previous trainer was also a good friend.

I can’t tell you how much Jenn’s training has changed my riding and my horse Bailey’s Irish Crème, an AQHA/TB cross.  The Palm Partnership Training she has taught me has improved my riding and my horse tremendously.  Bailey had surgery for a sarcoid tumor in June of 2005 so had the summer off.  The previous year I worked on training and took a year off of showing.  I showed in my first show in 2 ½  years in September 2006.  Before this my horse was always on the forehand and never working from behind.  As a rider, I was always trying to pull him together to keep him on the bit.  I never rode him without spurs because I could not keep him going.  I now ride with my seat and legs and my hands are steady and soft. I do not need to use spurs.  He is on the vertical and working from behind.  My comments from the judge were that he was balanced from back to front with good thrust from behind.  I have never had comments like that in my life! Due to his just coming back from surgery the previous year, we showed in Training 3 and First 1. We came home with two ribbons, a third and a fifth, but more importantly I had the validation that my decision to change trainers was the right one for me and my horses.

I also have a Friesian, Morgan, TB cross, Isabella, who I started last year at age 4.  I have been taking her to Jenn’s for training and she is coming along beautifully.  I am so impressed with Jenn’s concepts and have high hopes of taking this horse into our first show next year.  I know with Jenn’s training we can do it! 

I now feel like a completely different rider and my horse Bailey is a balanced and  willing partner.  I am thoroughly convinced that it is due to the Palm Partnership Training Program and your wonderful trainer Jennifer Schultz.  Please accept my grateful thanks.

Jeanne Strublic
Bailey’s Irish Crème & Isabella Morado
Wautoma, Wisconsin