EAP Regional and National Training Session

Born in Portland, Oregon, Jeff Cook rode the Pacific Northwest show scene with Don and Joan (Curtin) Kerron. With sincere desire to grow in the world of training, he then relocated to Toronto for an opportunity to work with Hugh Graham, one of Canada's most successful show jumping competitors, which lasted several years. His growth in the field was significant under Hugh, so Jeff returned to Oregon and the Lake Oswego Hunt Club in Portland to develop him. Jeff is a terminal learner and has trained with the best in order to continue growing and developing into the person he is known to be today; a man with great knowledge, experience, patience and compassion.

A bit about Jeff's training – From 1986 to 1991, he was offered an opportunity to work with George Morris on the east coast and states, “To work for George and have the chance to learn directly from him for 5 years was priceless. His horses, his system, his approach to competing were eye opening and inspiring to a young professional.” – Jeff

He then went on to the St. Louis area to work with Carl and Lolly Hogan for 7 years (1991- 1998). He then went back to work for George Morris for another five years followed by working with Ira Gumberg in Wellington. At this time, a demand for clinic requests grew and Jeff began traveling around the country offering a variety of clinics that were in demand. Eventually, Jeff returned to Oregon where he started riding the Kilkenny Crest horses for Doug and Sheri Boyd. As clinic requests grew Jeff didn't feel he could do justice to the horses under his care, so he made the decision to devote his professional life to running clinics.

The most important aspect of Jeff's life and what contributes to his patience and tolerance is that his wife and children. Though frequently on the road teaching lessons, attending shows, or giving clinics, Jeff always puts his wife and three children first. "My kids and wife Loriel are my life, especially as I grow older. I have one son, Ryan and twin girls, Mia and Ellie. Ryan plays both baseball and football and one of the most fun things I do is go to his practices and games. I take the girls to school every morning and we get a chance to talk about all kinds of things. Kids their ages are really smart and great conversationalists. They all ride horses a little but only for fun and pleasure." – Jeff

The devotion to family is evident in his teaching, adding a personable touch and element of relatability to lesson and clinic participants. This style has helped both riders and horses win championships from South Hampton to Spruce Meadows, be they low level hunters or international Grand Prix's. Despite a hectic training, clinic and show schedule Jeff has also contributed numerous articles to Practical Horseman magazine. Including, but not limited to a 28 part series on starting horses over fences.

Joe Fargis first represented the U.S. in 1970 in Lucerne, Switzerland, where he rode Bonte II on the winning Nations' Cup team. He is best known for his double Gold Medal performance at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games riding Touch of Class. He became only the second American show jumper to win an Olympic individual Gold Medal, while leading the U.S. to the team Gold as well. He rode Touch of Class to an Olympic record that year by jumping 90 out of 91 obstacles clear. Four years later, Fargis added a third Olympic medal to his collection when he rode Mill Pearl and helped the U.S. win team Silver at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, and finished seventh individually. Over the years, he has ridden on more than 30 Nations' Cup teams and was part of winning teams at Aachen, Washington, New York, Calgary, Rome and Cannes.

Fargis won the USA-East World Cup League twice and finished fourth in the 1989 World Cup Final in Tampa. He was the Leading International Rider at the National Horse Show in Madison Square Garden in 1987. He was also a member of the Gold Medal team at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City, and the fourth place team at the 1990 World Championships held as part of the initial World Equestrian Games in Stockholm, Sweden.

Fargis's string of grand prix wins is equally impressive. He won such notable events as the American Gold Cup in Devon, PA; the Hickstead Grand Prix in England; the USET Wellington Cup; the Ox Ridge Grand Prix; the Grand Prix of Tampa; and the I Love New York Grand Prix in Lake Placid. Continuing to compete well into his fifties, Fargis added more wins in the first decade of the new millennium including the I Love New York Grand Prix; the $175,000 Grand Prix of the U.S. at the Oaks Blenheim International CSI***; and the $100,000 Hampton Classic Grand Prix. Already a USHJA Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Fargis was most recently honored in January by the USEF as its 2012 recipient of the Jimmy A. Williams Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his outstanding equestrian career.

Equally respected and admired by the full spectrum of the show jumping world as a rider and instructor, Fargis continues to be a favorite at every event he attends. USHJA is honored to have him serve as an Emerging Athletes Program clinician in 2013.

Cynthia Hankins was a junior equitation star, having placed in the top ten of several equitation finals before winning the American Horse Show Association Medal Finals in 1975. Cynthia has spent much of her professional career traveling between the U.S. and France, where she rides and trains at a top breeding farm. Many of her students have gone on to become successful professionals within the hunter/jumper industry.

Cynthia holds a USEF R-rated judge's license in both Hunter and Hunter Seat Equitation, has judged numerous shows in the U.S. and France, and several equitation finals including the 2011 American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Maclay Finals at the National Horse Show in Lexington, KY.

In addition to judging and training, Cynthia shares her knowledge and expertise with riders as a top clinician and in the articles she contributes to publications such as The Chronicle of the Horse and Practical Horseman.

Peter Wylde's equestrian career has spanned multiple continents and includes impressive victories on both sides of the pond. As a young rider based in Massachusetts, Peter won the prestigious ASPCA Maclay Finals and the IHSA Cacchione Cup before turning his focus to show jumping.

Peter, recently returned to the U.S. after spending the last decade in Germany, won both individual and team silver medals with Macanudo DeNiro at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg and has earned leading rider titles from some of the world's top shows, including the Washington International (U.S.)and the CSI-W Geneva (CH).

Fein Cera was Peter's mount for the 2002 World Equestrian Games, where her performance captured the ‘Best Horse in the Final' award, as voted on by the final four riders. Fein Cera and Peter were also the top U.S. pair in the 2003 FEI World Rankings and Peter was named Leading Rider at CSI-W Geneva. The pair was third in both the Grands Prix at CSI Brussels and CSI Leeuwarden. Peter picked up ribbons at all the major shows throughout the 2003 fall European seasons with Lipton de L'Othain, Fein Cera and Let's Fly.

In 2007, on U.S. soil, Peter won the Welcome Stake and was third in the Grand Prix with Esplanade at the Fidelity Investments Jumper Classic in Hamilton, MA. He won the Style of Riding Award at the American Gold Cup in Cleveland, OH and in the fall, placed both Eslpanade and Campino in the top five at the CSI-W Lexington (KY).

As the Individual Bronze medalist from the 2002 World Equestrian Games and a Team Gold medalist from the 2004 Olympics, Peter's resume shines with experience.

In 2013, Peter Wylde joined the team of Missy Clark and John Brennan at their world-class show stable at North Run. Their operations are based primarily in Wellington, FL, during the winter show season and in Warren, VT, during the summer months. Peter's horses and riders continue to be successful throughout the U.S. and abroad. His inspirational and successful career is the subject of the book "Wylde Ride" by Joe Dotoli.

Peter was the first EAP National Training Session Riding Clinician. It is his passion and commitment to the sport, love for the horses and enthusiasm for teaching that drew him to the Emerging Athletes Program.

The USHJA is proud to have Peter Wylde return as the Lead Clinician at the EAP National Training Session for the fifth straight year. His commitment and dedication to the program is clearly evident in the training and advice he gives to the young riders at the Finals and through his volunteerism as the Vice Chair of the Emerging Athletes Task Force.

Julie Winkel is one of the foremost trainers, judges, clinicians and educators in the country. She's held her United States Equestrian Federation R-rated judging licenses in Hunter, Hunter Breeding and Hunter/Jumping Seat Equitation since 1984 and has presided over many of the country's most prestigious horse shows, such as Devon, the Pennsylvania National, Washington International, the National, Capital Challenge, the USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship, the USEF Pony Finals and the USEF/Sallie B. Wheeler National Hunter Breeding Championships, just to name few.

Julie has also designed courses and judged the ASPCA Maclay Finals, the Dover/USEF Medal Finals (on multiple occasions) and the New England Equitation Championships.

Julie is one of the first United States Hunter Jumper Association Certified Trainers and has trained and shown hunters and jumpers to the top levels, nationally and internationally. She has many Grand Prix show jumping wins as well as hunter championships throughout her career and continues to compete today.

She's also a committed volunteer to the sport and has served on many committees and task forces. Julie was the co-chair of the USEF Licensed Officials Committee for a decade. She's also former chair of the USEF Continuing Education Committee as well the USHJA Officials Education Committee and former member of the USHJA Board of Directors. She's currently a member of the USHJA Emerging Athletes Program Committee and past member of the USHJA Trainer Certification Program Committee, the USHJA Judges Committee, the USEF and USHJA Equitation Committees, USHJA Trainer Symposium Task Force and the USHJA Zone 10 Jumper Committee. 

In addition, Julie is a sought-after clinician who travels the country teaching riding and horsemanship. She wrote the monthly column "Conformation Clinic" for Practical Horseman magazine for more than 10 years and currently contributes to USHJA In Stride, The Chronicle of the Horse, EquestrianCoach.com and many other publications.

Julie owns and operates Maplewood Stables Inc., a 200-acre training, showing, sales and breeding facility in Reno, Nevada. Maplewood stands three stallions, Cartouche Z, Good To Know and Osilvis.  

Julia Hogan has been part of the horse industry since a very young age. She has ridden hunter/jumpers all her life, and her father has been a thoroughbred breeder and trainer. During her years as a junior rider she rode with Nona Garson, Carol Thompson and Frank Hernandez. Her summers were spent working at Monmouth Park Racetrack for different trainers each year as a groom and hot walker.

After high school, Julia went on to Bridgewater College, where she majored in Business Management and rode on the IHSA team under Coach Sarah Irvine. While at Bridgewater, Julia met Mary Babick and began her career at Knightsbridge as a groom, later becoming Assistant Trainer after graduation. Julia has assisted with the care and training of all the Knightsbridge horses since 2009. She has pursued any opportunity to further develop her knowledge as a rider and stable manager. Julia has also been a proud member of the USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Committee since the program’s inception.

Tracy Percival Forman is a 30 year instructor of horsemanship. Her passion began as a young child when visiting her grandparents in Pennsylvania. It started with summertime lessons and quickly grew and continued at home in Buffalo, NY at the Buffalo Saddle and Bridle Club (now the Buffalo Equestrian Center/BTRC). Although her family was supportive, she came from a working-class home with limited funds and no horse experience. With this she had to work very hard to pursue her dreams. She spent endless hours at the Club and would ride and do anything and everything in her eagerness to learn. She also built quite a library of veterinary manuals and publications during her high school years, originally planning to go to veterinary school. In the end, she decided that animals didn’t like the company of veterinarians, so plans changed. At the end of high school, graduating as valedictorian, she chose to go to a college with an equine program in an effort to learn more skills both in the saddle and, more importantly, about the care and health of the horse.

She became a professional in 1989 and began her business, TAPS Training and Showing, while still in college. After earning an Applied Science Horse Husbandry Degree in 1990, she has continued to work as a professional to this day. She has taught tens of thousands of lessons over her career. She is now the senior trainer at North Riding in Cleveland, NY, owned by the Duggleby family, where she also developed and manages a hunter/jumper show series. She is a USEF C1 “R” Steward and has been a member of the USHJA Emerging Athletes Program Committee since 2017, after her student Kendra Duggleby won the EAP National Training Session. More than just an instructor of riding, she has always educated students on horsemanship and husbandry. “The most important thing to me is the welfare of the animal. It has always been my goal to instill that in my students, developing horsemen that consider the wellbeing of the animal above anything else.” Many of her students have gone on to work for top professionals in the business as barn managers and have had great success of their own.

Hailing from Northern New Jersey, Colleen Fitzpatrick Reed's love for horses began as a small child, when she successfully convinced her parents of her need for riding lessons at age nine. Colleen was a proud member of the Hambletonian US Pony Club from age 10 through 18, and achieved her C-2 rating during a Rally held at the USET Headquarters in Gladstone, NJ. It was the education from Pony Club that ignited Colleen's passion for horse care and stable management. Despite never owning a pony or horse of her own, Colleen became a master of trading her barn skills for horses to show throughout the local New Jersey and New York circuits.

In 1984, while attending Centenary College, where she majored in Equine Studies and Management, Colleen was given an internship at famed Beacon Hill Show Stables working as a groom for top show hunters and Equitation mounts. Before long she went from interning to fulltime member of the Beacon Hill team, eventually moving into a traveling management position that found Colleen accompanying upwards of 25 horses to events nationwide. During her time with Beacon Hill, Colleen has bared witness to many great equitation riders who currently are among the most elite athletes and trainers in equestrian sport today. Colleen's expert barn skills soon caught the attention of the great Emerson Burr and in 1991 Colleen became the manager for Fairfield County Hunt Club and groom for Leslie Burr Howard's elite jumpers- Gem Twist, Pressurized and Charisma. Colleen's time at Fairfield provided a wide range of competition care, from winning World Cups to Pony Finals silver cups. One of her fondest memories is taking 20 ponies to the East Coast and working alongside Emerson one week then going cross country for a grand prix with Leslie the next week on the West Coast.

Colleen lives outside of Cincinnati, Ohio with husband Dan, they have two adult children. She remains active in the equestrian community as a Stable Manager Clinician for the USHJA EAP and Gold Star Clinics as well as the USEF Horsemastership Session. Colleen is an active FEI Steward, a USEF Steward and a Certified Schooling Area Supervisor. Colleen's love and passion for the care of horses and their environment remains as devout today as when this former Pony Clubber began.

Nanci Synder, originally from Vermont, has been a lifelong equestrian and is an active Professional in the industry. Nanci had the opportunity to work, study and travel with some of the best in our industry including Buddy Brown, Norman Dello Joio, Jos Kumps, Peter Lutz, John and Beezie Madden, Mary Manfredi, George Morris, Michael Matz, Nelson Pessoa, and Peter Wylde. Grateful to have learned from the best, she has always valued horsemanship, and under their tutelage, she has become a skilled stable manager of her own accord. Since 2013 she has been involved with the USHJA Emerging Athletes Program as a stable manager clinician and member of the EAP Committee. She hopes that as a stable manager clinician at the EAP Regional Training Sessions she passes along as much knowledge as possible to the next generation of equestrians.

Anne Thornbury hails from outside of Cincinnati, OH where she operates Equisports, Inc. and the Midwest Equine Rehabilitation and Conditioning Center (MERC) with husband Skip. Anne grew up in Indianapolis, IN and got the horse bug at age five, starting her show career with Saddle Seat before moving into the Hunter sections. Under the tutelage of Russ and Linda Walther, Anne won numerous championships on the Midwest circuit, competing in junior hunters and jumpers. Her equestrian career now spans more than 50 years of combined riding and training.

After graduating from Purdue University with a degree as a Veterinary Technician in 1976, Anne dedicated seven years to a small animal hospital before returning to the equestrian world full-time. Following a year of working with Geoff Teall at Deeridge Farm in East Aurora, NY, Anne moved to the Cincinnati area in 1984 to open a new venture, Uphill Farm, with partners Tom Wright and Lisa Wrigley. In 1992 Anne married Skip and together they built Equisports, Inc. into the premiere equine care facility it is today.

In 2007, Anne added a Certified Equine Practitioner degree from the University of Tennessee College Of Veterinary Medicine to her list of accomplishments and MERC services grew. Anne's mantra that there is more to a horse's rehabilitation than stall rest and hand walking led to the MERC's expanded variety of medical care, post-surgical care, rehabilitative therapies, and conditioning services. Working closely with vets, Anne heads a team of experts in providing horses with the best recovery and/or conditioning available. It's this professional insight that Anne will bring to the Emerging Athletes Program as she returns for five regional sessions as the Stable Management Clinician in 2013.

Anne has served as the secretary of the Ohio Hunter Jumper Association for more than 20 years, is a past Co-Chair of the USHJA Junior Hunter Task Force and currently a member of the USHJA National Hunter Committee, USHJA Joint Emerging Athletes Program Task Force, Zone 5 Hunter Committee and Ad Hoc Awards Committee.