About Our Program

Sara Haynes, Trainer

"Northwest Indiana's Premier Option for the Serious Equestrian Athlete"

In the fall of 2005, Sara and her husband Mike, now a Portage based attorney, moved to Valparaiso from South Carolina for Mike to start law school at Valparaiso University. Sara had recently graduated from Clemson University with degrees in Political Science and Economics. Prior to their move, Sara had been competing as an amateur in USEF Zone 4 on the venerable hunter and equitation horse, Follow Me. After taking some time off to have her first child, Sara returned

returned to the show ring for a final show with "Luke," winning the Progressive Show Jumping Adult Medal Final 11 weeks after her daughter was born, and turned professional shortly thereafter when she realized that the Northwest Indiana area really needed a fresh hunter/jumper face with some new ideas and training abilities, and so it began. Sara now competes with her students all over the midwest and very much enjoys being a professional because she loves that she helps people to learn to ride the best they can and have a good time while doing it!

Sara now has two children, Carolene, who is 3 1/2 and quite the leadline competitor, and Carter, who is 1 1/2 and still unsure about the furry horse creatures! She stays involved with the local community as a Porter County C.A.S.A. (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for children in the county deemed by the court to be in need of services based on the suspicion of abuse or neglect by their family.

Sara names many trainers along the way as influential to her riding, such as Sunny Stevens, Jill Mills, Joy Hirsch, Barbara Batterton, Snowden Clarke, Pam Baker, Lee Cone, Mary Jackson, Kat DeMas Mulkey, Robin Lawrence, and clinicians Linda Allen and Joe Fargis., Sara credits longtime trainer and friend Lee Cone for really showing her by example how to conduct an admirable business while maintaining a normal family life. She owes credit to Lee for a great deal of her success with the hunters Follow Me and High Flight, as well as with the fun loving paint jumper Country Grammar. Sara bases many of her own lessons on practical fundamentals she learned from Lee that make it easy for any hard working student to succeed.

Many of Sara's students here in the midwest have gone on to great success after participating in Sara's program, having been given the confidence and skills to succeed at the upper levels. Sara has found that many students coming to her have had the raw ability and talent to get them where they wanted to go, but have sometimes lacked the finesse required to get there. Through dilligence and hard work, students have gone on to year end awards and medal finals in very competitive circuits.
Sara continues to compete herself, both bringing along young or inexperienced horses for her students, as well as maintaining her own hunters and jumpers. She hopes to continue showing and learning for a long time to come, as she knows that you can never stop learning and there are always new people to learn new ideas from. Sara can often be overheard encouraging her students to participate in clinics given in the area, and often participates herself as well.

Accomplishments:

2008:   Honky Tonk: Riders Sara Haynes & Alyssa Turk
        - Equitation, Childrens Jumper, and Level 3-4 Schooling Jumper ribbons all over Indiana.
        - Fifth, Indiana Junior Medal Finals.
Love That Rodder: Rider Angela Stajkowski
        - Great prizes all over in Novice and Modified Adult Hunter and Mini Medal.
        - Reserve Champion Indiana Adult Mini Medal Finals.
Courvoissier: Rider Alyssa Turk
        - Great ribbons in High Childrens Jumpers
Training Wheels: Rider Carolene Haynes
        - MANY leadline wins!
Congratulations also to Red Tailed Scamp and Karlee Reagan, Good Time and Hallie Grimmer, Nothin' But A TShirt On and Lily Sanchez, Follow Me To Vegas and Kendall Hylton, Hubba Bubba and Alyssa Turk, and Southern Comfort and Alyssa Turk!

2007: Honky Tonk: Riders Alyssa Turk and Sara Haynes
        - Equitation, Large Junior Hunter, and jumper ribbons all over!
Courvoissier: Rider Alyssa Turk
        - Low and High Childrens Jumper ribbons and champions at every horse show
Love That Rodder: Rider Angela Stajkowski
        - Championships and ribbons in Beginner Adult and Mini Hunter every time out.
Country Grammar: Riders Alicia Meyerhoff and Hayley Ault
        - Many ribbons and championships in jumpers and Equitation including Foxton and Circle City Equestrian 500.
Congratulations also to Mini Me and Karlee Reagan, Color In The Lines and Emma Barnes, and Tonia Michalski.

2006: Clouseau: Riders Tashia Mech and Sara Haynes
        - Winner $1,000 Modified Childrens Hunter Classic, Circle City Equestrian 500
        - Championships and ribbons at many shows in Pre-Green, Non-Thoroughbred, Schooling, Novice and Modified
        Childrens Hunters, and Equitation.
        - Third, Indiana Childrens Medal Finals.
Courvoissier: Rider Alyssa Turk
        - Many jumper championships including Mini Jumper Champion at Circle City Equestrian 500.
Love That Rodder: Rider Angela Stajkowski
        - Many Adult Beginner Championships and Ribbons.

(as an amateur)
2005: Follow Me
        - Winner, PSJ Adult Medal Final
        - Circuit Champion, Camden Equestrian Center, Amateur Hunter
        - Year End High Point Champion: PSJ Amateur Hunter
        - Year End High Point Reserve Champion, PSJ Adult Medal
        - 2nd, Marshall & Sterling Adult Amateur Hunter Classic, HITS Ocala
        - Champion, reserve, or top ribbons at every show attended from HITS Ocala to the Aiken Classics to PSJ Finals.
        - Champion Adult Amateur Hunter, Southeast Regional Finals

2004: High Flight
        - Year End High Point Champion: PSJ Amateur Hunter
        - Year End High Point, 3rd Place: PSJ Adult Medal
Follow Me
        - Year End Reserve High Point Champion: PSJ Adult Amateur Hunter
        - 4th Place, PSJ Adult Medal Final
        - Reserve Champion, Georgia HJA Adult Medal Final
Country Grammar
        - Year End High Point, 6th Place: PSJ Childrens/Adult Jumper
        - Year End High Point, 3rd Place: NCHJA Childrens/Adult Jumper "c"
        - Winner of numerous Childrens/Adult Jumper Classics
2002 and earlier: Rumours Follow:
        - Qualifier, Adult Hunter Classic Finals, Washington International Horse Show
        - Two Time Best Amateur Rider- HITS Culpeper
        - Championships and Reserves and many ribbons from HITS Culpeper to HITS Ocala, Loudon Memorial,                 Upperville, and many other prestigious Zone 3 shows.
Count On Me:
        - Many Childrens, Pre-Green, & Junior Hunter Championships and ribbons.
Finally:
        - Many Childrens Jumper and Equitation Ribbons.

**We've had a great start in 2009 and cant wait to continue!