I pursued marketing and psychology at Umass as well as pre-veterinarian classes and got my Bachelors in 1990. I was lucky to have the opportunity to meet my celebrity horsey idols George Morris and Chris Kappler at an Olympic level competition I was helping to promote in Rhode Island shortly after graduation. After several jobs in the equestrian industry, including working under, learning from and conditioning horses for Paula Paglia
www.pagliawest.com and Jamal El Jadidi
www.bostonequestriancenter.comboth Olympic level riders in dressage and show jumping respectively, I realized that the competitive show world simply was not for me. I was more interested in the horses well-being and health than in challenging myself to 'be in the ribbons' and traveling to shows. I also felt the stress that these horses go through and did not feel comfortable around that competitively charged environment. I moved on to freelance teaching and training horses and wrote and published "Teaching Beginners to Ride"
www.teachingbeginnerstoride.blogspot.com (
amazon.com and
barnesandnoble.com )
After my uncles passing in 1996, I was able to work in his retail mattress stores BestRest Mattress throughout Central Massachusetts- this was a welcome change for me after the sometimes dangerous and physically demanding work with horses. I quickly learned the growth potential of the mattress business and decided to open my own store in Amherst Ma in 2001- Sleepy Hollow Bed Co., Inc. I later changed the name to Discount Mattress to reflect the dynamic marketplace at the time. After 8 yrs. in business, being Voted # 1 Mattress Store in the Valley year after year and over $4Million in sales, I decided to close that business.The economy and my desire to 'tough it out' both went downhill- and thank goodness for that, because it allowed me to pursue what I know I am meant to pursue- working with horses.
I am extremely grateful for all the lessons I learned in my childhood about disease, the experience I got working with top-level competition horses and their trainers and my business experience- I consider them all pre-requisites for my work at Blue Star. I'm looking forward to spending my time and applying my backround to benefit these most worthy animals- these horses who know they have been rescued are the most authentic beings to work with/be around- alot more interesting and rewarding than selling mattresses, that's for sure! I'm looking forward to Blue Star's guaranteed success and growth- its exciting to consider the impact and influence this place will have on the equestrian community and all those seeking solace in the magic of a horse.
I first became aware of Blue Star when Dr. Beth Bowman mentioned it when she came to work on a horse I was working with. Shortly after that, Tom Too stole my heart when L.A. Pomeroy, who I have known for years, posted his photo on her Facebook page. I then went to the Sleigh Rally , but it was the plea to help Tom when his lymphedema suddenly swelled up that got me to respond and I offered to help him. So I always make a conscious effort to thank both Tom and Tom Too for doing such a good job of making sure I made it over here! I am especially thankful for Pam's incredible warrior spirit and faith in building the most uniquely positioned horse environment for so many to enjoy, learn and benefit from.
I live in Pelham with my husband and 4 cats. My 26 yr.old horse Roscoe, a half Belgian/Qtrhorse gelding lives in Leverett at Stone Pony. You can read about him at
www.roscoebigred.blogspot.com