The road to success leads through the valley of humility, and the path is up the ladder of patience and across the wide barren plains of perseverance. As yet, no shortcut has been discovered. ~Joseph L. Lamb

About


Stacy Williams


*USDF  "L" Program Graduate*  
*USDF Certified Instructor/Trainer through First Level*
USDF Bronze and Silver Medalist
USDF Bronze and Silver Freestyle Bar Recipient
Countless local, state, regional and national Championships and Reserve Championships
Serving horses and riders serious about competing, from Training Level to Grand Prix.

Born in Charleston, SC, I grew up in the Low Country of South Carolina the oldest of six in a blended family. I learned to fish, crab, dig for oysters, and to prep and cook all of the above before the age of 13. Starting in the 70s, our family raised and showed purebred Irish Setters, English Cockers, and Pointers. My mother's breeding program produced over 250 champions, all over the world, before she died in 2017. Three of my sisters and my brother in law have continued her program and always have multiple Pointers in the Top Ten. Solivia Pointers has more champions worldwide than any other currently operating breeding program. 
My family moved to north Georgia in 1990, and I attended North Georgia College and State University from 1991-1995. I graduated cum laude with a Bachelor's of Science in Art Education, K-12. 
Upon graduation, I took a permanent position in my then fiancee's real estate investment company, buying and selling bank foreclosed and IRS seized property all over the country, but primarily in the Metro Atlanta, Houston, DFW, and San Antonio markets. 
Dow and I moved west in 1996, running our operations out of a home office before it was cool! We have lived in Tahoe, the Canadian Rockies, and the desert SW ever since.
I bought my first show horse in 1998, a 4 year old Holsteiner/TB mare with a few weeks training. I bought her with the goal of the Hunters in mind, but became intrigued with dressage. By 2005, I was committed to dressage and began a working student position with Sheri Dumonceaux in Cochrane Alberta, training regularly with Tom Dvorak. 
When we moved to St. George, UT in 2007, I still had not shown above Second level, but was the most advanced rider within a 2 hour radius, and became a trainer simply to fulfill a need in the community. Though I did not intend to become a trainer, I nevertheless took the role seriously. With a background in education, I immediately sought out any possible educational opportunities. By 2010 I had graduated from the USDF L Program, and by 2014, I completed the USDF Instructor Certification program, through First level. 
Due to my location, I had to commute a minimum of 5 hours round trip-and usually much farther-for any clinics, shows, and educational opportunities. 
I earned my Bronze medal in 2010 on my mare, Charisma, the same mare I bought in 1998. Charisma also gave me my current FEI horse, Frisco Bay, in 2008. She died of colic in December, 2010. I owe her everything. 
Frisco has been my vision since quite literally the day I bought Charisma. I studied pedigrees and stallions for many years before deciding on Fidertanz in 2007. He has earned me my Silver Medal, and my Bronze and Silver Freestyle Bars. He has won more Chamionships and year end awards than I can count. He has also been my Professor. He finds every hole in me as a rider and horsewoman, and makes me fill them.
Twenty years after buying Charisma, I bought Reno (Rotspon/Davignport/Eisprinz) as a 2 year old from a private breeder in Maryland, after shopping for three years. I brought him home on my 47th birthday in 2018, and Frisco immediately agreed that this was "THE ONE" to complete our circle, the only one who could have filled Charisma's hoofprints. Reno is an empath, highly intuitive, and forces me to center no matter what is going on around us. With Reno, my focus is the Journey. He is my Zen Master.
I have competed through Grand Prix on a client horse, sent to me as a sale horse. In seven months, I went from Fourth Level to Grand Prix, with no ground help, only emailed advice from my mentors Gary and Jan Lawrence. 
As a coach, my number one goal is to make my clients' horses easier for them to ride. It makes no sense for me to make the horse look amazing, if I don't ride it in such a way that the owner cannot get on after me, and reproduce the work. In fact, I take more pride in the accomplishments of my students than I do in my own. It matters not if I have all the awards in the world, if my students cannot achieve their own goals as riders, no matter what those goals may be, in or out of the show ring. My approach is patient and methodical, with the aim being a lasting education for the horses and the riders. I deeply respect and admire the fact that my students come from all walks of life, and I focus my relationship with them on prioritizing balance of family, work, and play in their own lives. 



Ashley, Stacy, and Linda at the USDF Awards Banquet, SLC, 2018








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