Orchid Hill Stables, Inc. has been my dream since 1994 when, at the age of 15, I gave my first horsemanship clinic to my 4-H club and friends. I never stopped learning about horses and how to train, show, and care for them; now I have been blessed with the opportunity to share my dream with horse enthusiasts of all ages! In January of 2004 my husband Lawerence Holton and I opened Orchid Hill Stables, Inc.; our beautiful private riding facility just minutes from Lake Placid and downtown Sebring.

It was a long haul to owning a stable and horses of my own. 4-H, and several very awesome riding instructors, were crucial to my introduction into the horse scene and world of competition. My first pony was a Welsh gelding named Champion which I displayed in parades, western pleasure, trail, and even grooming & conditioning competitions. Champion came with a saddle, brush, hoof pick, and founder (a disease I would later learn is very horrible and crippling to horses & ponies). Despite his struggle with founder, Champion was a very sweet and willing pony. It was a blessing to be a beginner horse owner with Champ guiding me along.

The next breeds of horses I ventured into were Arabian and Morgan types; hence began my adventures in saddle seat riding. The true form of English Pleasure; the excitement never ends in the classic pleasure and park realm of exuberant horses. Many of you may remember our lesson horse Ziggy (TGS Make My Day), but many would never guess that this horse’s beginnings were as my Classic English Pleasure horse. My best friend through my teen years,

From Saddle Seat my next competitive endeavors were in Hunter Paces where I was taught to clear fences on some very unruly horses at a stable I worked at in my teens and early twenties. This career lasted only about two years as I was not fond of flying through the air on the next unknown mount. I did learn a great deal about training horses quickly and realized this was not the area my talents would be used in. Shortly after that time I started learning about the “horse whisperer” Monty Roberts and even had the opportunity to attend one of his early clinics in the United States. This was my first experience with learning horse body language. This education would save me from many unsafe situations, because I could see a problem occurring before it became full blown. John Lyons, Linda Tellington Jones, and Lynn Palm were just a few of the trainers I admired for helping me to understand horse language.

With so much show training under my belt I decided to start learning a little more about trail riding. Being the competitive spirit that I am I began my journey into trail riding via the Competitive Trail Riding road. CTR was quite a challenge as not only do you have to be a fit rider, but your horse must endure a grueling daily fitting regiment as well. Tony Pony came into my life as a skinny, scared, high energy Hackney Pony; little did I know the incredible talents hidden under his tiny rack of bones. After feeding and nurturing Tony the Bony Pony, as my friends called him, I discovered Tony’s love for trails and adventure. When he was fit enough to compete we did so over 15-50 mile trails and in one year’s time Tony never placed less than 3rd at any CTR.

Time marches on and my time was needed at more barns where I could learn even more about the horse. In one summer I learned how to groom, train, and even show Paso Fino Horses. Training began very early in the morning and consisted of ground work, ground work, and ground work, and then eventually under saddle training. By fall the young horses in my care were competing in local Paso Fino competitions and WINNING! That same summer I spent my afternoons training yet another gaited breed, the Tennessee Walking Horse. Two barns located in the same town had horses for me to condition through a disciplined exercise routine, consisting of much trail and field riding. At this point in my learning I was riding up to 9 horses a day!

At last I decided that I should follow my dream to learn under a world renowned horse trainer and made the move to contact Lynn Palm at her farm in Ocala. When I was told that she did need barn help my bags were packed and new training skills were soon to come. For my students who are reading this memoir I am going to include great detail of Miss Lynn Palm’s daily expectations of myself.

7 A.M. feed the show horses; Warm blood Dressage and Hunter type horses as well as Quarter Horses and American Paint Horses, mares and stallions, were housed in this barn. Each horse received a daily grooming; after blanketing, wrapping legs and tail, I would turn each horse out for one hour of free exercise in a grassy paddock. There were three of us assigned to a barn of about 10-12 horses so the horses were divided between myself and the other grooms. When Lynn Salvatori Palm or Cyril Pittion-Rossillon (Lynn’s husband) needed a horse saddled for training, I or another staff member would groom, wrap, saddle, and bridle the mount as well as assist the rider with any other training gear they may need. This was great fun! Since the age of 14 I had attended horse clinics and symposiums with Lynn Palm as a speaker and could not believe that I was working and living at her farm in Ocala, FL!

Soon I learned to pony the show horses and would pony 3-5 horses a day for 20 minutes each. Every saddle pad, leg wrap, and bridle I used had to be washed or soaped at the end of the day! The barn isle had to be blown with a leaf blower and no horse was allowed to have dirt on his back or blanket before lights out! It was all worth it, for at a point I became the Gypsy King’s groom! Gypsy was one of the first Gypsy Vanner Horses to be used for breeding of this magnificent breed in America. Calm, gentle, and in need of daily grooming, I fell in love with this sweet giant. His mane needed to be brushed and braided almost daily so it would not tangle. His tail looked like a tree trunk, it was so thick! His feathers were so long that when washed I would comb and then towel dry them so he would not get infections in his pastern or ankle. The intense grooming techniques I learned at Lynn Palm’s would help me into my own farm endeavors and conditioning pattern for my lesson mounts.

As soon as the opportunity popped up I began training horses and riders at their homes in Lake Placid, Sebring, and Avon Park. This was fun, but I also realized that my ultimate goal would be to own and operate a lesson stables. Soon after meeting Lawerence Holton, in 2002; we started to build my dream together. We married on August 1, 2003 and shortly after moved Ziggy, Tony Pony, and Pete to our little farm.

Taking Lawerence’s hobby of Orchid growing, the beautiful hill that we live on, and my dream of a stable we created the name Orchid Hill Stables! January 2004, the books were opened and our stables became official and incorporated.

Believing in continuing one’s education no matter what the career, every year I take a couple riding lessons from other successful horse trainers. Most recently I was able to take several lessons from dressage trainer and past Olympic trainer, Jane Savoie. In the future we would even like to invite some of these exceptional trainers to give clinics at our stables here in Sebring. No matter how much you learn about horses, there will always be someone who can add to your education and training skills.

I don’t have a New Years resolution, but a goal for myself and my students. This is to believe you can make your dreams come true, and it is never too early or too late to start working towards that dream!

Orchid Hill Stables is a place where you can ride or just sit and enjoy the tranquility and peace of the country! We look forward to meeting you and introducing you to our horses and family of riding enthusiasts.