About Hilary
Since then, Hilary has worn many equestrian hats: Competitor, horse trainer, instructor, "L" grad, farm and horse owner, barn manager, volunteer and journalist.
The main reason Hilary is involved in so many aspects of the equestrian world is simply because she loves it, from the long-term partnerships she forms with her horses to the close relationships she forms with her students.
She has competed through FEI in dressage, is a USDF Associate/Participating Instructor and "L" Education Program Graduate.
In addition to coaching students and horses of all ages and levels in dressage and eventing, Hilary also judges many dressage classes in the surrouding area, owns a farm in Germantown and works as Senior Editor at Dressage Today magazine.
She also serves as a PVDA board member, chaperoning and coaching their teams at the USDF Region 1 Youth Team Championships every year. In 2009, she also coached a Junior student to the CBLM Championship at First Level and a Reserve Championship at Training Level. When Hilary was a Young Rider herself, she was one of the few competitors to ever have competed for a spot on both the eventing and dressage teams of the North American Junior Young Rider Championships. During that time she also rode for her school's Intercollegiate dressage and equitation teams. She was the open level rider during Mount Holyoke College's National Championship year.
Hilary regularly volunteers her time for other dressage causes, including the PVDA Ride for Life and the Dressage Foundation. She has a long-time relationship with the foundation, having participated in the USDF/USEF Advanced Young Rider Graduate Program and a recipient of the Renee Isler Dressage Support Fund. Since then, she has been a speaker in their "Lessons in Fundraising and Giving" and has been invited to speak at the 2012 USDF/USEF Advanced Young Rider Graduate Program.
Influential Instructors
Influential Clinicians: Shannon Dueck, Todd Flettrich, Nicole Uphoff-Selke, Gunnar Ostegaard, Jimmy Wofford, David O'Connor, Lois Yukins, Gary Rockwell, Janet Brown-Foy, Sandy Howard, Lendon Gray, Melanie Tenney
Outside the barn...
Hilary holds her B.A. in English from Mount Holyoke College, with a year of coursework at Amherst College. Not only a rider, Hilary is a also freelance journalist and graphic designer. She was the 2006 Eleanor Merrill Fellow, awarded for graduate coursework in Journalism at the Philip Merrill School, the University of Maryland, College Park. She has written for Dressage Today, Equine.com, the PVDA newsletter and several publications owned by the Washington Post Corp. while on staff there.
When not riding or writing, Hilary enjoys volunteering... a lot.
She has acted as assistant chair for the Dancing Horse Challenge since its creation at the PVDA Ride for Life to benefit the Johns Hopkins Breast Cancer Center, Committee Chair for local events to benefit the equestrian community and Demonstration Rider for educational dressage clinics.
Hilary regularly donates her graphic design skills to silent auctions, including: the PVDA, Holly Bergay and many therapeutic riding programs around the country.
Life would not be complete without travel. Both of her parents live abroad and Hilary makes it a point to go overseas at least once a year. She has cantered through the rainforests of Belize and schooled the piaffe in Germany, always making a point of noting the barn's architecture and local horse-keeping secret.
From Top Left:
Adding a little sparkle to Socrates, 2007 PVDA Ride for Life.
USDF Young Rider Graduates in Florida, January 2008.
Visiting with Francis Ford Copolla's yearlings after a hack.
Hilary's dog, Ty, is very small... much smaller than a horse. However, pictures prove that he has ridden an 18h FEI horse (Degas).
Hilary and her mom, Elaine, sailing in the Grenadines with the rest of the family. Each year the women of the family "forget" how to sail, while brother, Justin, is forced to pilot the boat almost single-handedly.
Feeding goats.
Visiting the Panda baby at the National Zoo, after volunteering as an overnight "babysitter" for pregnant mommy panda.
In the co-pilot's seat.
Passing the USDF Instructor's Workshop - Advanced Lungeing of the Horse and Rider.
Vaulting with Francie Dougherty, aboard Goldie -- with the PVDA Sugarloaf Chapter's Book Club.
