From birth it was apparent I had “crazy horse girl syndrome,” and much to my non-horsey family’s dismay, it was incurable! At age 12, I began to babysit as much as possible to pay for my lessons and quickly moved up to “barn rat” status. I was lucky to have landed at Doris Clark’s (Missy Clark’s mother) Fox Run Equestrian in East Aurora, New York and spent every waking hour working as her groom and exercise rider. From here, my role as trainer, instructor and competitor in the Hunter & Jumper world got a huge jumpstart.
I took my skills to the Assistant Trainer opening at Sue Williams’ Chestnut Ridge Farm (home of the Olympic stallion Abdullah), and traded in my hunt coat for an Eventing vest. I was blessed to have great horses to ride and the opportunity to work with Joe Fargis and Carol Kozlowski.
With a kill-pen rescue from the race track as my only personally-owned horse, I propelled through the levels of Eventing driven by determination, grit, hard work and luck. Beetle Bailey and I won MDCTA Intermediate Horse of the Year and we were featured in the USEF magazine after winning back to back Intermediate Level events. I earned my Bronze Medal and continued to teach and train in Iowa.
Because of a progressive eye disease called Stargardts, I am now legally blind. I have moved into the sport of Dressage, where I remain competitive and continue to ride professionally. I’ve once again acquired FEI status in another equestrian discipline and earned my USDF Silver Medal on a horse I trained from First Level to Prix St Georges with the help of Michael Barisone. For me, there is nothing more satisfying than producing a horse from beginning to end. I have never owned a “made” horse – financially it just wasn’t possible – but in hindsight I realize how lucky I was!
I recently purchased a young gelding, Dhecanter, and am starting over once again. He was beautifully bred by Mo Swanson and impeccably started under saddle by Jaime Dancer. I’m excited to start the next chapter in this never-ending book of equestrian education. I’m currently working with Jaime and her mentor Ali Brock (Olympic Bronze Medalist), and plan on bringing him out East to compete in the summer months. For now, “Mickey“ and I train at a lovely facility in Dallas, Texas; and I travel to teach clinics in the Iowa, Vegas, and Western New York are
Lisa Marie Bishop
Large scale commissions are available for your home, farm, office or corporate lobby. Please contact me for more details!