About Norma

Competitive and Professional Experience

Norma has a special talent for taking local horses and riders and turning them into A circuit champions and accomplished competitors. Her students have dubbed her "the best kept secret in the northwest". She started out 3-day eventing in the late 70's and early 80's and was consistently in the ribbons at the Open Preliminary level while competing throughout the northwest, including California and Canada. A highlight of her eventing career was competing and placing in the West Coast Olympic Screening Trials.

From the early 80's until present her emphasis has been on riding and training hunters and jumpers. However, she still relies heavily on her extensive dressage background to train her horses and teach her students. She has trained many local and inexpensive horses to be hunter and jumper champions. She has produced winners from baby-green hunters to the 4'6" jumper divisions, up and down the west coast, including Spruce Meadows, Indio and Arizona.

Background

Norma was born and raised around horses. She joined U.S.P.C. while living in San Diego and received her 'H-A' rating after five short years of hard work, lessons, clinics, competitions and a move to Oregon.

While in San Diego, Norma started professionally training horses and then shortly after moving to Oregon she began teaching riding professionally.

Her diverse background of dressage, hunter-jumper, 3-day eventing, as well as being the 1980 Yoncalla Rodeo Queen, has given her a very creative and effective method of training horses and teaching riders.

Professional Development

Always having been addicted to lessons and learning, Norma has consistently taken lessons and attended clinics throughout the years. She started with monthly dressage clinics and weekly jumping lessons from top professionals while in San Diego. After her move to Oregon, she began taking lessons from Judy and Bob Brawley, traveling 200 miles each week for more than twenty years. She still maintains and enjoys a close personal and professional relationship with the Brawleys.

Her knowledge and enthusiasm continues to grow as she regularly attends outstanding clinics from world-class trainers such as George Morris, Geoff Teall, Kenny Nordstrom, Michel Vaillencourt, Joe Fargis and many, many others. Norma rarely turns down an opportunity to continue her equine education, especially if it's to ride in or audit a good clinic. She truly believes that "We never stop learning".

Recently, Norma became a certified instructor for USHJA.