Born and raised in Calgary, Canada as the daughter of a trainer Cori began riding a young age. She spent countless hours at the local barn where her mom rode and taught being “baby sat” by kind school horses in lesson after lesson.
At the age of 12 her family bought their own farm and founded Equinox Stables, for Cori those next 10 years of riding, showing and later training and teaching so many different horses and students young and old from beginners to advanced was a dream come true. Growing up at a barn and helping run the family business was a great experience because she learned the various aspects of running a horse business; everything from feeding and fence building to helping the veterinarians and farrier.
“We did everything growing up, cleaned tack, bandaged, braided, trailered, fed, and mucked out. If you wanted to ride you had to be willing to put in a little extra elbow grease. I remember one of my first away shows to the U.S. when I was 11 and becoming aware of grooms, I was shocked that some people didn’t do it all themselves, it was a totally foreign idea to me”.
Over the years Cori was lucky to work with many great trainers from Trish Mrawkawa her first coach to Gail Greenough, Richard Spooner and most especially Dayton Gorsline and Lisa Carlson who coached her from the children’s and junior jumpers, to the CET medal finals and into her first Grand Prix by age 17.
“As a trainer’s kid I’ve been fortunate to learn a lot from so many talented horse men and women both first hand, in clinics and by watching; it would take me forever to list them all but if I had to pinpoint one as my biggest influence it would definitely have to be my mom. Everything I know about coaching and training is from her, truly an ultimate horsewoman, she’s done it all: pony club, dressage for 30 years, breaking young horses, leading pack outfits into the mountains and even cattle drives. Whether it’s a flat lesson for a grand prix horse, teaching a young one to jump for the first time or getting a first time student safe and happy in the tack she is my go to.”
By 20, Cori had been to Europe several times buying sales prospects and horses for clients, she also lived and trained in both France and Germany for extended periods of time to learn more about the European system. She’d also been invited to two different international shows, one in Germany as a junior and one in Ecuador as a professional.
When asked what shaped her riding the most she said it was growing up in Calgary a stone’s throw away from Spruce Meadows, one of the most prestigious and famous show jumping venues in the world.
“Being able to see the worlds best riders and horses in your own backyard was the most inspiring and exciting experience. It gave us young riders a real glimpse of the big time international jumper scene.”
Which is why even know she rode the equitation and hunters a lot when younger and on clients horses it was the jumper divisions that were so appealing to her. As the years went on, being in such close proximity to Spruce Meadows opened doors for Cori as she got the chance to meet many of the top riders she idolized and eventually went on to teach many of their children.
“During the summer circuit the big riders would see our students having lessons at our farm right next door to where they were showing, one thing lead to another and before we knew it “pony camp” for the visiting riders kids was born. Soon the Spruce Meadows shows became our busiest time as we were teaching Will and Nikki Simpson’s daughter, Rich Fellers kids, Richard Spooner’s daughter, Jan Tops and Tani Zeidler’s daughter and many more. I remember Karen Cudmore’s girls used to ride every pony on the farm so much we’d have to up their hay for those 6 weeks! For the parents it was a quick golf cart ride away, between their demanding class schedule, where they could watch their kids have some fun on horses, while learning in a safe, pressure free environment.”
In the fall of 2004 Cori was given the opportunity to move to California to work with grand prix rider Richard Spooner. The time she spent one the road showing full time was invaluable, she learned a lot and got the chance to meet and work with many more great riders, coaches, officials, owners and amazing horses. During this time her family sold their training business and farm in Calgary and began enjoying semi-retirement.
After a few more hectic years of showing non-stop, Cori took some time off from riding for the first time in her life and pursue her post secondary education. In 2009 she did a study abroad in Italy and remembered how much she loved Europe on all those horse buying trips and decided to move to London, England to finish her Bachelors degree. In 2011 she graduated a semester early with a 4.0 GPA and a BA in Communications, Marketing and Management from Hult International Business School and then moved back to sunny San Diego. After a little time off from horses for college, marriage and baby she is currently getting back into riding with her mom in Fallbrook, CA.
Read more about Cori and Steph in .... How Our Horse Journey All Started
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