Liz Lund has been riding horses since she was a little girl. Her riding adventures began when she was 7-years-old on a farm in Jordan, Minnesota at Heiland Hills Training Center. She then moved to a Hunter/Jumper farm for over three years at St. Croix Equestrian Center, training under top notch hunter/jumper trainers. Although she enjoyed the hunter/jumper sport she began to fall in love with the thrilling sport of eventing.
She stumbled upon the love of her life, eventing, when she began riding at a boarding barn just west of Minneapolis in the rural community of Maple Plain, Minnesota at a barn called Jacquerie Oaks. She joined the United States Pony Club, began leasing horses and taking riding lessons. Her first event was in the spring of 1999 at a small farm called Brightonwood. Placing 5th in a small Beginner Novice class sparked her flame for eventing.
She has now successfully competed throughout the United States at the Intermediate level in eventing, competed at many CIC/CCI* and has plans to compete at the 2* level next spring.
Not only does Liz love the competition of eventing, but she also loves the horses.
"I grew up riding bareback around a cornfield, trail rides, and schooling show classes like egg and spoon or costume classes. Although I love the tough competition in our country, sometimes I would just rather take Hannah out for a hack down the road, or sit in her stall while she eats. I love the sport, the animals and all the work that is involved."
As most know in the horse world, one must either have a pitchfork or a checkbook in hand at all times. It takes either a great amount of work or another income source to sustain the skill level and to maintain the horse in optimum health. Liz has always had to work for what she loved, partly because her parents believed it was character-building and partly because resources were limited. She was either picking stalls or picking up catch rides, sometimes on horses that no one else dared get on. She has a knack with horses and a work ethic that has gotten her this far this fast in this sport. With little financial support to help her to the top, Liz has developed a character that people admire and a strong desire to continue.
After over almost a decade of hard work and dedication, Liz found a perfect opportunity to finally purchase her own horse. She purchased Lady Hannah B, her current mount, in September of 2005. Having never owned a horse, Liz began to understand what the meaning of "hard work" really meant. Hannah was 9 years-old when Liz purchased her. Hannah hadn't done any eventing in her life, and in fact her prior owner had been discouraged from eventing her by trainers on the east coast. Hannah had done a lot of trail riding and basic flat work with her talented owners at the time, giving the horse a good foundation. Liz has worked Hannah intensely in a patient, yet rigorous training plan to get her to the place she is now.
It is Liz's greatest desire to continue to move up the levels in the eventing world. While she works an amazing amount of hours as a barn manager, training, teaching, coaching and competing while also nearing completion of her college degree, she is actively seeking sponsors that would like to help her pursue her equestrian and career goals. In return, it is her hope to provide sponsors a variety of services, from exposure of their company name/logo or product, to including a link to a sponsor's website on Liz's site, to demonstrating and promoting a product. In addition to business perks, there would be personal pride in supporting a dedicated and talented rider like Liz.
Liz has had many different opportunities to train with top trainers. She has studied and trained with well-known leaders in the field including Jon Holling, Lucinda Green, Niall Grimes, Darren Chiacchia, Eric Dierks, Dorothy Crowell, Becky Holder and Holly Hepp. She clinics when she can and works on her riding at home, often bartering hard work in exchange for training.
Liz has worked hard on her own, riding as many different horses as possible to further her experiences while furthering the horse. Liz's specialty is in working with young horses or 'problem' horses. She loves to figure out how to teach them to perform to their full potential.
Although Liz's main passion is horses, she is also a full time college student working toward a degree in Service Management at UW-Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin. She enjoys working with client's horses and giving lessons. She would love to someday have a training barn and work horses there. Like many others, Liz would love to compete at the highest level of eventing and make the US Olympic team someday.
Not only does Liz enjoy horses, but yes, surprisingly she has interests outside of the horse world. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing sports of all varieties, and working on websites. Currently. she has designed and managed her own website, Philippa Humphrey's eventing website (www.pheventing.com) & the website for Trophy Hill Sport Horses (www.trophyhillsporthorses.com). She would like to explore the world of web design as a part-time job that could be embedded into a life-long career of competing and training horses.
