Liza Hillman

Owner, Instructor, Trainer

Liza has 25+ years of experiences with horses across many disciplines. In her first few years of riding she showed both English and Western, and it wasn't long before she had a horse of her own- Flame, a beautiful chestnut Arabian gelding. Liza and Flame showed for many years in Western Pleasure, Hunters, and Dressage, earning many Champion ribbons together, and even tried Gymkhana and barrel racing for a few years. Liza then began taking on more challenges; competing with her Thoroughbred in Jumpers, training in Dressage with more advanced horses, and eventually owning a young Arabian who she trained to ride, herself. Her last focus with horses before full-time teaching was trick riding and stunt riding, which she trained in for almost two years and hopes to get back into eventually, having loved the mental and physical challenge that it offered. During her time running Silver Stirrup, her education has shifted to more positive reinforcement training as well as a strong focus in Classical Dressage.

As an owner...Liza took on Silver Stirrup almost by accident. When she started working as a head instructor and director of the program that would eventually become Silver Stirrup, she only considered it a part time job. Once taking over the small program that was offered to her, Liza set forth with many ideas for what she wanted this program to become. She created a syllabus and structure unique to most riding programs that she developed from years of experience with many trainers from many fields of riding, along with goals to recreate the atmosphere that she felt shaped some of her greatest childhood memories growing up with horses. She's proud of what Silver Stirrup has become so far, and is excited for the new adventure that started in Fall of '22 with the move to a new main location. 2023 will be a year of focus on more training and limited riding lessons, but she sees very big, fantastic things in the future of the Silver Stirrup as a unique school where everyone can learn (horses and humans) in a FUN, safe, and highly educational environment.

Katelyn Jensen

Instructor

Katelyn has been apart of Silver Stirrup from day 1, and has been riding with Miss Liza even longer! She has worked harder than anyone you've probably ever met, and watched countless hours upon hours of lessons as a student, and started training to be a teacher at the young age of 14! She started joining in teacher training classes with other adults hired by Silver Stirrup, and soaked in every bit of information until she could probably teach it herself! At 16 she started teaching in camps and lessons as Miss Liza shadowed to help and offer feedback and has racked up the hours practicing teaching fabulous lessons to all ages. Her maturity allows her to take everything about teaching and training very seriously, and she has an eye for safety that challenges that of most well into their twenties.

Katelyn is the teacher that will never lost patience with a student and naturally teaches with kindess and fun in mind. She spends just about all of her time at the stables and continues her education in riding and horsemanship in order to better herself and her students. She rides, helps train, and teaches daily, and has competed in Dressage over the years as well. She recently purchased her first, own horse, a gorgeous Holstiener Warmblood gelding named Lex, who she plans to show as well!

Unfortunately Miss Katelyn sustained a serious knee injury in the Spring of '22(not from riding!) and is unable to teach, without an official end-date in sight! We are crossing our fingers for a full recovery in 2023 so she can ride, teach, and be back with us as soon as possible!

Kira Marx