In 15 years, Susan Horn has worked her way from the short stirrup classes to the grand prix ring. Last year, she won both the $10,000 Modified Grand Prix at Angelstone and the eastern division Talent Squad regionals, which shot her and the little mare Zahara S to the top of the 2012 Talent Squad standings. The pair also finished second at the Canadian Championships at the Royal Winter Fair, were second in their first grand prix, and finished top-12 in the $50,000 Angelstone Grand Prix, their first FEI class.

Susan, 29, began riding at the age of seven when her mother signed her up for two weeks of summer riding camp at the YMCA. “My mum had ridden as a child in Scotland and thought I might enjoy the experience,” she remembers. “They now laugh that it turned out to be the most expensive camp ever! By the end of the fortnight I had fallen off, been stepped on, been kicked and bitten … but I was hooked.” She moved to weekly lessons and the Trillium circuit before the “A” circuit large pony hunters in 1999. Aboard her children’s hunter Mistral V she was 2001 Royal champion, and was OHJA Jr/Am champion in 2007 and 2008 (Playboy du Trichot, 1.40m) and 2011 (Phenix de Coquerie, 1.20m).

With the help of her current coach, Mac Cone, she has stepped up to jump some of the biggest tracks of her career. She attributes his guidance to much of her recent success. “His lengthy and successful career aside, I’ve always found Mac to have a genuine desire to share and pass on his knowledge,” she says. “You can tell he really enjoys watching his students progress. I find he never lets me get too carried away with either successes or failures, and I’m a chronic over-analyzer. He finds a way to make every ride, competition, or experience into a lesson.”

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