Who we are and why we can help you enjoy horses
Tammy Stirling
Kandi Sterling
Tammy studied at Longwood in Education and came home to teach as an excellent riding instructor who can communicate well with students and can point to a long list of show ring wins including many Championships, and BHSA Year end awards.
She is an instructor who can successfully DO what she teaches! She attended Longwood and studied teaching, so she understands the challanges of teaching children as well as adults.
Tammy has a love of teaching and a gift for horses. She’s been riding and training for more years than she wants to count and is an accomplished rider and gentle teacher.
She has ridden sidesaddle, English, western and dressage on Arabians, Tennessee Walking Horses, TBs, warmbloods and of course Quarter Horses.
She loves teaching, and tutored math while she was still in High School. She is also a trained and accomplished dancer, she performed in a production company and was twice nominated to Governor’s School in the field of dance. Before the farm got so big, she taught dance for several years.
As a horsewoman, Tammy has competed successfully in several divisions. She often takes our green hunter to shows to give them a good, sound first experience in the show ring. She is a strong, confident rider who gets a lot out of a horse and who can support a green horse in his first attempts in the ring.
But her great love is the jumper ring. She has trained, competed and won with such horses as 2011 Low Jumper Champion, Music and Small Talk, 2018 TB Jumper Champion Heaven on Earth, and is now bringing up a new horse, 2021 Novice Res. Champion Skye Walker just to name a few. She has also trained many winning riders, most recently 2021 TB Jumper Champion and Low Jumper Res. Champion ridden by Ann Tuzson.
For a full list, see our list of champions.
There were years when I rode to BIG fences, but those years are past. I’m excited that at 75 I can still enjoy riding and doing some of the training and I hope I can keep enjoying it for many years to come. I’ve been ridding for seven decades. Horses really are a lifelong sport and YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO RIDE A GOOD HORSE!"
Photo taken of Kandi at 75 years old.
Kandi owned, showed and trained horses in Southern California for twenty years before moving back to Virginia. And she trained under some of the best. She has ridden and shown Saddle Seat, Hunt Seat and Western horses and has had the good luck to show some good ones. She has also shown Cutting Horses and Reined Cow Horses. She has ridden and shown Quarter Horses, TBs, Saddlebreds, Tennessee Walkers and Arabians, she has even shown and won in side saddle classes and driving! Kandi began in the early years of horse shows, when riders were all around horsemen. She showed in the prestigious PCHJSHA, on what is now called the “A: circuit. She qualified and rode in three ASHA medal Finals and has shown and trained a number of high point winners. And she has competed at such impressive shows as Santa Barbara, Reno, The Cow Palace, Del Mar and Indio. For many years she was a member of the Professional Trainers Association on the West Coast.
Some of the horsemen she rode under were Jimmy Williams, the well known trainer of Olympic riders, and Medal Final winners, coach of the Calgary Olympic team, many times named ASHA Horseman of the Year. Jimmy is a member of the Jump Rider Hall of Fame and trained more TRAINERS than any other trainer. Kandi also rode under Kenny Nordstrum, who was a Jimmy Williams protégé, a well know trainer in his own right, and a well respected International judge.
Mac McHugh was her western trainer and a huge influence in her life, along with his wife Maggie. He was a founding member of the Professional Horseman’s Association of California and had more PCHJSHA high point winners than we could list here. There is now a medal competition in his name.
Harold Farren was an early trainer for the movies. He and his father trained horses for Ben Hur, Circus, Circus and many other blockbusters. Harold holds the record for having trained ten ASHA Stock Saddle Seat Medal National Final winners, and he was indeed a trainer’s trainer ~ having trained more OTHER TRAINERS than any other western trainer. (Jimmy holds the record for hunter/jumper trainers.) Kandi rode under Harold for many years.
Bill Martin is a trainer and judge who is well known from California to Texas for reined cow horses and cutting horses. Kandi rode cutting horses with him and trained under and for him for many years.
Kandi was a teacher in her years away from training horses, and has done family counseling. Her teaching techniques are aimed at teaching life lessons in a positive manner and she believes horses and riding can teach both children and adults valuable skills. She completely enjoyed raising her four children, who are now grown.