Greetings, and welcome! I’m Julia Briskin: rider, writer, and researcher. While my professional life has taken me into academia, research, and data science, horses have been a constant thread through all of it. I have spent over three decades riding, training, learning from, and–as any horse person well knows–being humbled by horses.
As a young rider, I competed in three-day eventing through the Advanced level, training primarily with Susie Beale and Bonnie Mosser. Today, I enjoy sharing what those years (and the many horses since) have taught me through riding, teaching, training, and writing.
I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and at the ripe age of four, I caught the horse bug after glimpsing some real, live ponies from the Montessori playground. After much begging (and due to the tender heart of my beloved late grandmother), I started riding those very same ponies, taking lessons with Karen Cadwalader. I became focused on three day eventing just prior to my 10th birthday, and I rode with Susie Beale and Bonnie Mosser throughout my formal competition career as a young rider from 1998 through 2008.
It all began on a horse named Minibus…
The year I turned 7, I had the privilege to ride with Gwyneth McPherson aboard Minibus (pictured above), and the dressage foundation that I developed in my early years shaped the rider I am today.
For my ninth birthday, I lived every little girl’s dream. I was the lucky recipient of a gorgeous (and naughty!) pony named Black Velvet.
This plucky little pony (also seen in the “Hairy Moment” clinic section) gave me many hard earned lessons. Principally, how to fall off and get back on with a smile. Below you can see one hairy moment at our first ever “three day event,” at an unrecognized event called Brandywine Horse Trials. During this event, not only did I manage to get eliminated during dressage (yes, dressage–did you know that you get the big E for jumping out of the dressage arena?), but I also managed to fall off during both jumping phases in the warm up areas. Fun times.
I did have some lovely times in Maine with Velvet. In the summer of 1998, Velvet and I had an absolute blast fighting the green head flies in the summer sun and swimming in the lake.
Unfortunately (or perhaps just inevitably), I grew, and I grew FAST. By the end of the summer of 1998, I had grown almost eight inches since my October birthday, and it was clear that Black Velvet would only tolerate my toes in her elbows for so long.
My parents were generous to supply a saintly little chestnut mare named Custom Jewel, who took me up the levels of eventing from Baby Novice through Training level (pictured below at Seneca Valley Horse Trials).
Jewel and I also were lucky to enjoy summers in Maine, where we swam to keep up our fitness and prepare for the Fall competitions. It became clear to my parents that I was committed to three day eventing–come hell or high water!
By the age of 12, I became more confident, and I was fortunate to ride Ballliough (“Spring” as he was called around the barn), a stunning Irish Sport Horse gelding in my early teen years. Spring was a KILLER mover and a head-shy fellow who taught me a great deal and took me to my debut of the upper levels. We had many wins at Training and Preliminary, including at Stoneleigh Burnham Horse Trials (pictured below).
Sadly, Spring got EPM shortly after our second CCI* at Morven Park Horse Trials, and he retired from eventing. I continued moving up the levels aboard Stina, a lovely little bay mare who was brought up the levels by Bonnie Mosser (who I also rode with during my teen years), and who brought me all the way from my first Advanced level event. She started by helping me debut at the Intermediate level at Southern Pines Horse Trials in 2004, and we earned a bronze medal at the North American Young Rider Championships at the Virginia Horse Center in 2005. Stina and I earned second place at our very first Advanced level horse trials at Plantation Field Horse Trials in 2006, and that same year, we completed a CIC*** at the Maui Jim Horse Trials.
Throughout my three day eventing competition career, I had the privilege of riding with and learning from some of the best three day eventing riders in the world, including Bonnie Mosser, Phillip Dutton, Lesley Law, and Buck Davidson. I dipped my toe into the jumper world by competing at at Ocala’s HITS series aboard Cordelia, a lovely Argentinian warmblood mare (pictured below).
After 2008, I took a break from formal competition, but my love for horses only grew. After establishing myself in an academic career as a research data scientist, I returned to the equestrian world and I ride horses and train students on a selected basis. If you are looking for a rider, trainer, or equestrian partner in the Detroit-Metro Ann Arbor, MI area, I look forward to connecting.
