CREDENTIALS
Amy Hunter comes from a long line of and is a military veteran herself, and a horsemen of 35 years. She has a BS degree in Agricultural Engineering from UW-Madison (transferred after 2 years at Colorado State, where she minored in Equine Science) and spent several years as a professional writer (newspaper journalist, congressional aide/speech writer, equine magazines).
In 2007, Amy successfully initiated campaigning Irish Draught stallion Cradilo on the Midwest Grand Prix circuit (see Cradilo's story) and campaigned well throughout the country for 5 years. The team won their first Grand Prix in June of 2009, and went on to several other high placings at the open jumper level of competition. The pair were also invited to and demonstrated well at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY; where they first gained international interest in the stallion.
More recently, Amy qualified both Fatima Ace and Deluca Ace for the 5 year old young Jumper Championship midwestern finals in Lexington, KY. Fatima was 3rd overall in this prestigious event and was in the top 10 of young jumper 5 year olds in the country for 2012.
Deluca Ace and Fatima Ace were 1st and 2nd in the 4 year old jumping class at the February 2011 Young Horse Show at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL. Both mares were started by Amy Hunter (with the help of a working assistant), and Fatima was bred and raised by Huntington Farms (as was her dam).
All of the young horses bred at Huntington Farms are currently very carefully and intimately raised by Amy. In the past the stallions have been collected, the mares inseminated via artificial insemination and the foals delivered by Amy herself. She has a particular love for young horses and the breeding aspect of the horse world, and we feel it is this close intimate attention and connection that appears to be lending itself to strong success.
In the fall of 2007, Amy initiated training on the 3 year old Irish Draught stallion Rakkish Ladd (Aston) and the 4 year old Irish Draught stallion Celtic Moon, both owned by Susan Jenson and family. Both horses went on later in the year to successful A rated show competition. In the fall of 2008, Aston was presented by Amy for formal inspection and approval. This was a high achievement, as this is the first time a stud by Aston's sire (a rare bloodline) has been approved.
In 2006 Amy spent time as a hired trainer in Naples, FL. She won a championship each on privately owned thoroughbred mares Seattle and Honest Fighter (both started by Amy) in the Training and Low Schooling Jumper Division respectively at the Littlewood Presidents Day show in Wellington, FL. Several blues came at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, FL in the schooling jumper division (clean round blue ribbon) on Seattle and then Laddbrook Farm's D'artagnan. Amy continued Tynaugh's jumping career (a Irish Sport Horse by Cradilo) and saw her eventually sold to go on to a successful competitive career in California.
While residing in California (from 1997-2002), she competed in several rated shows on the self discovered and trained off the track American Thoroughbred Sweet Baby JamesXX (tho James' A circuit career began in Tampa, FL while Amy briefly rode him under Chris Kappler, now individual Olympic Silver medalist winner). She was in the ribbons in the Preliminary Division at Indio, CA against over 100 riders and did well in the Pebble Beach Derby/Grand Prix several years in a row.
While in California Amy also put the initial jump training on and rode Cradilo to the 1998 National Irish Draught Horse of the Year in Virginia. She started and introduced the imported Russian Akhal-Teke stallion Gorhon, owned at the time by Dr. Tito Pontecorvo, to his first successful blue ribbon campaign at Indio. She put additional jump training on the Russian Akhal-Teke imported stallions Kogan, Grom and Gigar (owned at that time by Dr. Tito Pontecorvo) and saw Kogan go on to successful competition under Grand Prix rider Suzie Hutchison.
As a junior rider in Massachusetts, she successfully qualified for the New England Medals and won numerous jumper and hunter championships on the East Coast rated circuit. Amy as a junior also exercised and showed horses for Harwood Farms, of Littleton, MA; riding the now famous Holsteiner stallion Limelight.
And this is just a summarized highlight of some of the horses and clients Amy has helped to develop, indicating she has a versatile background of teaching, training, managing, breeding and competing. Though she specializes in hunter/jumper she has formally studied dressage, cross country jumping, racing and natural horsemanship. She has taught riding at two Universities, through Pony Club, and at several private and commercial hunter/jumper facilities. Amy's students have enjoyed a wide range of competitive successes under her supervision, including several high places in the SAHJA medal finals, consistent success on the WWHSA local and rated midwestern circuit and a light dabbling on the 2006 USET and Medal MaClay Florida circuit.
She has successfully trained and worked with a wide range of breeds and has also managed several private and commercial farms ... up to 30 horses and 40 students at one facility. She has also consistently stood several top sport horse stallions.
Amy is particularly proud of her farrier ability (the most difficult work she does in the horse world!) and the technical shoeing of her own horses, including Sweet Baby James, Cradilo and Deluca Ace while showing at the Grand Prix level. Though she has studied farrier science since the age of 13 and has practiced trimming inconsistently for about 25 years, she began shoeing her own horses over 15 years ago out of the desire to receive the farrier work she needed in a remote area for the sake of soundness and movement (and her shoers were getting tired of her asking them to shoe in a very specific way!) She has now studied under some of the top shoers in the world, and has been told she is shoeing at a level right beside some of the best!
Amy feels a strong formal education for a professional horseman is required, and received hunter/jumper instruction in the form of lessons and horse show schooling as a young rider from junior trainer Mitch Steege (MA) with additional assistance in the form of light lessoning and clinics from Fran Dotoli (MA), Dean Battaglia (IL), Charles Throckmorton (CO), Shan DeWey (CA), Chris Kappler, George Morris (FL) and Frank Madden (CT). Additional more recent show and Prix horse management training has come from Niall Grimes (Ireland), Scott Lenkart (MN), Andy Barone (MN), Sue Kyllonen (MN), Nancy Whitehead (IL), Dennis and Kim Mitchell (FL), Richard Rinehart (IN) and most recently Brandie Holloway (Kansas).
She also received instruction in dressage from Hilda Gurney, Pam Goodridge (NH) and Kathy Prior (WI). She was given a great deal of general knowledge and instruction from her junior mentor, race horse trainer and horse shoer Danny Quinlan (MA); as well as instruction from clinician Deb Bennit (CA) and a Parelli Natural Instructor. She has studied veterinarian medicine under Dr. Mark Beverly (WI) and Dr. Erryn Buys (WI) and engaged in a several year farrier study under Jerry Hey (CA).
Amy believes in a classical and slow approach to producing sport horses and feels the animal's emotional and physical well-being (i.e. natural management in terms of turnout, a social life, diversified training, etc) should come before any imposed human goals or financial values assessed. She sees riding first as a disciplined art and believes any form of horsemanship should be considered a path to a fuller and healthier life.
Amy is currently managing her business Ace Sport Horses and working primarily out of her family's Huntington Farms in Viroqua, Wisconsin, though she continues to train and show on the Midwest and East Coast A Rated Hunter/Jumper circuit.
Her goal is to consistently compete successfully at the international Grand Prix jumper level on a self bred partner, to train and instruct a small group of clients, to sell U.S. based top prix competition and breeding prospects, and to further the hunter/jumper sport in the US by continuing to overall educate, guide and promote her diversified concepts of good horsemanship.
ACE SPORTHORSES
