Stephany Fish Crossman, who co-hosts the Dressage Today Podcast, began riding as a young girl in Maine, and at 18, she discovered dressage and left college to join Michael Poulin as a working student. After a successful career working for large and small animal veterinarians and grooming for Jane Savoie, she attended the former International Academy of Equestrian Studies in Warendorf, Germany, where she graduated with her National Trainer Certificate. She’s also a USDF bronze and silver medalist as well as one of only nine accredited coaches for Mary Wanless’ Ride With Your Mind Biomechanics System in the U.S.

• Hometown: “I was born in Connecticut but grew up in Bangor, Maine, and we moved to Florida by the time I was 8.”
• Current homebase: Okeechobee, Florida
• Specialty: Dressage and equestrian biomechanics
• Family and training facility/program: “I’ve been married since 2019, and we have a 10-stall barn on a cattle ranch where I have my current show mount, Dante; my young horse, George; and my schoolmaster, Otti ‘the wonder horse.’ The bulk of my business now involves me traveling all over Florida and the U.S. conducting dressage and rider biomechanics’ clinics. I love doing clinics in Bozeman, Montana, and Maui, Hawaii.”
• What first drew you to horses? “My parents let me do a pony ride at the state fair in Maine when I was little, and it was all over from there. By the time I was a teenager, horses were my best friends.”
• Favorite horse/pony growing up: “My first horse was Beau. I did all sorts of things with him—dressage, hunters, eventing, trail riding, riding without tack. He was the best!”
• Career highlights: “My time in Germany will always be a favorite memory in my riding career and getting Fourth Level reserve champion at Regionals with my horse Raccoon, who I brought home from Germany.”
• Mentors: “I’ve worked with so many wonderful people over my career, but there are several who’ve had the most lasting effects, including Lynn Hendron, who was my trainer when I was a teenager, and Mary Wanless. Mary introduced me to the piece that made it all come together for me, both in teaching and training, and Heather Blitz had a phenomenal way of blending Mary’s work with her out-of-the-box thinking. I also appreciated Judy Downer for her amazing judge’s eye and Kathy Connelly for being the incredible mentor I needed to help me move forward in my dressage training!”
• Most influential horse in your career: “There are two who stick out the most. One was Raccoon, who was affectionately known as ‘the rock star.’ He started it all for me, when I brought him home from Germany. He made me look good when I had no idea what I was doing. Sache is the other horse I think about the most. He was beautiful, talented and super quirky. He was always a challenge mentally, but I brought him up myself to Prix St. Georges. I wish I’d had more time with him.”
• Competition superstitions: “Nope!”
• When you’re not riding, where can we find you? “On the porch with a good book or my guitar (I’m still trying to get good enough for public consumption!). Or out in the pasture with my husband checking on our cows.”
• Four-legged family members (besides horses)? “Red Dog, our Redbone coonhound; Pumpkin, a fat, black Florida cur dog; and Butter Cup, a Cane Corso. We also have two black cats who we call the MeeMees and my cows Zoe, Maisie and Graycie, who is Maisie’s baby—and any other cows I’m helping my husband raise at the time.”
• Favorite eats: “Steak or sushi, only because good Maine lobsters aren’t easy to find in Florida.”
• Favorite book and/or movie: “I’m more of a book person than a movie person. I’m a huge fan of Charles Martin, a Christian adventure/romance/thriller writer, the whole Outlander book series and Pat Conroy.” 
• Mares or geldings? “Geldings! I’ve had some great mares, but I prefer the boys!”
• What’s kept you involved in the sport for so long? “Training horses is a lot like reading the Bible—the more you dig in, the more you realize we’re trying to communicate with these amazing beings who we want to care for and teach, and they don’t always understand our desires for their good! I love teaching people how to improve the relationships they share with their horses, whether that’s through better rider biomechanics, better understanding of theory or simply helping them recognize that horses are both a different species and unique individuals. Each horse and rider bring a different challenge to me, and that’s what keeps me teaching. For my own riding, I would like to make it to the Grand Prix and to really understand all the things that go into bringing a horse the whole way through. I am hoping to achieve that with Dante!”

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