Meet the Team

Meet the people that make Mischief Farm what it is.

Susan Evans, Head Trainer
Susan started riding at age 6—that’s almost 50 years ago—and she’s been involved with horses ever since that first lesson in Virginia in the early 1960’s.  By investing time and energy into keeping up with the latest information in equine trends in teaching and horse management, she makes sure her horses and riders are able to perform to best of their abilities.  Susan has been certified by the American Riding Instructors Association for both teaching and stable management since 2002.

Elizabeth Evans, Assistant Trainer - Big Horse & Clark
Elizabeth also started riding when she was six, and her ultimate goal is to ride jumpers in international equestrian events, most especially the Olympic Games.  Her riding partners are the Big Horse (since 2006) and now Clark (since 2010).  Since the Big Horse has found his calling on the cross country field, Elizabeth has done eventing with him, and they have found fun, as well as success, in the three-day world.  Now Elizabeth is working with Clark in the jumpers arena, her true passion, and has plans for showing Clark extensively in the coming year at the 1 to 1.4 meter heights.

Lori and Missy (Moon Boots)
Lori joined the Mischief Farm family at the beginning of 2008 with her mare Missy (nickname Moon Boots).  She plans to campaign on the Tri-Valley Horse Show Circuit in 2011, riding the Big Horse in the Cross Rails and Stirrup divisions.  Missy is a 1999 bay Thoroughbred mare, and although she originally started with dressage, she found her true calling to be Western Pleasure.  Lori and Elizabeth plan on showing Missy in the 2011 show season at local small shows in the Western Pleasure classes.

Jolanda Sannes
Jolanda first came to Mischief Farm in the spring of 2010, looking to lease a horse.  She started taking lessons and found out that she was absolutely hooked on horses.  She is now a daily regular, helps with all manner of chores, and is loving every minute of her time at the barn.  Jolanda has decided to start showing, so she will be taking Red to some Tri-Valley shows this year.  We look forward to cheering her on and being there to watch her succeed as she takes her riding to the next level.

Nils Sannes
Nils is Jolanda’s husband and first started coming to the barn to watch Jolanda ride.  Then he met Vegas and, as they say, “the rest is history”.  Nils is now a barn regular and rides Vegas every chance he gets.  He is also the “tall guy” and barn handyman, and we really appreciate all the work he does for us, whether it’s hauling sand, mucking stalls, filling water, or installing electrical devices.  He and Jolanda (as well as their son Martijn) have been terrific additions to the Mischief Farm family.

Sarah and Red
Sarah came to us in the summer of 2011 and rides Red in both jumpers and eventing.  She has been doing a marvelous job mastering Red around a course of fences.  She is hoping to catch some of the last jumpers shows before the year is out, and is looking forward to the upcoming 2012 show season.  She is currently jumping Red at the 2 foot level and is looking forward to moving up in fence height as she prepares for the 2012 show season.

Here are the instrumental people in our team who help keep our horses Healthy and Sound: 

Chris Carson and Matt Kurzyniec, Precision Farriers
Chris and his assistant Matt have been shoeing all our horses since 2006.  Chris specializes in custom, corrective, and precision hot and cold shoeing.  Chris’s technical expertise and artistic vision have solved the many shoeing and foot problems we have encountered in our practice.  At no time was this was proven more dramatically than when Chris, working with Dr David Cox, created plastic and polymer hoof replacement pieces for the Big Horse that helped keep shoes on when no other method would work.   He is a tremendous resource for Mischief Farm and we rely on his excellent work to keep our horses sound.

Megan Thomas, Equine Sports Massage Therapist
Megan has been our equine massage therapist since 2004.  She is ESMT certified and takes massage very seriously.  She has helped every horse in the Mischief Farm barn feel better and work more efficiently.  She has “healing hands”, as well as a variety of electric vibratory massage tools, and spends all the time each horse needs to get the best results from the work she does.  She is also an excellent teacher and will show the horse’s owner in great detail what needs to be done with the horse in order for him to continue to feel the benefits of her work.  Megan is very knowledgeable about horse anatomy and biomechanics, and her work and opinions are highly valued at Mischief Farm. 
                                                                                (818) 621-1640
                                                                                www.equitouch.massagetherapy.com

.