Maureen Cox

Maureen started riding at age 5 at Pounds Stables located in Dunwoody, GA. There she rode with many local trainers, including Kathy Jones and Gwen Bradley, who helped shape her showing career at GHJA local shows beginning at the age 8. Pounds' Stable and "Mr. P" gave Maureen

many opportunities to learn about the industry, from re-schooling sales horses to feeding to general & emergency care. In fact, she cleaned her first stall at 7 for a catch ride. By the age of 12, she was the weekday feeder for over 30 head of horses, and by age 13 she purchased her first horse. Pounds also provided clinic opportunities, and she attended several during her junior years including ones with Olympic trainer Debi Connor.

After ten years of showing the Hunter circuit, Maureen chose to hang up her amateur status. While attending the University of Georgia, she started a lesson & training program at a grassroots farm in Athens, gaining valuable experience as an instructor, farm manager, and horse trainer. During that time she also volunteered as an educational speaker to local 4-H, covering topics from horse care to training tips, and also helped local Girl Scouts earn their rider badges. In 1999, Maureen decided to spend her final year of college in serious training and found herself under the instruction of Kat DeMas-Mulkey of Four Season Farms. She also worked as a Working Student with Hunter Hill Farm of Gainesville, GA. Today Maureen continues her education both as a rider and trainer with the guidance of Anne Kenan and the ANRC.

But Maureen's vast experience is not just limited to riding and managing. She has also successfully breed and foaled out mares, including three foals with her retired TB. She's started many young horses under saddle for different disciplines, such as hunters, pleasure, & endurance. Her internship with Blue Jeans & Chaps Horse Show gave her the foundation to organize and executed numerous horse shows, and she has spent many hours in the judges seat for Rolling Hills, Lanier Equestrian Association, and Athens Area Hunter Jumper Association. She is also a volunteer for the GHJA Education and the GHJA Finals Horse Show committees.

Maureen on Sunny Lamb, summer camp, 1984.

Maureen at a Hunter/Jumper show in 1995.

Maureen & "Blue's Sweet Adelle" in 2005.

"I think it's safe to say the majority of horse owners I meet ride because of their love for horses. They are looking for that connection, that bond, and it fuels our passion to be greater horseman. There is nothing more beautiful than a horse that willingly, and happily, does what his rider asks. You see it from our great riders at the elite level; it's almost magical watch. But what the average rider doesn't know it that everyone can have that relationship with their horse. Everyone.

Horses, by nature, want to please us...sometimes, they just don't know how. Mixed signals, poor communication, and inconsistency lead to a confused and complicated horse, a "problem" horse if you will. But what if you could learn to 'think like a horse' and communicate on a level the horse understands? What if you could work with your horse instead of against it? How different can your relationship be?

Riding is really rather simple when you see it from the horse's perspective. Our methods build confidence and trust, and an overall happy horse and rider. It doesn't matter if you show or simply trail ride; you should enjoy a connection with your horse. My goal as a trainer is to teach anyone who wants to learn how to be that rider." -Maureen Cox-Myers