Lisa Weis

Hi. My name is Lisa and I am excited to help you become the rider you always dreamed of being.

I have a special bond with horses. When I was a little girl in Fairbanks, Alaska, I spent most of my days either in the saddle, or helping care for Mr. Minot Howard’s horses. Mr. Howard owned a breeding farm of over 100 horses (…and was once invited to ride on the 1958 Olympic Team!).

Over the years, he gave me lessons on a great variety of his horses. My own first horse (I was eight years old) was a Canadian Sport Horse named Talkie (shown above). These early years fueled a life-long passion for horses and riding, and, gave me a head start on my career. My first stop outside of Alaska was additional schooling at the Potomac Horse Center in Maryland. There, I received the highest grade point averages of my class in riding, teaching, and stable management. I was honored when upon graduation, the PHC staff offered me an opportunity to stay on, as an instructor. I did so… for awhile. But it wasn’t long before a yearning to be nearer the sort of wild places that I knew as a child, took over. So began a serendipitous path of travel throughout the country, taking various training jobs and apprenticeships along the way. My journey included equestrian opportunities and wilderness experiences in Colorado, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. One of my favorite jobs (and most difficult to leave) was a beautiful farm in Massachusetts on Martha’s Vineyard. At each of my stops, I trained horses and taught their riders. I also continued my own schooling, working closely with well-known trainers such as Gerd Zuther (Reitlehrer FN), Tina Konyot, Conrad Shumacher, Wolfgang Sherzer, David Collins, Joanna Herringstad, Ulrich Schmitz, and Dorie Vlatten-Schmitz. Today, I still hold regularly scheduled clinics on Martha’s Vineyard and in southern Arizona, allowing me to continue working with my students there, while maintaining life-long connections with many old friends and former mentors. Not long ago, I once again began feeling the urge to move on; the Pacific Northwest was calling. I am now settled in the Stanwood-Arlington corridor, and working on building my own barn. Its beginning to feel like home.