Amanda Harder
USDF L Program Graduate with Distinction
USDF Bronze Medal (Distinction) & USDF Silver Medal
Amanda’s love for dressage sparked as a teenager after a clinic with Grand Prix trainer and USEF “S” Judge Elizabeth Madlener. With regular lessons from Elizabeth, she trained and competed her first horse, a green-broke grade gelding, Gotta Love Me (“Joe”), through FEI Intermediate. Amanda earned the scores for her Silver Medal and two scores towards Gold on Joe, with over 50 trips down centerline at the FEI levels.
Amanda and Joe’s competitive highlights include Region 1 Jr/YR Reserve Champion at Fourth Level in 1999, winner of the FEI YR Individual at the USEF Festival of Champions in 2000, Region 1 Jr/YR Reserve Champion at Prix St Georges in 2000 and Region 1 JrYR Champion at Intermediate in 2001.
Horse-First Philosophy
"There is a critical distance between all living things, an invisible territory that must never be taken for granted. Be mindful of it for it is real. It is dynamic, contextual, unpredictable and powerful. It is a space that is filled with the ancient chemistry of yes and no – the first language."
-Ian McCullum
