About
Hilary MurphyHilary grew up riding horses in Michigan and then in Portland, Oregon. At the age of 13, her family moved from Michigan to Oregon where she joined a barn with an active pony club. She quickly started moving through pony club ratings while competing at Novice and Training levels in the sport of eventing. After graduating high school, she moved to Northern Alabama to be a working student and train with top 3 day eventer and 1994 World Games Team Member, Jim Graham. She spent 7 years riding, teaching and competing in the southern and eastern parts of the US. She became an active member of Peytona Pony Club and achieved her B rating before aging out. She competed through then FEI CCI** level (now CCI*** level) on several horses, represented Area III at the North American Young Riders Championships and competed at the Advanced level of eventing.
In 2004, she stopped riding to finish college. She graduated with a Masters Degree in Business in 2008, meeting her husband along the way. They currently operate a working farm, raising purebred goats and sheep, heritage pigs, livestock guardian dogs and poultry. For the past 10 years, Hilary has owned a successful photography business where she photographs families, children, events and offers branding images for local businesses. While her two children have ridden on and off their whole lives, the summer of 2019 they started riding on a regular basis. At that point, (and after 15 years of not riding!), Hilary decided it was time to get back in the saddle and bought a young horse to work with. In the fall of 2020, Hilary and her husband bought two off the track thoroughbreds (OTTB) and have enjoyed training them in their new careers as sport horses. Since then, they have acquired 3 more OTTB's, working together in producing them as sport horses. Hilary and her children, Aiden and Anna, are proud members of Somerset Hills Pony Club. Hilary volunteers as a joint DC (co-leader) of the 71 member club, where she helps organize and prepare junior and adult members for their certifications. She recently certified at the national certification level passing her H-A certification, the highest horse management, knowledge, teaching and training pony club certification you can achieve. Hilary has a goal of achieving her A rating one day too. Aiden and Anna are actively moving through the certification rating levels. Hilary is passionate about utilizing the pony club curriculum alongside natural horsemanship techniques to attain mental and physical balance in the horse as well as producing safe and effective riders. |
PJ MurphyPJ Murphy IAED/C, EDPA/C - New Jersey, USA
PJ grew up in Ireland on a farm in County Wexford, Ireland. The horse enterprise consisted mostly of training young horses aimed at the Show Jumping and Field Hunter market with some brood mares and young stock also. He started horses under saddle through his teens and uses those skills today to restart Thoroughbred horses off the racetrack today. He graduated from the University of Limerick with a first class honors degree in Equine Science and Business with completion with honors of Equitation Courses. After emigrating to the United States. He worked at the Racetrack at Del Mar, CA and later with Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds in Kentucky and on the East Coast. After completing an apprenticeship with a Master Certified equine dental practitioner he became certified to the Master level (later called Advanced Level) by the IAED (International Association of Equine Dentistry) in 2001 and served as an IAED Examiner between 2002-2006. PJ also served a term on the IAED Board of Directors and the Certification and Association’s Marketing Committee. Also Certified also by the EDPA. Both certifications are recognized by law in many States. Focused on dental related performance issues in primarily English Riding disciplines, PJ works in New Jersey and the surrounding States and travels to Florida during the winter shows in Wellington, FL. He has sponsored 4 successful candidates for IAED Certification. The IAED Certification is respected across the world as the International Standard that others are built upon. PJ is the current President of the NJEDPA and a Charter Member. PJ lives with his wife Hilary and their two children and enjoys farm life with lots of animals of all sorts. |