Wildwood Training has moved to BEND, OREGON

-Lesley Zacharias

Hello my name is Lesley Zacharias. I've been working with horses since the age of four. My education with these animals has spanned many disciplines and many instructors. What I have learned is that there is endless knowledge in this sport, and I continue my own education with outside instructors to this day. Horses mirror our energy and provide a platform for understanding oneself. The connection, respect, and communication riders have with the animal is my highest priority.  There are no shortcuts to developing proper riding skills.  I spent a year as a working student with Elenore Elstone, in Langly, BC, we rode 6-8 horses a day, and she provided me with a solid foundation in Dressage. I rely on that education heavily when working horses on the flat. I showed hunter jumpers competitively for six years, until I fell in love with three day eventing. I was in consistent training from 8 until my mid twenties, when I started teaching.

I have a very small lesson program that is tailored to each student. I have had multiple students go on to ride on equestrian teams at college. One student, who trained with me for six years, went on to become the captain of the Dartmouth Equestrian Team, as well as won the National Horsemanship Challenge.

My expertise is in helping riders obtain a solid foundation, to prepare them for college riding, and working student positions in the future. I have many connections in the lower 48 that can take students to the next level in multiple disciplines if they chose to leave Alaska.  I also teach adult riders who have come back to riding or who were afraid of horses in their youth and want to understand them. Good horsemanship, excellent sportsmanship, and understanding the nuances of a correct riding position are my priorities.

I have also brought up outside instructors, the head coach at Dartmouth, Daniel Stewart, Wendy Murdoch, Jim Briggs, to name a few in order to continue my education and provide an outside perspective on my coaching and training.

Many of the pictures on this website were taken by Wendy Spencer Photograpy, if you like the images you may contact her for more details.    wendyspencerphotography.com