When Sandra was 7 years old she caught the horse bug. During a daycare field trip to a local western barn in Greenville, ME she saw a horse canter by her and from then on she was hooked. She rode western for a few years, riding once a week when the weather allowed. She also grew up playing with a herd of Breyer models, galloping around the house and the woods like a horse and training her dog to jump.

When Sandra was 10 years old her mom (Peggy) started driving an hour to Dover-Foxcroft so she could ride at Fox Run Stables. She learned Centered Riding and started jumping. "I loved show jumping and dreamed of going to the Olympics. When I couldn't ride I was studying videos of jumper riders, Michael Matz was one of my favorites." -Sandra. When Peggy heard about a new instructor in town she convinced Sandra to try a lesson. That one jumping lesson with Carole Rose at Isaac Royal Farm was all I needed to make the switch. "Carole was intense and taught me more in one lesson than I had learned in the past year! I started on the Olympic Aspirant Program that Carole organized and rode every day. She gave me project horses to work with and I joined Pony Club." -Sandra

"In 1996 I became a C-2 Pony Clubber but was falling in love with dressage. I had seen a demonstration on television with Robert Dover. He rode under the spotlights to "One Moment in Time" by Whitney Houston. It was beautiful and I watched it every day for a year. It inspired me to learn upper level dressage and perform to that song at my high school graduation. I accomplished that goal and rode an upper level freestyle on the field hockey field with the entire student body watching."

Click here to watch the video of Robert Dover that inspired Sandra.

After high school Sandra started going to Isaac Royal Farm full time on the Academy Program, riding up to 10 horses a day. She has pursued her love of dressage and now travels along the East Coast to give clinics and judge shows. To see what Sandra has accomplished yearly go to: Accomplishments.

Sandra gives a lot of credit to her parents for supporting her all these years. They allowed her to pursue her dreams and they didn't force her to focus on things that didn't interest her. They also gave huge support to her brother Corey to pursue his dreams. Corey is Sandra's younger brother and is a musician. He play the electric guitar in a very popular band called Trivium. He plays all over the world and has opened for famous bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden. "I am so proud of my brother. We had a great childhood together and he makes me laugh constantly! My mother's only complaint when we were younger was that we giggled all the time and we didn't know how to stop!" -Sandra

Sandra currently is involved in many different businesses and activities in addition to training at Isaac Royal Farm. She loves art, bellydancing, theater, and working on promoting and creating products for WoofHoof.