Castrol Farms Riders and Trainers...
Meet and greet with the staff that make Castrol one of the best places to train and compete!
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Jean St. Claire (31) & Carole St. Claire (29)Positions: Jean - Trainer, Carole - Professional Rider Jean is an experienced rider since youth, and is always steady and smooth. He runs his mounts with time to spare and look like they were walking the course. Jean has become a trainer at Castrol and is currently working with our other staff to make sure that both horse and rider are getting the best out of their runs. Always the first to try new challenging heights, Carole is ready for the speed rounds. She enjoys pushing both her mount and herself to reach their best each and every time they step into the ring. After a maternity leave, Carole is ready to get back in the circuit and looks forward to an exciting 2015 show season with Castrol. Carole's Current Mounts |
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Carter Westhouse (33) & Amy Westhouse (29)Positions: Carter - Assistant Trainer, Carole - Professional Rider Carter and Amy are rather new to Castrol, but have strong recommendations from their previous stables. Wishing to move up into a broader range of international competitions, they decided to join Castrol's staff and bring with them their excellent riding and training skills. Carter is in training himself under Jean, finishing his skills to join Jean as a full Trainer here. Amy, well, she's just along for a great ride! Carter's Current Mounts Amy's Current Mounts |
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William Candor, 54 year old Adult Professional RiderAs one of the oldest and most experienced riders on our team, William is both a wealth of knowledge and a lot of fun to work with. His great attitude keeps spirits high, and when he says you're doing just fine, it's hard not to believe him. William has been living overseas in Sweden for the past 22 years, working with Warmbloods at all levels of Dressage. We are happy to have him come join our team and bring his knowledge and guiding wisdom to Castrol, as well as his excellent form and key attention to detail. Current Mounts |
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Everette Keys, 41 year old Adult Professional RiderEverette joined the Castrol team after a visit with our riding staff attending a show here at our show grounds. He enjoyed the atmosphere of Castrol's team and the prospect of international travel, and decided to leave his previous stable to join our international show crew. Current Mounts |
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Samantha Brown, 44 year old Adult Professional RiderSamantha is a confident, calm rider perfect for some of our younger horses just getting started. Though she has experience at the upper levels of Jumping and some mid level Dressage, Samantha's true passion is getting prospects started in the right direction. She works with our foals when we have them. Current Mounts |
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Oliver Barthel, 39 year old Adult Professional RiderOliver comes to Castrol from Great Britain. We met him at a Stallion Licensing event in Sweden, where he was riding a rather rank young stallion. When we saw how well he handled the horse, we knew we wanted to offer him a position working with our own young stallions. Keeping so many stallions was not originally in Castrol's plans, but the quality of these young horses is too good to pass up. We are glad to have Oliver with his experience and way of handling them to guide them to calm performances in and out of the ring. Current Mounts |
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Shawn Agreve, 33 year old Adult Professional RiderShawn comes to Castrol from a stable in South Africa, where he has been working on a budding team of top quality Dressage prospects. Unfortunately family illness forced the stable to close down, leaving Shawn faced with the option of staying in SA or taking Castrol's offer of employment in Germany. We are glad he's agreed to be a part of our team, as his experience and straightforward demeanor are proving to be just what was needed for two of Castrol's highest potential Dressage mounts: Man In Black and the young mare Delena. We look forward to seeing Shawn progress here at Castrol and to having him be a long-term team member to help coach future riders as well. Current Mounts |
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Ryan Reyn, 29 year old Adult Professional RiderRyan is an adventurous and strong rider, always willing to take on a challenge. We knew he's pair well with the strong jump and win-win attitude of his current mount. Sometimes Ryan is known to rush the clock, pushing himself and his horse to their limit. While we're grasping our chests to avoid heart attacks in the sidelines, Ryan does it all with a smile. Current Mounts |
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Edgar Hodges, 27 year old Adult Amateur RiderEdgar was born and raised, of all places, on an Eastern Oregon cattle ranch. Not exactly prime scoping territory for upper level Eventing and Jumper riders, but when given the opportunity to ride for a small Hunter/Jumper stable while attending Oregon State University, Edgar took his chances in a new saddle. Since that time he has grown to love the thrill of the speed rounds, and is more than ready to take his career to the next level here with Castrol. Edgar is currently working towards his veterinary license, and so we try to keep his commmitments here at Castrol to a minimum. None of us are sure if we could part with him when he's finished, so we're thinking we may need a full time staff veterinarian in the future! Current Mounts |
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Anne Howard, 28 year old Adult Amateur RiderAnne can be quiet and reserved around new people, but she loves the horses she works with and is a great team member to have around. She may not make a big deal of it at the time, but she always remembers a teammate's latest accomplishment and leaves little notes around the training barn like "great job on that 67%!". It is great to work next to Anne and see how the horses under her care thrive on her calm gentle and consistent work. Current Mounts |
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Colene Burcham, 19 year old Adult Amateur RiderTo say that Colene is a go-getter would be the understatement of the century. This amazing young woman has enough energy to keep the whole team going, and knows what she wants and how to get it. Her determination shows in her mounts' success, and we have even placed her with one of Castrol's new purchases, Astrafobi. Current Mounts |
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Edward Johnston, 18 year old Adult Amateur RiderFiercer than his younger sister Emilia, Edward is a bold rider with a lot of energy. Edward is a rather tall, lanky young man and that keeps him still lightweight with a longer reach. He really enjoys riding his current mount Raise with her huge stride and all-speed attitude towards the course. Current Mounts |
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Sarah Newman, 17 year old Junior RiderOne of Castrol's newest riders, Sarah has joined our team on the beautiful young mare by Utsiktens Man In Black, Mon Amour. They seem to make a great team and Jean is happy to see them working so well together. Sarah may have time for another mount after her last year of school, but for now she's sticking with just the one so she can also stay focused on her studies. Current Mounts |
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Emilia Johnston, 16 year old Junior RiderOne of Castrol's longest standing young riders, Emilia has moved up from her little string of pony hunters to a full-sized eventing horse. Emilia started riding with Castrol just after her 11th birthday, and she has moved up from her own string of ponies to now riding full time in Eventing where she really enjoys the speed and challenge of the course. After growing up her whole life around top riders Emilia is both knowledgeable and knows when someone (or a horse) is full of themselves. She keeps a great attitude and shows real talent for training and riding. After a successful time with Parfume, Emilia was looking for a new mount when the big mare retired to breeding in 2014. An equally successful but rather short time with Aerotica helped Emilia decide that she would like to try something a bit different. We have paired her with an exceptional stadium jumping mount in Antiga, a mare with a ton of talent to offer with a great package of outstanding demeanor and skill. Current Mounts |
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Misha Burns, 15 year old Junior RiderMisha is an up and coming speed fanatic that loves taking her mount, Aeles C, to the next level. While she has all the talent to be a great rider some day, she has to find the patience as well. We hope to keep her experiences always positive and to see her grow and mature as a rider for Castrol. Current Mounts |
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Lucas Keys, 12 year old Junior RiderEverette's oldest boy, Lucas has his father's natural touch with horses. Even though he is a very young rider, he is able to guide even a large warmblood into the proper Dressage movements. We currently have paired Lucas with the quiet mare Diora Fh, and they are a great match. Lucas has approached his parents about an international internship if we can find one for him. We are currently looking at several stables, but as we have also listed Diora for sale, we are trying to find a stable that might purchase her and also take on young Lucas as a training rider. Current Mounts |
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Natalie Keys, 8 year old Junior RiderNatalie is Castrol's newest rider, and is having a great time working with her new "pony", Solaris GN. Solaris has the perfect attitude for a child's mount, and is doing a great job teaching Natalie how to ride an international quality animal while keeping things calm for dad's watchful eyes. Current Mounts |