Shelley has come a long way from showing at the 4H level, where she exhibited a Shetland/Welsh pony cross that refused to load on the trailer and she had to ride it to the fairgrounds!!! She has had a phenomenal year with her 6 year old, red roan gelding - Hes Asgoodasitgets (Dakota). Shelley finished the year as the Ontario High Point All Around Novice Amateur and the Area 3 High Point All Around Novice Amateur - with MANY circuit high point awards and year-end end awards in Novice Amateur classes. Her Reserve Champion High Point All Around Novice Amateur achievement at the Area 4 Regional Experience in Ohio was the highlight of the season. She earned this award by placing 3rd in Novice Amateur Trail, 4th in Novice Amateur Horsemanship and 6th in Novice Amateur Equitation.

Shelley and her husband, John and their dog Barkley – the largest golden (non-retrieving) retriever alive - live in Belfountain. John and Shelley met at university and have been married for 18 years. Like many horse show spouses – John would much rather spend his weekends on a golf course than eat dust at a horse show. Shelley works as the Medical Director for Virology with Hoffmann La Roche, a large multinational pharmaceutical company. She travels frequently for her job and she says the most interesting place she has visited was Singapore. Outside of work and horse shows, Shelley enjoys cooking, reading fiction and spin classes.

At 40, Shelley seemed to have a “mid-life” revelation and decided to take up riding once again after not doing the horse thing since she was a youth. Less than a year later, she was the owner of Royall D Step (Harley) and participated in her first Quarter Horse show at Teen Ranch. Not one to be shy and certainly someone who is able to laugh at her mistakes – Shelley once dropped the rope on the gate in Trail at Summerama – looked straight at the judge and told him she was going to pretend. Shelley shows in All Around events including: Halter, Showmanship, Western Pleasure, Western Horsemanship, Trail, Hunter Under Saddle and Hunt Seat Equitation. Her favourite classes are Trail and Horsemanship. Her goals for the 2008 show season are to add Western Riding to her list of classes and master Showmanship.

In 2007, Shelley, along with her show mates from JM Quarter Horses, travelled to the Area 3 shows, a few additional Ontario shows, the Regionals and will head to Ohio for the Quarter Horse Congress in October. Shelley gets a great deal of support in her showing from John, her team at work, her trainer Jodi Mallette and all the people she shows with who are always willing to give her a hand. A big thank you to all!!!!

Shelley - good luck at the Congress and have fun with lead changes over the winter - See you in 2008!!!!