LESLIE A. PALMER

*** *****’s Lane, #53-860-***-****

Torrington, CT 06790 ir5kal@r.postjobfree.com

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SUMMARY

Farm Manager/Horse Trainer with many years experience:

• Extremely responsible with a high level of performance standards

• Communicative and friendly management style

• Successful training/handling techniques

• Prioritizes tasks, highly self-motivated, organized

• Open to new ideas, takes on new responsibilities

• Organizes events: plans, coordinates and manages

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

WESTFIELD ARABIANS, Wellington, FL

Farm Manager/Trainer

• 230+ horses

• Two stallions standing (handled during AI collection)

• Assisted vet with any and all issues

• Foaled out mares

• Monitored feeding program

• Administered vaccinations

• Started 2-3 year olds (ground to saddle)

• Managed staff of four

• Registered foals

• Maintained health records

• Showed horses to potential customers

• Drove tractor, 9-horse rig

BUCCAFURNO ARABIANS, Worthington Springs, FL

Farm Manager

• 10+ horses

• Managed feeding, vaccination schedules, health records

• Exercised: riding, lunging

ARIES ARABIANS, Delavan, WI

Farm Manager/Trainer

• 50+ horses

• Same exp as at Westfield Arabians except mares were sent out for breeding

NICHOLS-DeLONGPRE’ ARABIANS, Bridgewater, CT

Graduate of Two-year Apprenticeship Program

• Projects included working with/training foals, yearlings, 2- and 3-year olds

• Assisted on show circuit

• Assisted training at home barn

• Learned everything from A-Z on horse care, maintenance, barn maintenance and training

EDUCATION

Virginia Intermont College, Bristol, VA – Horsemanship and English Majors

Heald Business College, San Francisco, CA – Legal Administration

Article written last year:

A Marriage Counselor for Horse and Owner

Leslie Palmer began her career with horses at the early age of three. Weekly riding lessons at a local barn and summers on Martha's Vineyard at a horse farm created the foundation for a love that has never dwindled.

During her recovery after a bout with encephalitis in '79 from a mosquito bite, Leslie was accepted into a coveted apprenticeship program with Nichols-DeLongpre' – a top Arabian Horse show barn that was located in Conn. and Calif. After graduating, she went on to manage and train at several different Arabian facilities around the country.

While at Westfield Arabians in Florida, Leslie met Dr. Dane Frazier, one of the most recognized endurance veterinarians and competitors. “Dane invited me to ride one of his horses in the 50-mile Governor's Cup endurance ride in the Ozarks and hence began my enthusiasm for endurance and competitive trail riding.” Leslie went on to compete successfully with her own Arabian, Keeko, in Florida and Georgia. “In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing better than exploring new trails, being with your favorite horse and enjoying a bit of competition, says Leslie.”

Currently, Leslie is working with abused and/or mistreated horses that need an incredible amount of patience and reassurance to overcome their issues. “Horses are not stupid – they never forget if they were handled badly in their past. This behavior is easily recognizable during the first visit; running from you in the pasture, head shying from an innocent pat on the neck, etc. Once the situation is evaluated and you know what the problem is, you can immediately start to turn it around and put them on the right path. It usually takes several sessions to instill and reinforce the new behavior but you'll always see results if you communicate properly. With your goal in mind, there are distinct steps to arriving there – before moving on to the next step in your horse's training, they have to be completely comfortable with the prior step. Every horse is different and has to be accepted as an individual -- they cannot be trained according to a manual. Each has their own level of tolerance and you can't push them past that point and maintain your goal. Every interaction with the horse has to end on a positive note – always leave the horse with a good feeling – they correctly did what you were asking them to do. A horse that is happy and enjoying every step of the process to reach your chosen discipline (showing, jumping, dressage, trail riding, endurance, cutting, etc.) is the horse that will do anything that you ask. Horses are honest -- if you ask properly and show them in a language they can understand that they won't get hurt, you'll get outstanding, positive results. When your horse is happy, you'll be happy. The rewards are monumental when you see a horse begin to trust and understand you instead of fearing any interaction.”

“My other passion is working with the horse and owner – like a marriage counselor – getting them to begin understanding and communicating with each other. Whatever the situation, there's always a solution. Sometimes the owners cannot see what message they are sending with their body language and this is where I can help. Many are in a hurry to get their horse under saddle and toward their discipline and this usually causes a disconnect between the two. Patience is key – you cannot get angry and frustrated with a horse that is not moving through the steps as quickly as you would like – it's usually the owner's fault – they just have not “explained” the goal correctly. My greatest excitement comes when I see the horse responding in a positive manner and the owner is happy and working together as partners.”

LESLIE A. PALMER 860-***-**** Page 2

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