Hannah Mattis, Manager
Hannah Mattis began her riding career at the age of six. Growing up, she
mainly focused her time on hunters but dabbled in the jumpers and three
day eventing. In middle school, Hannah also began showing in the reining
arena under World Champion trainer Brian Bell. Though Hannah’s real
passion has always been hunter/jumpers, she quickly found that the soft
way of riding used in the reining world can easily be applied to the
foundation of starting young horses. In high school, Hannah began to
solely focus on Hunter/Jumpers. She attended many clinics, including
those with Olympic medalist Michael Plumb. At this young age, she
trained under many renowned trainers such as Marilee Ventura, Tracy
Kerr, and Rex O’Brien. Under these trainers, she competed competitively
on both the C and A circuits. She was often a catch rider as well as a
prep rider for green horses in the show ring. At the age of 17, Hannah
was riding 6-7 horses daily. It was through this that Hannah gained
great experience training and tuning fancy hunters and jumpers. In 2004,
Hannah was Triangle Farms Year End Children’s Hunter Champion and
Triangle Farms 15-17 Year End Equitation Champion. She also competed in
NCHJA’s 2004 medal finals and was 2nd in NCHJA’s Year End 15-17
Equitation Section. Since then, Hannah has graduated from NC State
University with a degree in Business Management. She has trained at
Southern Oak Equestrian Center for 5 years, training all levels from
beginners, to C show students, to students showing in the AA hunters and
jumpers. Hannah continues to train her own horses and believes there is
always more to learn. She currently trains with Melissa Jones Sorel at
Paramount Show Stables. See Hannah's video at
http://www.youtube.com/user/hmmattisSOEC.
Lizzy Kramer,
Instructor
Lizzy
Kramer, is a dynamic instructor
who brings the belief that both horse and rider benefit from an enthusiastic,
creative atmosphere. Her teaching and training is based in the classical,
centered riding philosophy & is customized to focus on each rider’s
personal goals.
Lizzy’s background includes riding her childhood horses in the
hunter ring, competing on the east coast in various hunter circuits
and was actively involved in the NC 4-H Horse program. She also gained
valuable experience riding overseas with her older sister, an accomplished
dressage rider, who resides in Italy. Continuing to work with horses
while attending NC State University she began a part-time free-lance
instructor service. Following graduation from NCSU, Lizzy began traveling
to private farms / homes in the Triangle area to work with riders of
all levels as well as their horses. In 2003 she teamed up with Harward
Farms in Swift Creek, NC as the private lessons instructor & trainer
for their breeding program. Her passion for working with horses and
riders led to enrollment in Meredith Manor International Equestrian
Centre’s Riding Master program for the purpose of achieving a
teaching certification & riding masters. Lizzy graduated from Meredith
Manor in August of 2006 with honors. Her concentrations were in Teaching,
Riding (Jumping, Dressage, & Western), and Farrier Science. Lizzy
was the recipient of the “Excellence in Teaching” Award,
and was recognized for her Jumping achievements on a horse she trained
and preformed on in quarterly show masters. Lizzy is an active member
of the horse community, and enjoys coaching all levels of riders from
beginners to upper level competitors. She believes safety comes first,
maintains current CPR & First Aid certifications, and considers
education to be a lifelong process.
Carol Bijelic,
Instructor
Debra Moorman,
Instructor
Debra grew up on a horse/cattle
farm . During that time, she learned about breeding and training young
horses. She has used that experience to train various horses throughout
the years. Debra started showing at age 6 in Charlotte, NC and continued
to ride and compete through her teen years, focusing on the hunter and
jumper arenas. An accomplished equestrian athlete, Debra was a member
of the Duke University Equestrian Team. Family and children limited
Debra's ability to show, however she taught students for several years
before focusing on her two children, husband, and career. Debra teaches
all lesson levels at SOEC.
Beth Morgan,
Instructor
The horse bug hit Beth at
the age of eight when she began riding lessons, both hunt seat and western.
Her parents bought her first horse at age 12. At age 14, she started
her own riding program, teaching children and even a few adults. Beth
became an active 4H member during middle school and led the only 4H
horse club in my county for several years. She competed in several 4H
competitions on the state and national levels. Beth was on a state winning
horse bowl team, also claiming the high scoring individual award for
that year. She placed second in the State Hippology Contest and went
to the National Hippology Contest where her team earned second place.
Beth won the state demonstration contest and went to nationals where
she received second place. A competitive equestrian, Beth showed on
the Eastern North Carolina show circuit during middle school and high
school. In addition, she earned a place on the UNC Equestrian team.
Beth donated her horse to 4H through the horse donor program when she
got married. Her daughter led her back into horses a few years ago when
she started riding lessons. Beth teaches beginner level lessons at SOEC
and is the leader of the Hi Ho Hunters 4H Club.
Laura Sides,
Instructor
Laura started riding
lessons at age 7 in Virginia Beach and completed at local schooling
shows until age 13 when her family relocated to Statesville, NC. Laura
bought her first horse off the racetrack at age 14 and started a career
in training and selling horses. She began working at local farms as
an exercise rider and trainer at age 16 and has worked for several A
circuit trainers. Laura started breaking and training young horses independently
for local farmers at age 16. During college, Laura worked at the NCSU
Equine Educational Unit, assisted in breeding, imprinting, and starting
horses, and also worked as a racetrack exercise jockey. Laura graduated
from NCSU in 2006 and became the farm manager/caretaker for Helping
Horse Therapeutic Riding Center. Laura currently attends UNC Chapel
Hill Pharmacy School. She has two young horses in training and hopes
to be a competitive 3-day eventer after graduating. Laura enjoys teaching
young riders and sharing her love for horses with others. Laura teaches
beginner level lessons at SOEC.
