Clinician Biographies

Stacy Westfall                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                          Photo Courtesy of Primo Morales

As a young child growing up in Maine, Stacy loved horses and rode whenever she had the chance. She got her first pony, Misty, when she was six. Her mother Sherri was Stacy’s only instructor in riding and training until she went to college. As Sherri looked on she would ask questions that prodded Stacy to think deeply about the mind set of the animals. “Why do you think Misty just did that?” or “How do you think you could get Bay to want to cooperate? What is she thinking?” The habit of getting inside the horse’s head, of thinking like a horse, became second nature to Stacy.

She also learned directly from the horses. One of her favorite memories is of “accidentally” teaching a horse to sit. While riding with a friend in the winter the girls accidentally backed a horse into a pile of snow. The horse lost its footing and sat on the snow. As the girls laughed Stacy decided to set up the situation again. It wasn't long before the horse would “sit” on anything she backed it up to.

Stacy always had a desire to train and to teach. When she wasn’t at school you might have found her training her dog to navigate obstacle courses in the yard, or giving a riding lesson to a neighbor. With no professional trainers to observe in her area, she relied on the insights instilled by her mother and the instincts and lessons she learned from the horses.

When she was 13, Stacy got her first horse; her Dad had promised her one — if she got all “A”s in school. Stacy rode Bay bareback wherever she went. In fact, Bay was her mode of transportation to work — seven miles each way — until she turned 16. She and her mother rode almost every day and Stacy eventually started to compete in many events including jumping and barrel racing. While other teenagers were playing sports or shopping at the mall, Stacy was riding horses.

In high school, through the urging of a teacher, she found a college in which she could pursue a major in equestrian studies — the University of Findlay in Ohio. She studied under traditional-style training instructors including Steve Brown and Clark Bradley. She also worked for champion reining trainers Mike Florida and Dan Huss. To all of the knowledge she learned from these mentors, she applied the “think-like-a-horse” technique that had served her well in the past.

In 1994, while at the All American Quarter Horse Congress, Stacy met her future husband Jesse — himself a talented reining trainer. They married three years later and then established the Westfall Horsemanship training facility in Mt. Gilead, Ohio. They have three young boys, Caleb, Joshua, and Nathan. Stacy often teased that she was pregnant three years straight.

Like any good trainer Stacy’s aim has always been to have the most clear and precise communication with her horse as possible. Her goal in her reining was to make the reins unnecessary. While others have approximated that goal, Stacy made it a reality. In 2003 she won the National Reining Horse Association Freestyle reining competition riding with no bridle — and with not so much as a neck rope. She has gone undefeated for two years straight in major freestyle reining competitions and in 2006 she won twice while riding bridle-less AND bareback.

When in 2006 she entered the prestigious Road to the Horse colt starting competition, Stacy heard from more than a few people that she couldn’t possibly win. After all, she was facing some legendary trainers. When the competition was over, Stacy was named the winner, after a convincing performance that clearly outshone her competitors.

That little girl from Maine has grown to become one of the country’s top clinicians and competitors. While Stacy continues to compete, start young horses and train, she truly loves to explain to people what her Mom encouraged her to learn — to discover the “why” behind what the horse does..

With Jesse, her invaluable coach, she tours the country offering clinics and making educational appearances at expos and other equine events. She is building the Westfall Horsemanship approach to create a program that is efficient and effective — with resources to compliment the clinics such as DVDs, equipment and an information-rich website.
Please remember, no videotaping is allowed during this presentation.

Terry Myers

Delaware County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Office
Mounted Unit
Lieutenant Steve Jones, Commanding
Walter L. Davis III, Sheriff

The Delaware County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) Mounted Unit has been serving the community since 1969. The unit is made up entirely of deputy sheriff volunteers. The members bear all of the expense of their training, uniforms, as well as the care and feeding of their mounts, which are owned by individual unit members and cared for at their homes. The sheriff’s office provides firearms, OC chemical spray, and handcuffs, as well as training opportunities throughout the year.

Currently there are two ways to serve in the mounted unit. Members who have graduated from an accredited police academy and who are certified by the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy (OPOTA) are considered “full commission” deputy sheriffs who are armed and empowered with powers of arrest. These deputies have the same authority as a full-time deputy. “Limited-commission” deputies may serve in any capacity that does not require that the deputy be able to enforce the rule of law, such as search and rescue, victim recovery, and activities like parades and honor guard duty. We currently have five members: four full commission deputies and one limited commission deputy.

All members must participate in at least one annual training event. These training events test the rider and mount in a variety of situations, including crowd control, formation riding, use of weapons while mounted, and extracting a patrol vehicle from a riot-type situation. The final event is usually a comprehensive obstacle course. Weapons are discharged near the horse and rider, and the team is required to cross rocking bridges, pass through doorway-size openings, back into small spaces, and walk around, over, and through a variety of obstructions on the ground, including plastic tarps, smoking flares, and tires.

In 2008, the unit participated in numerous activities, including parades, training, and honor guards. The unit is also instrumental in providing the security for the Delaware County Fair, featuring the high-stakes harness race “Little Brown Jug.” Typically on “Jug Day” an estimated 50,000 people attend the fair, and the mounted unit is always in evidence and highly visible; patrolling the numerous parking lots and camping facilities, and assisting full-time agency personnel in providing a safe and secure environment in which to enjoy the day.

Every member of the unit is required to serve the agency each month for a minimum of 16 hours. Typically these service opportunities consist of riding in the patrol vehicle with a full-time deputy during his or her shift, assisting correction officers in the jail, and other duties as assigned by DCSO supervisors such as serving warrants and transporting prisoners. Training, special events, and parades also count towards fulfilling the required hours each month. Unit members are on-call 24/7 to assist the agency in any way that their unique training and expertise requires. The monetary value of this donation of man-hours usually approaches $25,000 annually.

The DCSO Mounted Unit is always looking for new members. Anyone wishing to become a member of the unit is encouraged to do so. Contact Lieutenant Steve Jones through the sheriff’s office liaison, Captain Kevin Savage
844 US 42 N
Delaware, Ohio 43015
Direct: (740) 833-2800
Fax: (740) 833-2799

Dennis Clement

Dennis Clement has been judging equine since 1989. Dennis is recognized by The Ohio and Michigan State Universities on the respective 4-H judges lists for the past 20 years. Dennis also holds national breed judges cards with the American Miniature Horse Association (AMHA), Pinto Horse Association (PtHA), International Buckskin Horse Association (IBHA) and American Buckskin Horse Registry (ABRA). Dennis has judged the Saddle Seat Division at the Kentucky State Show, both Jr. and Sr. Divisions at the Michigan 4-H State Show and the Production Show at the Ohio State Fair. Currently, Dennis is employed with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency as an Environmental Public Information Officer.

Allison Applegett

Allison Applegett has been the head-riding instructor at the Sid Griffith Equestrian Center in Hilliard, Ohio for 5 years. Allison attended Otterbein College and earned a bachelors degree in Equine Facility Management. In addition to her teaching career, Allison spends a great deal of time training horses, from starting colts to re-training mature show horses. She specializes in the english disciplines and spends a good portion of the year hauling her students and their horses to shows. Her students compete at various levels, from the local 4H and open shows to the All American Quarter Horse Congress, where they have earned multiple State Championships and Congress Top Ten/Finalist wins.