Sally Cousins

Who is Sally Cousins?

I started riding when I was five when my parents moved to

our farm in Oxford, PA, and soon joined the local Pony Club

and was introduced to the sport of eventing. Additionally, I

showed ponies in the hunter divisions and also fox hunted;

both sports helped me develop as an all-around

horsewoman.

By my mid teens, I completed my first one-star three-day

event and continued to move up the levels. At 20, I traveled

to England to compete at the Badminton Horse Trials,

stayed in England that year, and completed the Burghley

Horse Trials in September.

On Strike-A-Light, a horse I bought during my stay in

England, I completed the Badminton Horse Trials the

following spring. When I returned home in 1986, I took a job

working as a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch, while continuing

to compete at the highest levels of the sport, including

numerous runs at the Rolex Kentucky four-star event.

In 1991, I won the Essex Three-Day with Castle Cay and

soon after, announced my engagement to Nat Cousins; we

were married on July 6th (needless to say there were no

competitions that weekend). I continued to produce event

horses and started catch riding horses for other riders,

winning the Bromont Two-Star on Drizzle, and competing

him successfully in many three-star events.

After 16 years at Merrill Lynch, I decided to become a

professional and devote myself exclusively to my riding

career. In 2005 I purchased property in Aiken, SC so I could

compete and provide instruction for the three months of

winter when Pennsylvania is covered in snow and ice.

Thanks to a successful competition schedule and the depth

of experience I garnered as an amateur and a professional,

I have been ranked among the top 10 riders on the US

Eventing Leaderboard for the last six years.

I have relished competing at the top levels but I have equally

enjoyed the time spent training and instructing students and

their horses. Quite often I draw from my own lessons with

Mike Plumb, Bruce Davidson and Torrance Watkins, and

because I believe in drawing on other disciplines’

strengths, I have also ridden with Frank Chapot, Anne

Kursinski, and George Morris. My dressage training has

been with Gunnar Ostergaard, Donnan Sharp, and Scott

Hassler.

In both 2007 and 2008 I finished the year ranked third

overall on the US Eventing Leaderboard and was the USEA

Lady Rider of the Year in 2008. I have high expectations that

2009 will bring even better results!