Elevate Sport Horses

07/15/2026

Every dream has a beginning. For Elevate, it started in 1997, when a horse-crazy 7-year-old girl new to Bend came to watch the Oregon High Desert Classics. Seeing the horses and riders compete was Head Trainer Rachael van den Berg’s introduction to the hunter/jumper world. It ignited a lifelong passion and inspired a dream that would one day become Elevate Sport Horses.

Today, Elevate gets to help bring the dreams of so many riders to life. From first horse shows, to blue and championship ribbons - every partnership, every breakthrough and every milestone reminds us why we do this. At its heart, Elevate is about building a community where horses come first, people lift each other up and dreams have a place to grow.

We couldn’t be more proud of our 10 horses and riders who stepped into the ring this past week. Together, Elevate earned over 39 top three placings, including the following division championships:

🏆 Brooklyn & Finn – Schooling Hunters
🏆 Ellie & TinTin – 2’6 Children’s Equitation
🏆 Josie & Sammy – .80 Jumpers
🏆 Josie & Sammy – .80 Low Jumpers

But the ribbons aren’t what we’ll remember most. We’ll remember early course walks, cheering ringside for each other’s successes, cramming in the golf cart, having the best personal round, sharing stories under the set up and hand grazing our horses while watching the sunset.

Thank you to everyone who made the return of the Oregon High Desert Classic possible. Thank you to our incredible clients for trusting us with your horses. Thank you to the Elevate team Avery Jepson and Becky Carssow Grossman. Thank you to our horse-care team: Trevor Hall NW Animal Osteo Wild Life Animal Chiropractic Sean Black Diamond Equine Vet Fruition Farm Sporthorses and Dewayne Brown. Most of all, thank you to our amazing horses, who give us the opportunity to pursue our dreams with every ride, both in and out of the show ring.

06/22/2026

Happy Father’s Day to the dads behind the horse-girl dreams. Thank you for being our biggest fans, chauffeurs, sponsors, photographers and cheerleaders. ❤️🐴

03/23/2026

Wow, what an amazing weekend we had with Marina Parris Woodhead of Hidden Oaks Horses for our Dressage and flatwork clinic at Elevate! We had riders from Intro Level all the way to FEI, as well as jumper students and members of our Lesson Academy, all come together to participate.

Here are just a few takeaways from the weekend:

• Ride the rhythm
• Start leg yield with a partial turn, then ride diagonal to letter as “magnet,” slowly add in aids
• Don’t overthink—RIDE from feel!
• You can’t ride from correction to correction. Ride from half halt to half halt and give space for peace ☮
• Build exercises up in steps
• Use your “airplane arm” to help steer the withers
• Begin transitions by lifting the horse’s core
• You control the horse from the withers—keep hands even and steady
• The first pattern, canter circle, etc. of the day doesn’t have to be PERFECT. Let it be what it is, figure out where your horse is, and go from there
• Be fluid through hips and inner thighs

A huge thank you to Marina for meeting each rider where they were at, keeping things fun and teaching us all something new. We are so grateful for your wisdom and can’t wait for next time! 📝

02/12/2026

When you are on a horse, your shoulder blades matter more than you think!

Personal Trainer breaks down how to properly set your shoulder blades so you can activate the muscles that support you and your horse in the saddle.

When your shoulders are stable, your core can engage. When your core engages, your seat stabilizes. When your seat stabilizes… your horse can move more freely underneath you.

One of the most common mistakes she sees? Over-arching the back. When we over-arch, we actually disengage our core, which means we lose stability and start compensating elsewhere in the body. When your shoulder blades are set correctly, your core can engage properly, creating strength without tension or stiffness.

This month, our students are participating in the Elevate Rider Warm-Up Challenge building strength, awareness and consistency before they ever swing a leg over their horse. One of the grand prize options is a personal training session with Jeannine!

Prepare Your Body. Elevate Your Ride.
warmup

02/01/2026

This 🙌

Let’s Talk About Trainer Rides.

There’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, and it feels like an important conversation: Trainer rides.

Somewhere along the way, I feel like trainer rides have started to feel optional, like a luxury, or something only needed when things go really wrong. But I believe they are one of the most important parts of keeping horses happy, confident, and reliable in their jobs.

Especially the good ones! The steady school horses. The saintly kids horses. The show horses packing their riders around week after week. Those horses don’t stay that way by accident. They stay that way because someone with experience is checking in with them from the saddle.

Horses are athletes, but they’re also thinkers and feelers. Over time they develop habits, compensations, and questions, just like riders do. A horse gets a little crooked or starts dulling to the leg. They lose confidence in a certain question or quietly start carrying more than their fair share. These things can show up as the ride feeling harder, less smooth, less fun… until suddenly both horse and rider are frustrated. Or they start to voice their frustration and they get labelled as having “bad behavior”.

That’s where a trainer ride isn’t a luxury, it’s part of the care. A professional ride helps to clarify the aids, rebuild confidence on the flat and over fences, and supports them physically and mentally in the job we ask them to do. Then that carries over into the owner’s ride. And the rider gets to build their relationship on a solid, supported foundation instead of constantly trying to fix things themselves.

It’s also about fairness.

Our horses work hard. They try, they tolerate mistakes, they take care of their riders. It’s only fair that we give them rides where the aids are clear, the balance is correct, and they get help doing the job well. Those rides keep them happier in their work and help prevent the slow mental burnout we sometimes see in over-generous horses.
That’s not taking something away from the rider, it’s supporting the partnership.

When horse, rider, and trainer all play their roles, the whole system works better. Horses stay more reliable. Riders progress with less frustration. And the relationship between them gets stronger, not more strained.

At the end of the day, trainer rides aren’t about control. They’re about responsibility.



Photo Credit: Wild Griffin Photography

01/05/2026

Congratulations to all our Elevate riders on a successful season with !

🏆Adult High Point - Josie with Sonora, Rocket, Sammy & Chill

Champions:
🥇2’3 Hunter Champion - Ellie & TinTin
🥇2’6 Equitation Champion - Adelyn Jacoby & Scooby
🥇.90-.95 Jumper Champion - Josie & Sammy

Reserve Champions:
🥈2’6 Reserve Eq Champion - Ellie Jacob & TinTin
🥈2’9 Reserve Eq Champion - Josie & Sammy
🥈Jumper Crossrail Reserve Champion - Josie & Sonora
🥈.70-.75 Jumper Reserve Champion - Josie & Rocket
🥈.90-.95 Jumper Reserve Champion - Josie & Chill

Top-Three Placings:
🥉Brooklyn & Elevate School Horse, Finn
🥉Greta & Profekts
🥉Emily & Elevate School Horse, Calwera

Top-Ten Placings:
🌟Gabby & Profekts
🌟Nancy & Bernie
🌟Beth & Alize
🌟Avery & Corazon