D&Z Equestrian - Central Wisconsin

03/31/2025

It’s almost time!!
Come to the biggest and greatest horse fair in the country!! So many breeds, clinics, performances, celebrity horses/riders, and so much more!!

And stop by to see my Teke boys too!
Below are our performance times and stalls (3221-3216) - Zephyr and I will also be in the Grand March (televised online and TV!) at 12:30 in the coliseum on Friday and Saturday!

Go to
Midwest Horse Fair Facebook or midwesthorsefair.com for more info!

03/15/2025

Spring time has officially arrived! 71 degrees yesterday! Had a day booked full of lessons and the ponies were perfect 🥰

03/04/2025

I gotta give this sweet, awesome kid a shoutout for how she handled her first spill/scary experience on a horse.

She was riding her cute pony Prince and we were having a nice time. We were having to go around a few ice patches and on one of the bigger spots, Prince’s back foot caught just a little edge of it and he ended up sliding right into the middle. Now all four of his feet were splaying out every which way like Bambi, and he was very carefully trying to get his feet under him. For about five seconds he struggled and then he went down all the way in a laying position, I calmly as I could told Luna to kick her feet out of the stirrups and she was able to basically crawl off of him and get out of the way. During this entire time he never thrashed or kicked or panicked. He was so clearly looking out for her and did his best to fall as gracefully as he could.

Luna was perfectly fine and only one tear was shed over the fact her bare hand was cold from touching the ice. She gave her pony a big hug and told him how wonderful he was. Prince is also perfectly fine. Not a scratch, but I gave him some “horsie aspirin” just in case.

We finished our ride and when we got home she told me “while Prince is eating his bucket I’m going to check his legs and give him some more cookies”. I was floored that she had thought of that herself and was thinking of her pony’s well being instead of running off to the next activity like most kids do. I of course told her how proud I was of her and that’s how a true equestrian should think.

The 7 year old is already a better horsewoman than most adults I know. ❤️

Also, this pony has officially earned his Saint Pony badge. 🦄

02/20/2025

Super delayed post but these are just a few pics I took for our Christmas fun photo shoot! Such a fun time!

02/20/2025

✨New herd addition✨

Please welcome Sunny the adorable Halflinger boy!
I saw a post trying to find a new home for this sweet guy and had a feeling in my gut that I needed to inquire about him. I was told he was “Amish trained, about 18-20 years old, skiddish, shy, nervous/anxious and needed time to calm down when ridden.” He was free to a good home and something in me said to pick him up. So I did!

This adorable boy has proven he is the utter opposite of what I was told. He has the sweetest most cuddly personality. Hasn’t shown a bit of nervousness. No spook. Loved being on the trail and performed beautifully and safely for myself and the kiddos. He is a ray of sunshine and deserves a name that matches.

I’m looking forward to seeing him transform in the spring/summer and shed his winter fuzzies. He is already proving to be a wonderful addition and I hope he enjoys his new job of being loved on by my students!

02/20/2025

Hello everyone! 😀
It’s been a while since I’ve posted on here…after our last event (Iron Oak Endurance competition), everything started slowing down for the holidays and of course the dreaded cold 🥶
We’ve been able to squeeze in a few trail rides when the weather and footing cooperated though!

Now I am preparing the Akhal-Teke boys for their breed demo in the Midwest Horse Fair April 11,12, and 13th! Come see me and the boys! I will post where our setup will be once I know, as well as performance times.

I am hoping spring comes quickly and we will resume our arena lessons very soon! Stay warm everyone! 🥰

10/14/2024

Such a fun weekend!
We did the Iron Oak Endurance Ride at Ukarydee and put in some great miles!

I decided to bring my new mare Khaleesi and we ended up getting third out of 15 in the 12.5 mile! It was judged not only on completing the miles in a optimum time, but heavily judges on body condition and attitude of the horse. It’s amazing to see how much this mare has blossomed.

Rebecca took Zoltan and tied for 6th with Ada and her mare Kadessa (Ada’s first time!)
And Bailey was just a tiny bit behind those two!

All the horses were so well behaved. We had such a fun and beautiful ride!

On Sunday, Rebecca and I signed up for the 25 LD which is only judged on your finishing time and pulse down time. The first 13 miles were awesome but at the middle vet check we noticed Zodiac’s hind right thigh seemed to be getting stiff so we sadly didn’t continue. But Rebecca and Zephyr kept going and finished 4th! So awesome. My Z boys did their best. 🥰
Everybody again was so well behaved. Just unfortunate for Zodiac but he will be okay and that’s all that matters.
Very thankful for amazing vets at this event!

Great job everyone 😊

10/09/2024

Love my dragon 🐉
His first solo camping trip without his buddies and he was a perfect boy 🥰

10/04/2024

Zephyr doing what he loves 🥰

09/30/2024

I’ve been trying to give this guy an honorary Z name and decided on Zander after Alexander the Great - it was said that Alexander’s horse was an Akhal-Teke. The name also means “defender of man”

He had his beauty shots today 🥰

09/25/2024

Zeph loves doing his trick 🥰

09/25/2024

Some fun with Zephyr 🥰

Check out Danielle🐴’s video.

09/16/2024

Just a few clips and photos of the wonderful times this horse gave so many kids and adults 💜

09/11/2024

Today was a big day for Big Z!
He’s now 3 years old and time to start his riding career! This was his first time with a person on him and he handled it perfectly. Actually he seemed bored. 😂
So excited to really start riding him. He’s going to be such a good boy.

07/30/2024

A small stab in the heart is what you feel when you put up the day’s riding list and you see riders sinking heavily in their shoulders when reading which horse they are assigned for the lesson. A small stab in the heart for that horse that for an hour will carry around a rider who has already decided that he does not like his horse. A small stab in the heart for the horse that did not choose the rider himself but still does his best, lesson after lesson.

Riding is a privilege and something you have chosen to do. If you chose to ride at a riding school, your instructor assumes that you actually want to learn how to ride. The instructor’s highest wish is that you get good at it.

Often there is a plan and a thought as to why you are assigned to that exact horse. Before you mount up next time, ask yourself “what can this horse teach me today?” All horses have something to give, a feeling or a new tool in the box.

The art is actually in being able to get a lazy horse to move forward, to get an uncertain horse to gain confidence, a naughty horse to focus or a tense horse to be released. It takes work. If you think a horse is boring, it’s more likely that you don’t ride the horse as well as you think! It’s not easy to be confronted with your own shortcomings, but it is in that very situation that you get the chance to truly grow as a rider.

The excuse that “it’s not my kind of horse” is actually a really bad excuse. A good rider can ride any kind of horse. A good rider has trained many hours on different types of horses to become a good rider. A good rider can find and manage the gold nuggets in every horse.

If we absolutely want to ride, it is our duty to strive to do it as best as possible, even if it’s only for fun. We owe it to every horse that carries us upon it’s back.

Copied and shared with love for all of our horses, ponies and riders 🐎❤🐎