Mika Fitzpatrick Gretton

Mika Gretton is an Assistant Trainer with Marian Nelson, involved with the riding, training and showing of nearly all of the clients’ hunter and jumper horses at Marian’s barn.  Marian and Mika have a long-standing relationship, with Mika riding and teaching with Marian for the better part of the past 10 years.  Mika is a credentialed teacher, having taught elementary school children as well as those with special needs, bringing a unique – and highly sought after – approach and style to riders of all ages and experience level.  Mika had a successful amateur career before turning professional and as a Junior competed across the country in hunters, jumpers and equitation.  Mika has been riding since the age of five and earned her early training as a working student on the East Coast with Cynthia Hankins, judge and course designer for the Hunter Seat National Medal Finals.  Mika lives in Sonoma with her husband and their giant black schnauzer, Elvis.

Ann Ruffner

Ann brings over twenty-seven years of experience to Marian’s team as both a professional rider and trainer of Hunter/Jumper and Equitation disciplines.  She has an extensive background in training both young horses and riders.   Ann offers instruction to all levels of riders from teaching the basic fundamentals to perfecting the skills of the advanced rider.  She has successfully shown green horses and has a talent for pairing a rider up with the most appropriate horse or pony.  She enjoys watching her students progress and coaching them as they advance in competitive shows. 

Ann has over eighteen years of experience judging non-rated hunter/jumper and equitation shows in California.  She is currently working on her recorded “r” judge rating with the USEF.  She is also on the SAHJA judge’s list.

Ann’s vast experience in riding, teaching and judging make enable her to meet the distinctive training needs of both horse and rider while allowing each to achieve their personal goals.

Robin Waugaman

Robin has just joined Marian's team. She first fell in love with horses at the tender age of two when she got her first pony "Christmas". She began her young career riding barrels and poles, but she preferred to do it all bareback. While riding bareback she found her love of jumping at the age of 5. She rode with Bitsy Shields in Bisbee, AZ and then Bitsy continued to be a mentor to her throughout her junior career. Still a child at 10, she helped her mother run her full service show barn in East Texas. Her family moved to Pennsylvania and she continued to ride horses for her mother competing on the East coast in Medal and Maclay classes until she was 14. Then she stopped riding for financial reasons and set her sites on getting an education. She studied Ecology, Conservation, and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Texas in Austin where she found her passion for teaching, her critical eye, and a deep appreciation of the little things that may be hiding under a rock somewhere. As an undergraduate she began teaching homeless children in transitional housing projects and at the Salvation Army. To continue her education, Robin moved out to California to do her doctoral studies in Entomology at UC Davis. At Davis she taught both undergraduate and graduate courses. Although she enjoyed her graduate work she still missed riding so as she was finishing up her dissertation she began to work for Rudy Leone in Sacramento. She rode for Rudy for 3 years. Always interested in young horses, she then took a job for a hunter breeding facility, helping bring along young horses and prepare them for sale. She then worked as an assistant trainer for Kelly Van Vleck for 3 years teaching and showing. Robin is excited to put her talents to work for Marian's group at the Riverside Equestrian Center.

Sue Ellen Wright
 

Partners

Marian runs an extremely organized barn where each horse is on a strict health and maintenance schedule.  We would like thank the following professionals who are "almost" permanent residents of our barn and deliver this care to our horses:

Ray Sagaria, Farrier

Ray and his son visit our barn at least once a week to re-shoe our horses.  Ray is always thankfully on call if a horse looses a shoe.

The Equestrian's Concierge:
Store: (707) 778-1113
Email: Ashley@EquestrianConcierge.com
7600 Lakeville Road
Petaluma, CA 94954

The Equestrian's Concierge is a specialty retail store catering to the needs of equestrian athletes and their animals, supplying them with best-of-breed products, apparel and services.  The store is the result of marrying the personal passions of owner, Ashley Matchett Woods: her lifelong love of and involvement with horses and her 20-year commitment to branding, marketing and customer service. Call on us for unique products and personalized services including blanket cleaning & repair and leather reconditioning.

Antares Saddlery

Marian is a rep for Antares Saddlery.  Olivier Fouques regularly visits Riverside to service the saddles and custom fit new saddles.

Dr. Bruce Daniels
Marin Vet Clinic

Always on call for Marian's horses.

Glenn Wright Horse Transport

Glenn Wright Horse Transport Services -  All transportation services to and from shows are provided by Glen Wright Horse Transport Services.  He operates  rigs of various sizes (depending on the number of horses in a trip) that are impeccably maintained.  Glenn operates a 15 horse climate controlled luxury coach as well as a 9 horse rig.