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Centaur Riding School

Susan Abel-Cohen's Bio

 

SUSAN ABEL-COHEN

Instructor/Trainer – Centaur Riding School

January 2008


I’ve had a passion for horses all my life and started to pursue my goal of becoming an accomplished equestrian at an early age. I started riding at age five summers at my Aunt and Uncle’s on a big red Thoroughbred named Zipper. I was hooked! I started formal instruction at age ten at Ivory Farms in Brighton, Michigan, a hunter/jumper and polo facility. Following a clinic with U.S. Equestrian Team rider Violet Hopkins, I continued to school with her for two years. I purchased my first horse at age 13.


I started instructing and training at age 16 and had my first boarding/training/lesson facility at age 18, Mt. Vernon Stables, Golden, Colorado. My first jumper was a registered American Saddle Horse, believe it or not. When I looked into a Saddlebred Farm to breed her, they put me up on a five-gaited stallion and I didn’t look back for ten years, successfully breeding, training and showing halter, pleasure, three-gaited, five-gaited and fine harness on a national level as Valley View Farms in Bailey, Colorado and Black Walnut Farms in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.


For personal reasons I liquidated my Saddle Horses and moved to Florida where my parents were residing. A year later I offered to help a friend with a problem filly and within a couple months was training about 10 horses and instructing about 20 students at her stable on Saturdays while working full time. It was time to get back to my passion. I moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to manage a hunter/jumper facility, Centaur Farms. I added dressage and eventing to the menu, offering and attending clinics with Irish Equestrian Team rider James “Shea” Walsh. Team Centaur was born.


I moved back to Michigan in 1994 to manage an 80-stall facility, Kentree Equestrian Park, Ada, Michigan. I organized and held the most shows in West Michigan, to include, hunter/jumper, dressage, open, all breed, two-phase, and events. I instructed around 70 students from five-year-olds to 60-year-olds and coached the high-school equestrian team to two district and one regional title.

In 1996 I decided to scale down my horse business and return to college to pursue my second passion in life, writing. I continued to teach and train part-time through the years as I worked as a reporter, photojournalist, and eventually in education.


July 2003 I returned to instructing full time at Chastain Horse Park, Atlanta, GA. I instructed hunt-seat on the flat and over fences with a strong dressage base, incorporating a balanced seat and dressage patterns into my lessons. I instructed about 50 students for two years. I departed from Chastain to start up my own facility again in the fall of 2005.


For the past year, my husband Robb Cohen and I have been investing in upgrading our new property in an effort to provide a small and very personalized riding program, Centaur Riding School, in Loganville, GA. Centaur consists of a six-stall barn, a 20 x 60 meter dressage ring, schooling ring and open field jump course. As you can see I’ve owned and managed several large facilities over the years and at this point in my life I wanted something fun and more personalized. I currently have six school horses that are well trained in dressage and jumping and are capable of competing at combined training, dressage or 3-phase horse trials. Our lesson horses currently include two Thoroughbreds, two Quarter Horses (one pony size), a Pinto Saddlebred and a Warmblood Cross. I look for kind easy to handle horses that are patient, forgiving, perform willingly and truly enjoy their work.


I feel very blessed to be able to do what I love most; sharing my passion for horses and my skills of riding these amazing animals. I sincerely enjoy working with horse enthusiasts of all ages, but hold a special passion for young riders and the opportunity to introduce them to and develop their skills in one of the oldest arts and sports in the world. Centaur (half horse and half man) represents the necessary partnership of horse and rider to achieve the beautiful and harmonious feats of dressage and jumping.


Happy Trails!


Susan Abel-Cohen