“Sarah and her horse Brando have quite a long relationship. He was reclaimed from the jumper world with many issues and is now easily competing at Third Level and ready to move up to Fourth Level, and I see much more potential! Sarah is a wonderful team player and hard worker and has a great way of looking around to see what needs to be done.” 

– Ruth

Meet Sarah Bradbury and her horse, Brando

As a graduate of Lake Erie College in 2022, Sarah came to join us in Florida after Christmas of 2024. Having grown up in Illinois, she had gotten a job offer after college and stayed in the Ohio area for a while. She earned her USDF Bronze Medal while in college on a schoolmaster named Wesley. But it was another school horse, Byzantine (“Brando”), that stole her heart.

“Shortly after his arrival to the college, I began my freshman year there which is where I met him. The summer after my sophomore year, I did an internship at the college in which he was my project horse for the summer as he was transitioning from his jumper career into dressage. I quickly fell in love with him and with all of his quirks and potential, I knew he was a special horse from the start.”

– Sarah

Sarah had the opportunity to lease Brando during a couple of summers, and at the end of her second lease, she had the chance to adopt him from the school. She “couldn’t say yes fast enough”. They’ve been together ever since.

Before heading down to us in Florida, Sarah earned her spot at the Region 2 Championships in 2024, where she and Brando placed 8th in her Third Level Taylor Swift-inspired freestyle in the Open division.

Although she accomplished a lot in college, serving as president of the Intercollegiate Dressage Association (IDA) team and as a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Hunt Seat team, Sarah started out in the horse world as a 7 year old kid who was encouraged by her parents to find a hobby to pursue. Starting out with western and hunt seat lessons, at age 10 she found dressage and never looked back.

When Sarah decided she wanted to find a job in Florida for the upcoming season, she saw an ad for a working student position at Bespoke. That ad was forwarded to her by another rider who had attended a clinic with Ruth and recommended her. And to make the world seem even smaller, Sarah learned that one of her previous employers was a longtime friend of Ruth.

“Sarah Bradbury contacted me at the right time and with excellent references. What a treat to have someone new come into the barn with already capable skills and experience!”

– Ruth

Coming into the ’24-’25 Florida season, Sarah had some big goals, which she set out to achieve one by one. As of March 2025, she already qualified for Regionals in the Open division at Third Level as well as with her Third Level freestyle. At each outing, she continued to build upon what she learned and implemented the tools she had been given.

“I think the biggest thing that stood out to me about Ruth’s training is how well she is able to read both the horse and rider. Her training is individualized and caters to what will bring out the best in each horse and rider. Within our first few lessons, I felt like she quickly understood my horse and myself which has helped us progress so much already in the short time we’ve been with her. In addition to that, how well she is able to explain things in a way that makes sense and allows me to easily apply them to my riding. There are even times when she has explained basic concepts in a way I had never heard before that just really clicks for me. “

-Sarah

We are excited to see what the future brings for Sarah and Brando!

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