Horseback Riding Lessons

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 Julie was born a native of Naples, Florida in 1984. It wasn’t until age 8, with the invitation of a family friend, that she was exposed to her true passion, horses. Being born into a middle-income family, horses were not in the budget. Consequently, Julie did what any passionate young horse woman would do, and she found a local barn to trade cleaning stalls for horse lessons. Working her way through the years, she gathered useful knowledge and skills to move from cleaning and mucking to assisting in their lesson program and doing office work that would one day help in her future career.

As her work ethic begin to pay off, she had the opportunity to own her first horse at age 13. Julie and her horse grew and bonded, teaching each other along the way what a team really meant. She also gained confidence in her horsemanship, under the guidance of her mentors, that she still leans on to guide her today. 

At one point, the responsibilities of adult life and being a parent caused Julie to put equine activities on a hiatus. Once her three children got older and her career in finance was established, she got the opportunity to once again begin riding. It wasn't long before she was once again a regular at the barn. 

In 2016, Julie met her now husband, Josh, who was a western horseman. Teaching each other their disciplines and expanding their own knowledge they wanted more. After a few years Julie began to teach and train friends and family. As word of mouth grew, so did the desire to begin a true lesson program for the community. As a result, in 2019, Whistling Dixie Farms was born.