Rebecca Atwater has been a professional hunter/jumper horse trainer at Amapola Ranch since 1995. Rebecca accepts students of all ages and riding abilities into her program. Rebecca takes great pride in teaching the art of sportsmanship and teamwork between horse and rider.
Rebecca was born in Paris, France and went to elementary school on a tiny island off the west coast of France called Ile de Re. She attended Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles in 1990 and then graduated from UCSB with a degree in Biology in 1995. Rebecca has been passionate about horses since early childhood and enjoys learning everything possible about the equine tradition. While at UCSB, Rebecca aspired to be a large animal vet and worked extensively with notable veternarian Dr. Karen Blumenshine. After training for hunter/jumper trainer Betsy Woods of Ridgewood Farm, she realized horse training and sharing her love for horses with others was her true calling. After 5 years as an assistant, Rebecca decided to start her own training program; Santa Barbara Stables.
The Santa Barbara Stables program caters to riders of all ages and abilities. Many of Rebecca's students enjoy attending horse competitions and compete at horse shows from the county level through the “A” circuit. Rebecca’s riders continually capture numerous high point awards from the Santa Barbara County Riding Club and the Santa Ynez Valley Equestrian Association circuits.
Each year, Rebecca sits down with the clients in her program and talks about their personal riding goals and how best to achieve those goals.
Rebecca continues to pursue her own riding goals and attend clinics and lessons from masters such as grand prix rider Richard Spooner, judge Dale Peterson and Olympic Coach Daniel Stewart. Rebecca stays open minded and is always thirsting to learn more about the magnificent animals that she is so blessed to work with.
Rebecca's motto:
Passion + Dedication + Integrity
= Happiness
"Follow your bliss and you will lead a happy, fulfilled life."
On a personal note, Rebecca has old roots in Santa Barbara. Her grandparents Betty and Eugene Atwater moved here in the early 1960's. Her parents Ron and Regine Atwater live in Montecito. Ron is an engineer with graduating from M.I.T. and works in real estate investments. Regine is a professor from UCLA who now teaches private french lessons and courses at SBCC. Her brother, Toby is graduating in 2008 with a degree in Political Science and Engineering.
Rebecca plans to continue to improve her training program. Her goal is to help each horse and each rider achieve their goals. |
