Kristine is originally from Bucks County, PA. Although not a horse in sight where she grew up, she was a horse crazy kid. When she was seven years old, after a year of lessons, she got her first pony--a little gray welsh. She mostly did pony hunter, equitation, eventing, one fox hunt, one hunter pace. She stopped riding to go to college and dabbled in it for a while after college and before marriage. She has been married for 24 years and has two daughters Tessa (19) and Ella (17). She graduated from Millersville University with a degree in Business and went on to get her MBA from Rider University. Professionally, her background is in marketing communications and research, primarily in the technology industry. Today, she does freelance writing part-time for a healthcare staffing company. She was introduced to Wellington through the WIT program in 2017 and her family moved there full-time in 2022. Ella plays soccer and plans on representing UCF in Fall 2024. Tessa is a sophomore at FAU and continues to ride with Ali Brock. Kristine's husband is a saint for supporting everything and works from home as a VP in Procurement. Outside of working, Kristine enjoys spending time at the stable with Tessa, watching soccer with Ella, and home improvement and DIY projects.
Kristine has been part of Dressage4Kids since 2010, when she brought her daughter Tessa (then age 6) to the Weekend Educational Program (now D4K UP) and Tessa spent the weekend with Susan Sieber in the mini-WEP program. Kristine and Tessa went every year after that until covid. Each time they expanded their entourage to include Ella, other friends and grand mom. After attending WEP (now D4K UP) for a few years, Kristine and Tessa next ventured to the Youth Dressage Festival, and then on to the TEAM program and the Winter Intensive Training Program (WIT).
Kristine continues to take an active part in Dressage4Kids through the committee, volunteering at the Youth Dressage Festival as scheduling permits, and through helping with the Training4Teaching and WIT Programs.
When asked what motivates her most about Dressage4Kids, Kristine writes, "I/we are direct beneficiaries of what D4K is all about. From the early days of experiencing all that YDF offers, WEP and TEAM clinics to the magnitude of what WIT delivers. It goes way beyond the instruction and training, it brings you into a family that you will cherish year after year, friends that last a lifetime. The exposure, the connections, the networking is in and of itself invaluable. Add to that, the mission and philosophy. D4K is truly the pipeline for the future of dressage. It does not discriminate, it helps to give everyone and opportunity, and it does so much to help –as much as possible—level the playing field where there is so much wealth. Wealth that honestly puts many talented riders out of reach. Knowing that there are people, very smart, high profile, dedicated people, committed to this cause motivates me to help ensure it is successful."
