Full Training at Avon Eventing
Mickayla Howard has a perfect model for the kind of equestrian she wants to inspire and help develop – herself.
Mickayla Howard and HH Ontario. PC – Tina Fitch Photos
The winner of last fall’s Modified-Training Challenge got her start with horses at Webb Ranch in Northern California’s Portola Valley. “My mom had heard about this place that really allows kids to be involved in all aspects of being around horses and learn the basics of horsemanship,” Mickayla recalls.
Today, her own Avon Eventing LLC is based at Webb Ranch and built around helping kids and adults thrive in their life with horses. Many of Mickayla’s students started where she did – at the Webb Ranch Riding Program, run by the Webb family’s Summer Hensley.
And many of those who started with Mickayla were part of Avon Eventing’s 12-rider strong entourage at Rebecca Farms in July. It was the biggest group of clients Mickayla has taken to the Montana competition in her three years attending and the results were overall great.
“We had a lot of really good rides and good placings, and a few not so good rounds, but that’s what happens in the sport!,” she comments. “I feel like every show, good or bad, has a learning opportunity. That is what we make sure we come home thinking about and get to working on it.”
Above all, the group enjoyed their time with their horses and with each other.
With her assistant Kendra Mitchell, Mickayla strives to maintain a clientele right-sized for individual attention. “I want to make sure the kids and adults feel they can talk to me about whatever they are comfortable talking to me about in order to improve their riding. I don’t want to take on so many clients that we lose the detailed, personal, family-oriented focus.”
Avon Eventing riders enjoying everything about Rebecca Farms this summer.
With Kendra’s help, our group of young riders and their parents, and our adult riders, all feel like we can trust each other.”
On Having & Becoming A Role Model
Mickayla credits great role models with getting her off to a strong, positive start as a professional. Webb Ranch Riding School’s Summer Hensley has been a big help from the get-go. “Webb Ranch is a unique place,” Mickayla says of the 100-year-old, family-run organic farm and equestrian center. “Everybody works really well together and Summer has always been supportive of anyone looking to make a career out of horses.”
“Summer gave me some amazing opportunities to bring some horses along,” Mickayla continues. “I was able to train them for a little bit until we found the horses’ perfect next step. That gave me the chance to ride with Bec Braitling, who has also been a huge and important mentor for me.” The California-based Australian eventer is an Area VI fixture in the development pipeline for young riders and professionals.
When Mickayla met Bec she was bringing a Thoroughbred up to the Preliminary level, and “kind of collecting kids along the way from lessons at Webb Ranch.” Riding in clinics with Bec and others ignited Mickayla’s interest in teaching. “I’m very interested in the communication between rider and horse and in developing that process in my students from a young age.”
“I want to be a rider and I love bringing the horses along, but I’d say my rewards are not only from my results. The horsemanship, progress and results that my students have bring me as much joy — if not more — than my own as a rider. My hope is to keep progressing to the top of the sport and to keep bringing students and horses along with me.”
One of Mickayla’s earliest students, Avonlea Wang, became one of her most influential. “She and her dad, Leo Wang, helped support me in the biggest way to jump start the business. I’ll be forever grateful of their support for me. That’s why I named the business, Avon Eventing, after them!”
Raising The Roof!
She’s determined to help the whole sport. “I want to see how the eventing community can grow as a whole, not just for Avon Eventing,” Mickayla says. “I’d like to see the entire area become more accessible to all riders, have more venues with good footing and other attributes to improve the area. Those are the things that attract a lot of people to the sport.”
These are big goals that Mickayla acts on in small, individual ways. “I have received an incredible amount of support and I live by and work toward the idea of bringing things full circle. Always being there for those who have helped me and being a person who helps others, too.
“The secret is that, if everyone raises the floor, the roof has no limit”
The Avon Eventing crew is excited about the Galway Downs International in early November – especially its hosting the USEF Eventing Young Rider Championships. They hope to have a few of their own young riders participating on the Area VI Young Rider teams.
And they love Galway Downs. “We all love supporting this facility,” Mickayla says of her team. “The arenas are amazing, cross country is always fun and challenging in all the right ways and, of course, my group loves to support the VIP Pavilion too! Robert (Kellerhouse) has always been supportive of our group. I chat with him often and it’s nice to see that cares what our group thinks about everything.”
Mickayla hopes to have both her competitive horses here in November. Six-year-old Miss Tique, owned by Jen and Molly Duda — another one of Mickayla’s team members and huge supporters of Avon Eventing. Molly has had an impressive season this year under Avon Eventing having won a couple times at the intermediate and 3* level with one of her horses, Disco Traveler, as well as multiple top placings on her other horses.
Molly’s Miss Tique has excelled this year at Training Level with Mickayla. “She’s shown me no limit yet, I’m excited to see what we can do together!” Mickayla says.
Her partner in last fall’s Modified-Training Challenge win, HH Ontario, had some injury set-backs, but she hopes he’ll be on form this fall. “He is a beautiful model of a horse and he always tries his best every day.”
Whichever horses she’s campaigning this fall, this young professional will be on site acting on her main goals – “I want my young students to want to do this as a career because they see how fun and exciting our sport is. Ultimately, I want them to really enjoy the process of it all.”
Type: Eventing