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Head Trainer/Riding Instructor-
Becca Guilbault-Triplett
(a.k.a. Becca GT)
Becca GT received her Associate's Degree in Equine Business
Management and Advertising/Public Relations at Johnson &
Wales University, her Bachelor's Degree in Marketing at
Nichols College and is currently pursuing another
Associate's Degree in Fine Arts/Graphic Design at QVCC. From
training the young horses and coaching her students at
various shows throughout the season, to designing the farm's
advertising and promotion materials, Becca wears many hats
at PondView. Her latest endeavors include stuntwork for film
and TV along with her husband, Matt Triplett- The pair are
members of both SAG and AFTRA and have numerous credits to
their stunt resumes, including horse wrangling, stunt
driving, car crashes and more.
Becca's career with horses began at a very young age, with
her competing in her first horse show at age 6 with a Welsh
pony named Snowball. Throughout her younger years, she
showed extensively on the New England hunter circuit in the
Short and Medium Stirrup divisions and Hunt Seat Equitation
with her Thoroughbred gelding, Delaney and a Hunter pony
named Chevette. Later, as Becca was introduced to the
versatility of the Arabian horse, she left the hunter
circuit and pursued a myriad of disciplines on the Arabian
Horse Association "A" circuit in Region 16. Competitive in
Arabian and Half-Arabian Side-Saddle, Hunter O/F and on the
flat, Western Pleasure, Hunt Seat Equitation, Hunter
Pleasure, Training and First Level Dressage, Stock Seat
Equitation, Show Hack, Country English Pleasure, Sport Horse
in Hand and Sport Horse Under Saddle, Becca finally decided
to specialize in the disciplines that demonstrate her best
skills as a rider and her talents as a trainer.
Most
recently, growing restless from the "riding around in
circles" mentality of the breed shows, Becca has begun
transitioning back to her roots, in hunter/jumper, dressage
and will be expanding to low-level eventing in 2011. This
exciting "new chapter" will help keep clients fresh and
consistently testing their skills as riders as they embark
on this new adventure!
From
her experience with training young horses, as well as
competing in the show ring, Becca is able to draw from a
multitude of disciplines when evaluating a rider and their
horse to help decide which "career" is best suited for them.
A horse and rider that can perform what is being asked of
them is so much more impressive to watch when they both
genuinely enjoy what they are doing.
Combining horse and rider into a finely tuned pair that
exemplifies grace, style and strength is only a small part
of the talent Becca exhibits as a instructor. With more than
23 years experience from both a participation level and a
trainer/coach perspective, she brings to a student a unique
sense of understanding which allows them to reach beyond
their expectations... in or out of the show ring. Her
knowledge of horse behavior is evident when training a young
horse or tuning up an older one...patience is always key and
the "basics" are something you can not overlook when
building the proper foundation of a horses' training.
Becca says it best when she states her personal mission as
an instructor, "I want my students to go home from each and
every ride on a positive note...even if they are struggling,
I try to help them understand the lessons learned during
their struggle will make them the better rider in the long
run. I like to instill a sense of confidence in my riders,
so on or off the horse, they will feel empowered to take on
life's many challenges."
Owners
Lucille Guilbault and husband Richard are the proud owners
of PondView Equestrian Center. They have 2 children, Rebecca
and Ryan. Lu has been involved with horses for the past 40
years. During her earlier years, she rode at Acres Wild
under the guidance of Paul and Celia Valliere. She competed
at hunter shows and participated in hunter paces and trail
rides. Her love of horses prompted the conception of Log
Cabin Farm, which opened 30 years ago and was later renamed
to PondView Equestrian Center. Lu and her husband Richard
cleared the land and built their own log home from a kit.
They built their garage and barn using the lumber from the
trees they had cut down. To this day, the farm remains a
work in progress…with the recent addition of an indoor
riding arena and new paddocks being the latest endeavors.
In
1989, Lu started breeding New Forest Ponies, a rare and
wonderful breed found mostly in England with only a small
amount in the USA and Canada at that time. She decided to
promote the breed and co-founded the New Forest Pony
Association and Registry. This Association tracked down all
of the New Forest Ponies in the USA and Canada and started a
database registering old and new foals and imported ponies
from England. This has been a labor of love and dedication.
Over 350 ponies have since been registered and tracked.
Lu
is a Registered Nurse and keeps herself busy working
part-time on the evening shift at Day Kimball Hospital. She
spends much of her waking hours with the horses. Many
youngsters began their riding careers through Lu’s guidance
and love of horses when she started giving lessons to
beginner and intermediate students back in the early 1980’s.
Her daughter, Becca started riding at an early age with Lu
trailering the horses to local, A-Rated, and Regional Shows.
Upon Becca’s completion of college, the lesson program was
taken over by her allowing Lu to focus on the grounds
expansion of the facility by adding a new indoor arena and
new paddocks.
In
1995, Lu became involved with the Arabian breed when she met
her great friend, JoAnne Jalbert and her Arabian stallion,
AlJo Ttafaaf . Lu purchased a Half-Arabian mare, Saahour
Maraa, from JoAnne who Becca later took all the way to
Nationals in 1998.
Lu
has participated as a member of the Board for the Tristate
Horsemen’s Association, the Rhode Island Arabian Horse
Association, and currently is Vice President of the New
Forest Pony Association and VP of the Rhode Island Arabian
Horse Association. She has judged several shows including
the Canadian Pony Breeder's Show, judging New Forest Ponies,
Welsh Ponies in Halter, Under Saddle and Jumping
competition. In the past, Lu had been involved with the
Tristate Horsemen’s Association Dressage shows as scribe and
worked with the show manager to learn more about Dressage.
Lu has been the Show Manager for the past 3 years for the
RIAHA Shows as well as all the PVEC shows.
Lu's
guiding thoughts are, "Live each day as if it's your last
and don't be afraid of hard work. The future is right around
the corner, and always holds some great new challenges and
later, some new accomplishments.” |
