The heart and soul of 3 Wish Stable is Shelby; it's simple as that! Because of my competent and hard-working stable manager Shelby, the operation of my horse boarding and training facility at 3 Wish Stable is as smooth and controlled as it is joyous and fun! Shelby's sense of humor and contagious laughter adds an invigorating characteristic to the horse-centered day-to-day work in the stable. No matter what, Shelby is always ready to perform, to help, and to solve problems. Furthermore, Shelby is an excellent rider on every horse I own. It's a huge help that she can keep the lesson horses tuned up and help me school my personal horse when I don’t have time to ride him. She grooms and tacks up training horses for me, and handles whatever I throw at her. I can focus on lessons and training knowing that the barn management is being handled to my specifics. Moreover, she is reachable 24/7! - It's a great honor that Shelby took time to tell her story for the August 2026 blog.
Shelby and her horse, Jolene
I begged my parents for riding lessons as soon as I was old enough to ask and was incredibly lucky with how supportive they were. I started taking a few beginner lessons when I was about 5 or 6 and things just grew from there into me starting to show hunter/jumpers when I was about 7. By the time I was old enough to drive I started working for my trainer at horse shows and eventually moved to Virginia at 19 to pursue eventing during which time I ended up working in a variety of barns (eventing sales barns, fox hunting barns, a big FEI eventing barn for a team rider, a couple of smaller family barns, and even a show hunter barn that specializes in breeding, raising, and starting young pony hunters.
I found Collette Zimmer Dressage after moving back to Florida and having my first child. I had taken quite a. break from riding between the end of my pregnancy, moving, and then having a newborn and had lost a lot of my fitness so I knew I wasn't in a good position to safely restart my fairly green 5 year old pony so I put a post on facebook asking other local equestrians who they would recommend that had quality instruction and well cared for horses I would be able to lesson on until I got back to a place where I was able to restart my pony. More people recommended Collette than anyone else. She was the first person I met with and it was immediately a good fit. I'm very picky and prioritize horse welfare above almost anything else and it was clear when I saw her horses how well loved and cared for they were and from my first lesson it was clear she was going to be able to really help me improve and think about my riding in ways I hadn't before. Not one person had ever asked me to break down the beats and footfalls of the horse's gait until Collette which really stuck with me.
3 Wish Stable is an absolutely incredible facility that I feel grateful to be able to work out of! The lovely arena, the many turnout field options, climate controlled tack rooms, feed rooms, bathrooms, and the wash stalls are all wonderful amenities but what really makes the farm special is the people that it has brought together. We have such a wonderful group of boarders, students, trainers, farm owners, stable hands and more that all work together to help and support each other. Everyone is willing to pitch in to help each other and it's just such a positive and uplifting space. That's what I truly love about 3 Wish Stable. The community that it has become.
My horse Jolene and I have probably the closest bond I've ever had the privilege of having with any horse in my 25 years of riding. She came from an auction as an untouched 2 coming 3 year old who needed a lot of TLC. When I picked her up she was essentially a walking skeleton but once I got her home everything has been uphill for us both since then. She turned out to be so sweet and intelligent and is now proving to be pretty athletic as well and was by far the easiest young horse I have ever started under saddle. In the 4 years that I have been lucky to have her in my life she has been with me through 5 different barns, 3 jobs, a move from Virginia to Florida, the birth of my first child, and now a second pregnancy. She was originally supposed to be a sales horse and now she's part of the family forever. As far as training goals, I'd really just love to see what she wants to do. We pretty much have a good time no matter what we do together so far. I would love to event her some and she seems to be enjoying schooling a bit of cross country and show jumping so far so I think she'll take to it pretty well but if she doesn't then we'll find what she does like.
As far at the future goes right now, quite a lot of things are up in the air for me right now with our upcoming addition to the family but I know I won't ever be a stranger. I will always be a part of Collette Zimmer Dressage in some way.
Shelby with her son Will and Jolene,