October 2022 Issue

Page 22 October 2022 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN Tell our advertisers you found them in East Coast Equestrian! By: Haylie Kerstetter Located in Chester County, PA, Paula and Evie Oliver are making waves in the dressage ring and trying their hand in the breeding realm. With Pau- la’s background in genetics and breeding knowledge, and Evie’s riding skill, the pair has been unstoppable in both facets of the industry. Paula got her first pony, Pierre, at 10-years-old and was immediately hooked. She would spend her summers at the barn with him, building jumps out of anything she could find around the barn. “He had a naughty side and was a challenge to catch,” said Paula. “But we had such fun together!” Evie was introduced to horses when she was 12-years- old, but was not quite convinced it was for her at that time. She started by taking a weekly lesson on a schoolmaster named Bear, and soon after competed at her first schooling show in Introduc- tory Test A and B with him which sparked her love of dressage. Now, Paula and Evie have several competition horses that they are working with to bring up the levels. Paula’s main show horse is Shiloh, a 13-year-old mare that she purchased as a broodmare, pregnant with her third foal. After foaling her out, Paula restarted her under saddle, and trained her up through the Prix St George (PSG) level. Evie has been riding her main competition horse, Shading for about two years, but she and Paula have owned her for nearly seven. Paula purchased the mare as a yearling and competed on her through second level before turning her over to their trainer to expand Shading’s education. Evie then took over the reins and a year later took her to the North American Youth Championships (NAYC) as the leading junior rider for the Region I team. “She was a bit young for us to be truly competitive that year, but it was a great experience for her. I have been training her ever since and we are schooling PSG hoping to do NAYC next season,” said Evie. More recently, Evie has part- nered with an 8-year-old mare, Tempi, who had several other owners before making her way to Evie and Paula. The new pair has made great progress in their train- ing since Evie first started riding her in mid-May; first competing at schooling shows, going to clinics, and one recognized show at second level before moving forward in Tempi’s training. “She is the sweetest mare and really works with me in the ring,” said Evie. “I just have fun every time I get in the saddle.” Paula and Evie have also been trying their hand at breeding. “I have a background in genetics; my PhD thesis was in the genet- ics of disease. I’ve always been drawn to the idea of studying the attributes of the mare and then matching her to the best stallion Paula and Evie Oliver: Local Mother/ Daughter Duo with Great Success (Continued on page 38)