Elizabeth Grisell-Short grew up showing hunters and jumpers on the competitive "A" circuits. While living on a horse farm raising and training sport horses for showing and fox hunting, she learned the importance of proper management and conditioning. By the age of twelve she was breaking horses raised on the family's farm. She started breaking horses for other people by the time she was thirteen. She gained many experiences training horses and competing on a national level. Showing hunters on the "A" circuit gave her the great asset of attaining an equitation-based seat. By the age of sixteen she began breaking and training horses as a profession. Two years later she was gaining the experience of working Thoroughbreds on the track.
Elizabeth (age 8) & Shamrock.
Over the next few years she trained horses, taught at camps, and studied dressage. During this time Elizabeth studied nutrition at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She spent time training horses in Australia for the racetrack, and retraining horses off the track for the sport of Combined Training (Eventing). Upon returning to the United States she began competing her own horse in Combined Training and acquired many students in the sport. She had learned a lot about conditioning horses on the tracks. Her knowledge of dressage, jumping, conditioning, and nutrition came together in training for this sport. She was suprised to see so many horses unfit at competitions, especially up through the Preliminary level. Many of her students did not know how to condition their horses on a daily basis to prepare them for the differing levels of this challenging sport. Other students needed help with horses due to improper conditioning, causing soreness through their body and legs. Elizabeth saw a need for the knowledge of proper conditioning and management techniques in this sport.
Beth (age 10) & Magic Appears.
Elizabeth Grisell-Short now raises, trains, and competes sport horses at Fox Fire Farms. Fox Fire Farms is an Event training complex in North Carolina, complete with a stadium jumping ring, regulation dressage ring, cross-country course, half-mile track, and indoor arena.
Our Philosophy
Elizabeth & Grand Sham.
We are an event training facility; specializing in training and conditioning the event horse. We believe in building the event horse as an athlete, slowly and thoroughly. We allow our horses to develop mentally and physically for the demanding sport of eventing through the use of cross-training and proper exercise techniques. We know the importance of allowing time and conditioning to build the horse’s bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and respiratory system. We keep horses sound by allowing them to grow before placing physical demands on them as well as not over training or drilling them in their work. We are mindful of their precious joints and minds, allowing both to grow stronger in training without tearing them down!
Elizabeth & Grand Sham
Our techniques and training philosophies are available in our detailed conditioning guide, Care and Management of the Event Horse. The book is currently available for sale on Amazon.com. In compiling this training and conditioning guide, Elizabeth has combined the skills and expertise acquired through many years of riding horses, both in the show ring and on the race track.
