About

Thank you for visiting my website. I am a Licensed Parelli Professional 5-Star Master Instructor and Horse Development Specialist located in Phoenix, AZ. I travel all over the US teaching clinics, workshops and lessons. If you are interested in hosting a clinic or workshop, please contact me at tina@equitina.com. I have ridden horses for as long as I can remember. My grandfather was a guide, taking people on hunting and fishing trips on horseback in Pagosa Springs, CO, so I grew up riding the Rocky Mountains. My first horse was Bella, a huge dun mare that took care of me. Bella and I covered every inch of the mountain behind the barn. My days were filled with horseback adventures. Bella and I would follow deer trails or the birds as they flew through the trees. It was a friendship, exploring the world. Since I rode alone, my grandfather made me ride bareback with a hackamore, so if I fell off, I wouldn’t get hung up and the horse wouldn’t get hurt by stepping on the bit. I always wanted to ride in a saddle like the other kids and so one day I decided I was going to do it. I managed to get the saddle on Bella, it probably took me over an hour to hoist it up, get it centered and then girth it up. I was in 4th grade. I brought Bella up to the house for my grandfather to check the rigging, which he found was unbelievably tight enough, but he couldn’t believe I did it! And to the day he died, he thought the neighbor saddled the horse for me. I have beautiful Bella to thank for taking care of me and giving me the confidence and love I have for horses today. She was just the beginning though. My grandparents saw that I had the bug for horses, and they supported me. My grandfather got more horses for me and as a kid I would ride 3-4 horses a day. I was able to compete in low level barrel racing and gymkhana events, trail and pleasure shows, kid’s rodeos, trail rides, hide and seek on horseback, all the things country kids do.... During high school and college, I took a break from horses to play basketball but shortly after graduation I just couldn’t stay away. There is something so innate about the love for the horse. To me it was like air, I just couldn’t live without it. When I was in my early 20's I moved to Louisville, KY where I started riding English and competing in over-fences classes. One summer when I was visiting my family in Pagosa, my aunt had won a ticket to one of the very first Savvy Summits, I think it was in 1997 or 98, and she gave the ticket to me. I had just seen them riding bridle-less in the 4th of July parade! I remember showing up at the ranch, and there were about 100 people on site. The bleachers were bales of hay stacked 3 high and the arena was marked with rope strung up on posts. I liked what I saw, the biggest thing that impacted me was all the students, every single one of them, at least 20, were riding around doing flying changes and not one of the horses pinned their ears or swished their tail! Still, I was not smart enough to realize what I didn’t know. I thought it was great but “I was showing English”! They were riding around on a loose rein and that was not what I wanted to do. I couldn’t make the connection of why it was so important not to mention impressive. I wish I could say that I was one of those smart people that saw a better way and thought, “yeah, I should try that”. Sadly, no, I was one of those people that had to nearly get killed before my brain kicked in. I mistakenly thought I was getting it done. At the time I had an easy horse. I was having fun, and my horse was perfect! Except we didn’t do wind, she was a pull back and trailer loading was an issue. Let me make this clear, it wasn’t the getting on, it was the getting off the trailer that she had trouble with…what?! The universe has a funny way of giving us what we need, although not necessarily what we want. I was now living in Ft Lauderdale, FL, and I had acquired a horse off the QH circuit from a dear friend of mine. I’d always admired this horse; she was at the same barn I had been at and now my friend was ready to sell her. At this time, my younger sister Gia and I were at a show at the KY Horse Park talking about my friend’s horse, Tess, and how much I liked her. I’ll never forget this moment; it’s burned in my memory. Gia stopped walking and turned to me and said, “if I had the money Tina, I would buy that horse for you”. Tragically, two weeks later she died unexpectedly, she was 27 years old. A month later I received some money from her life insurance policy, and I bought that horse. I guess it was Gia’s way of giving me one last gift…in more ways than one. That horse changed my life. This mare was high point in the Tri state QH Circuit (OH, IN and KY). She was great until she wasn’t. I tried everything I knew for the next 8 months but every day was an exercise in survival. She did not tolerate my inadequacies… I was thrown 40’ in the air from a standstill, I went off a cliff, got bucked off in 2 clinics with 4- and 5-star instructors. I was never bucked off; I was thrown away. My family started to say things like, “get rid of her”, “she’s crazy”, “she’s going to kill you”, etc. All valid statements, but I knew I had something to learn here. I was determined. Then one day, I clearly remember it as if it was yesterday. I was at the barn in Parkland, FL where I boarded my horse, and we were headed to a cross rail, a very small cross rail. I put my leg on her to move into the center of the jump. Rather than yield, she leaned on my leg and now we were headed for the jump standard. I thought, oh my gosh, this is the same thing that happened on the trail when I went off the cliff… hmmm, wait! what?! That was the moment my brain finally kicked in and I got off. I thought, I don’t know what else to do and have nowhere else to go… the only thing left was to try Parelli. I had reservations though... When I first saw him a year prior, I remembered him saying on multiple occasions, “2 times 12 is 22” and thought oh my gosh this man does not know how to add! And he said that in public! LOL, I later learned he did this on purpose… So, I called a very dear friend of mine that I had met at that first Summit in Pagosa, her name was Mia. She was living in Pagosa and had already been studying the program. She talked through the 7 games on the phone and in 1 week I had gotten farther than I had the previous 8 months! At the time there were no videos or programs, nothing online. Pat’s Western Horseman book was all there was to study. The next time I went out to the barn to see my horse the owner came up to me and asked me what I was doing. I’m sure I looked surprised because I didn’t know what she was talking about. She said I had the nicest horse there and I was going to ruin her if I kept doing this rope wiggling stuff. I remember looking at her and said, “All of you have had nothing to say to me to help me and I’ve gotten further in 1 week that I have in 8 months, I think I’ll keep doing what I am doing.” And that was it, I never looked back. Now, I was obsessed, I needed answers. To me it was like breathing. I needed this as much as I needed air. I started taking clinics, attended the 10-week School in Jan of 2004. A friend of mine was the tour manager and invited me to go on tour with them. In 2004 I traveled with them for 2 months. From there I went directly to the “Uni”. The “Uni” (University) at that time was the Professional module that had to be taken to be considered for an instructor and/or horse development specialist rating. I did two 10-week modules back-to-back and was then chosen to be a founding member of the first ever Parelli Faculty. The faculty was a group of Parelli Professionals chosen by Pat and Linda to live and teach at the Parelli Campuses under their tutelage. While in the Faculty I led Courses 2 (Fluidity 1, Freestyle) and 3 (Fluidity 2, Finesse); was a member of the support team for Course 1 (Liberty and Horse Behavior); was personally trained by Pat and Linda; and was privileged to cutting edge information. The Parelli Faculty members were groomed to be among the finest Parelli Professionals in the world. I traveled back and forth from CO to FL, teaching and studying directly with both Pat and Linda for the next 2 years. I transitioned out into the field in 2008. In 2012 I was hired as the Professionals Program director working corporately for PNH. In addition to managing the Professionals program (requirements, continuing education, licensing, etc.) I also took on the roles of managing the Courses Department, Auditions Dept, Campus Manager, Facility Manager, and ultimately Co-CEO. I resigned in Nov of 2021 from the Corporate position and have been out teaching in the field ever since. The Parelli Program offered me the knowledge and tools that I needed to turn my nightmare into a dream! I went from “surviving a ride” to “thriving” with my horse. Tess was a challenging horse, the toughest I have met so far. I learned that it was me that needed to change! The horse is perfect, until we come into the picture. The universe knew I needed a strong teacher and sent her to me. I thank the powers that be and my sister every day for her. She made me the horsewoman I am today.