Caves Farm Trainers and Staff

Caves Farm trainers and staff were chosen because their professionalism and dedication match those of Caves Farm.  They pride themselves on providing service that exceeds expectations.

Trainer:  Katie Cooper

Katie Cooper comes to us from Lancaster, PA, where she successfully competed as a junior in high school and continued competing through the collegiate level.

Throughout her career, she has worked with many reputable trainers. She came to Caves after touring Europe with a very successful Grand Prix rider from Ireland.

Katie has brought the riding program here through the stages of development needed to create one of the most successful show barns in Maryland.  Her training and coaching techniques have enabled many of her students to qualify for Zone Finals, MHSA Gittings, and the WIHS since her arrival.  Her enthusiasm and endless energy help mold her students into competitive riders.

Sally McKechnie

Sally is 32 years old and was born and raised in Australia. After convincing her parents to buy her a horse at the age of 11, she spent every bit of spare time with horses, participating at the local pony club and competing at any local shows she could get to. At 17 Sally decided to head east to New South Wales, the hub of horse activity in Australia. Based with Australian Olympic team coach Heath Ryan, who is also a Grand Prix Dressage rider and Advanced level Eventer, and his wife Rozzi, Sally spent the next four years of her life training and competing at Advanced level Eventing and 4th level Dressage. It was here at the New South Wales Equestrian Centre that she became a qualified coach and dabbled in the world of breeding and training upper level Dressage horses.

After a time Sally started start her own successful training, coaching, and selling business, Sally McKechnie Equestrian.  She trained six horses to two-star (**) level Eventing, all of which were sold on the international and national circuit. In 2004 Sally decided to make a trip overseas to gain some international experience, so she packed up her things and her horses  and headed for the USA.

She spent a year based with Phillip Dutton at True Prospect farm and, after falling in love with the USA, decided to get a visa to stay on. Sally’s goal is to represent Australia at a world or Olympic games in Eventing and she feels she is closer to achieving that goal based here in the USA. Her busy days consist of teaching students, training young horses and riding her competition horses.

We would like to welcome Sally McKechnie as our newest resident trainer at Caves Farm, where she will be providing training and instruction, as well as regular cross country schooling days.