About Us
Barbara Ellin Fox grew up riding on Long Island in the ‘60s. Her love was for Equitation and from a young age she studied correct riding technique. Her riding roots are in instructors with military, fox hunting and polo backgrounds. One of her instructors, Joan Johnson, was later revered for being a grass roots organizer for Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association. Barbara grew up watching great riders like Hugh Wiley, William Steinkraus, Kathy Kusner, Frank Chapot, the D’Inzeo brothers and other International riders from Canada, Mexico, England, Italy, Chile, Argentina, Germany and Ireland etc. Hours were spent on the rail at the old Madison Square Garden watching horses like Nautical, Sinjon, Ksar d’Esprit, Snowman, Riviera Wonder, Untouchable, Bold Minstrel and Snowbound compete in International competitions. Barbara was at ringside when puissance records were broken and Nations Cups were won.
Barbara graduated from the Potomac Horse Center in Maryland in 1968. PHC was in its infancy at the time and was run by British Horse Society Instructors. It was at PHC that Barbara was first introduced to dressage and eventing. After graduating PHC Barbara moved to the Midwest to teach riding. Her students succeeded in all of the riding venues from Hunter Seat Equitation, to jumpers, eventing, dressage and even stock and saddle seat. Students went on to become instructors and trainers.
Barbara has been director and owner of Fox School of Horsemanship since 1969. She has been a United States Pony Club instructor for over 35 years and has held many positions in USPC, including Regional Instruction Coordinator, Regional Supervisor, USPC District Commissioner, Regional Camp Director and Pony Club Examiner. She is the founder of two Pony Clubs.
Barbara is an author and has written articles for many horse publications over the past 40 years. She has written newsletters for breed organizations, FSH, and Pony Clubs, as well as curriculum for equine based educational programs. She is always working on numerous writing projects. Current projects include 2 children’s books, a work on Federico Caprilli and a book for budding riding instructors.
During her time in the Midwest Barbara became friends with horsemen who’d been connected to Fort Riley and the Cavalry School. This, added to the love of riding basics and the admiration for the great horsemen she’d observed as a child, developed her deep interest in perpetuating the history and tradition associated with riding in the United States.
Growing up in the shadow of great horsemen and women, great horses and the rich tradition of US competitive riding it was easy to assume that horse lovers all over the US had the same advantages. But during the ‘80s Barbara, along with others, witnessed a turn in the US horse industry that took young riders away from tradition and headed them down the path of easy fixes, short cuts and disposable horsemanship. Hand in hand, sportsmanship and horsemanship began to take a back seat to blue ribbons and big money. Riders rarely knew about men like, Col. Chamberlin, Federico Caprilli , the D’Inzeos, Hugh Wiley or Kathy Kusner. They were unaware of the Nations Cups or of great horses such as had been seen in the ‘60s. They didn’t care about “making” a horse or seeing a distance or riding out of hand. Horses “died” for insurance, riders counted strides while our advanced equitation riders “perfected” the crest release. Young riders no longer looked at the USET with pride. Instead, they looked at the USET as a vested “right” and pushed and shoved their way on to the team, rather than earn selection. Entitlement replaced sportsmanship and grooms and airplanes replaced horsemanship. In the words of Don Mc Clean it was …”the day the music died. Bye Bye Miss American Pie…”
Barbara adds, “For 25 years I have listened to, read the concern of, and agreed with other horsemen and women of my generation who ask “where have the horsemen gone?” I’ve heard all of the excuses about the busy lives of our youth, the over commitment, the lack of open land, etc being the reason that we have to change things, give up tradition, and give in to living in the land of instant gratification. “
“When we let our roots whither, we lose the essence of our sport. The reason we are losing our tradition of great horseman and excellent horsemanship is simply because we are not teaching the next generation about the things that have gone before them. US Horsemanship is my effort to help revive tradition, show the value of a solid basic foundation, and to give our current and future generations access to the education I had as a youth. US Horsemanship is my passion and it reflects my standard and commitment as a horsewomen.”