             Dawn Kirby 3176 Bennoch Rd. Alton, ME 04468 Dawn@k-9gems.com (207)394-4461 |
My name is Dawn Kirby. I grew up in Peru, Maine. I started riding horses when I was three years old. When I turned nine, I joined the local horse 4-H club and started competing in english and western equitation and pleasure. I went on to compete successfully in a wide variety of disciplines. I continued in equitation and pleasure, but added Showmanship, On Command, Trail, Jumping and Gaming events.
When I was sixteen, I moved to Oregon with my parents. My two geldings moved with me. It was in Oregon that I got my first baby, a black paint filly named Sparky. I used her in 4-H ground training for two years. I started horses under saddle and worked with problem horses for people while I was going to high school and gave riding lessons to younger 4-Hers. I went to State Gaming Finals three years in a row, on different horses every year. In 1999 I traveled around Oregon and Washington as a princess on the Columbia County Rodeo Court.
In the fall of 2000, I started college at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. I continued training horses throughout college. It was here that my passion for Reining began. I took as many classes at the OSU Horse Center as possible, including but not limited to Western Riding, Reining, Advanced Reining, Colt Training and Advanced Colt training. I played Polo with the OSU Polo team for a little while and competed on the Drill Team as well.
In the fall of 2005 I packed up my four horses and hauled them back to Maine. After staying out in the woods (Brownville, ME) for a year, I finally moved closer to civilization. I now live in Alton, Maine which is just 15 minutes north of Bangor. I'm working on getting my property set up the way I want it. I have my barn and a large roundpen, but it's a work in progress. Due to time contraints I haven't done much lately other than trail riding. I plan to continue with lessons, training and competition next summer.
So as you can see, I have experience in a wide variety of diciplines. One thing all have in common is the need for a steady and responsive horse. My training methods focus on creating a willing partner that can go on to any discipline.