Me beside the grave of 1970 English Triple Crown winner Nijinsky at Claiborne Farm

I've been a horse lover all of my life. I can't remember a time when I wasn't playing with toy horses, collecting model horses, or riding and caring for the real thing. I've also been drawing and sculpting horses all my life, and as there are generations of horse-mad women and artsy-types on both sides of my family, I think I come by my equine obsession honestly.

I was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and spent my first seven years growing up in Chanhassen, a suburb of the Twin Cities. Though I have moved elsewhere since then, Minnesota will always be home to me. At the moment, Chicago is my windy port-of-call. I moved here for grad school at the University of Chicago, one of the few places in the country where I could indulge my interest in Celtic studies.

My first exposure to real horses came through my grandparents who kept several old pensioners on their farm outside of Zumbro Falls, MN, but I didn't begin riding lessons until I was eight years-old when my family moved to Marietta, GA. I rode English, primarily hunter/jumper, for a number of years until college and grad school got in the way, and I now look forward to a time when I can have my own horse. I would love to have an off-the-track Thoroughbred someday.

Not surprisingly, I am a devoted fan of horse racing, and have been since Swale captured my heart in 1984. I am a keen student of pedigrees and enjoy researching and writing about the history of the sport.

Because I am an equine artist, I have a keen interest in horse color genetics. I have a website devoted to the subject, and I strive to create accurate and realistic colors and patterns when I paint. Most people in the hobby know me as a customizer and painter, but I was (and still am) an OF plastic and china collector from the get-go. My model horse addiction began at an early age when my mom found Breyers on clearance at Target once. My first model, purchased that day, was a bay Standing Stock Horse Foal. The collection didn't really take off until after we moved to GA where I met collector Lisa Rowland at a Breyer signing party in 1989. I bought a herd of wonderful vintage horses from her, and learned a great deal about the history of the hobby. Three thousand models later, my mom, Ruth-Ann, and my younger sister, Sarah, have joined me in the madness. My mom is a china head and has a lovely collection of Hagen-Renakers, Royal Worcesters, Rosenthals, and other fine European chinas. Sarah is a fledgling customizer who is a dab hand at zebras and quaggas.