As a child, Amanda Lyerly grew up riding. She trained with different people in her junior years, but it was not until she went to Derbydown with trainer Louise Serio that she found her perfect place in the equestrian industry.
Amanda’s father had walking horses when she and her sister were children, which were kept at their farm a few minutes from home in Hickory, North Carolina. “My sister and I both had a play pony when we were two. I’ve always been around horses,” she said. “My mom’s friend’s daughter took lessons, and she kind of conned my mom into taking us with her. It just went from there.”
When Amanda decided to ride seriously and start showing, she rode at a barn with other riders that have also excelled in the industry, such as Eliza Shuford. She then got her first show pony and started training with Jack Towell of Camden, SC. “I started the big ‘A’ shows when I was about seven,” Amanda explained. “I actually had a Medium pony first and then went back and did the Smalls. I did it backwards. I had a pony named Center Shot that I rode with Jack and Pat Dodson. She was Medium when we bought her, but she ended up getting re-measured as a Small!” Amanda went on to ride other Medium ponies, Littlejohn and Center Attraction, and then a Large pony named Devil’s River with Dodson.
As she moved into showing horses, she went back to Towell’s farm. “I had a year or so where I didn’t have anything of my own,” she recalled. “I did some Pre-Green horses and the Childen’s Hunters and did some catch-riding. We bought a young horse that ended up not working out.” Amanda bought her first junior hunter, a successful horse named Just In Case, from her future employer, Louise Serio. “Louise was riding him in the First Year Hunters when I bought him,” Amanda said. “I rode Just In Case with Jack for a year before I went to boarding school in 1990. Just In Case was champion at Harrisburg. He was very nice, and I was lucky.”
Attending St. Catherine’s Boarding School in Richmond, Virginia, proved to be a serendipitous move. “It was just what everyone in my family had done, so I didn’t really have a choice,” Amanda remarked with a laugh. “When I went to boarding school, I ended up riding with Louise because I had bought my horse from her. She was closer, so I just kind of ended up there. At that point, Louise did a lot of shows in Culpeper, VA, and a lot of those Virginia horse shows. It was easier than going down to South Carolina.”
When Amanda moved to Louise’s barn, it was quite different than what she had been used to, but she found that the environment suited her perfectly. “I was used to being in a barn full of kids. There was one other junior, but everyone else was an amateur. It was kind of different. It was nice, but it was a new experience,” she remembered.
When Amanda graduated from St. Catherine’s and decided to go to college, she had to make the decision to Just In Case. She attended Haverford College outside of Philadelphia, PA, not far from Louise’s farm in Kennent Square. Amanda did not have her own horse, but she was often found at the barn, riding whatever she could and helping Louise’s assistant at the time, Sandy Ferrell. She also worked for Louise in the summers between school and stayed at the farm. “I was only 45 minutes away, so when they were at shows, I would go out during the week and help ride some of the horses that were at home. I was still an amateur in college, so I did some Adult classes here and there or some young horses. My senior year of college, I showed the horses that stayed home in the winter a little bit. I mostly just groomed and helped exercise horses and that kind of stuff.”
Like many amateur riders who cannot afford to show their own horse, Amanda was limited in what she could compete. “It was hard being an amateur and trying to work and be careful about what you ride. I really wanted to ride. I couldn’t afford to do it on my own.” Once she graduated from college, Amanda made the conscious decision to become a professional rider and went to work for Louise Serio full-time. “I gradually became a professional rider at Louise’s. At first I had one or two horses of my own to ride, and it increased from there. It still varies depending on what horses we have.”
Amanda graduated from college with a degree in Political Science. “I really thought I wanted to go to law school. But, by the time I finished college, I couldn’t imagine opening another book for awhile. I thought I would just do this for a year or two and then go back to school, but I realized it was more important to do something you like than do something just to do it. My parents weren’t exactly happy about it in the beginning, but they’re good about it now.”
Since Amanda became a full-time employee, she is involved in much of the riding and teaching duties at the farm. “I manage to a point, but we have a secretary at home that is amazing. She does all of the organizing as far as getting stalls and entries done. I organize the grooms and make sure they know where to go and what to do,” she said. This year, the busy stable also has junior rider Grace Socha as a working student. “She does a tremendous amount of organizing,” Amanda replied. “It’s nice during the week when I’m trying to show. It takes a lot of responsibility away from me so I can focus on riding. That’s been really helpful.”
And riding is the focus for Amanda. In her early equestrian years, she “really enjoyed catch-riding,” and rode ponies for Ron Danta and Ashmont Farm. In her junior years, she picked up rides from fellow junior competitor Marley Goodman or for trainer Tom Wright, and got rides on horses in Louise’s barn.
In recent years, there are a few horses that stand out for Amanda. She rode Coast to Coast for owner Glen Senk and Fashion Farm. He was a horse that Amanda had the good fortune to start in the First Year Green Hunters and move all the way up to the Regular Working Hunters. “I really got to spend a lot of time with him and work with him, thanks to Glen Senk. It was rewarding to see the progress,” she revealed. Last year, Amanda also rode Daria for owner Anne Rinaldi in the Pre-Green 3-4 Year Old Hunters and they were the Winter Equestrian Festival Circuit Champions. Amanda now shows her in the Green Conformation Hunters.
With Daria, Amanda experienced her most satisfying moment in the show ring. “At Capital Challenge last year, my horse was champion in the Pre-Green Hunters and was third in the big Pre-Green Classic,” she recalled. “That was probably a bigger deal to me than to anyone else, because she had only shown six times in her life. When we started down here in Florida last year, she only jumped cross rails. It was huge for her to walk in the indoor and go around and win.”
“Most of the time, a lot of the horses I show have a second job,” Amanda explained. “The kids or amateurs show them as well. My time in the ring is a little sporadic. The horses do the first week down here at WEF with me and then just as needed. The first week I had a lot to do, and now there’s just one or two that don’t have another job. We try not to make it too hard on them unless they really need to do it.”
That last thought is a philosophy that Amanda has embraced and has come to love about working for Louise. “I like the way she works with the horses. They never show too much or are overworked. She seems to really care about them and does a great job.”
As a hunter rider, Amanda noted that she has learned from the very best. “I’ve learned how to polish my ride and get better jumps from horses. I’ve also learned how to ride different horses and not ride them all the same. Louise is great at that,” she acknowledged. “I learned a lot more about doing the young horses. As a kid, I rode green horses, but nothing like the three year olds I might ride now. Louise has taught me how to bring them along in the right way.”
Amanda added with a smile, “I’ve noticed now that it’s a lot easier for me to ride young horses now than it was five or six years ago. Watching her ride and having her help me has also helped my teaching tremendously. I appreciate her even more when I ride a horse that she usually rides and realize how difficult it is, and she makes it look like it’s nothing.”
Although Amanda did some equitation as a junior, hunters have always been her main pursuit, especially since she went to work for Derbydown, which produce many of the top hunters in the nation. “We obviously have a lot more hunters,” she explained, “and I think I like the preciseness of the hunters. It’s what I’ve always done, but it’s just more my speed than the jumpers!”
Teaching at Derbydown is another key role that Amanda plays. “It was hard for me to teach the amateur riders in the beginning when I first got out of college,” she admitted. “Some of them were my friend’s parents and that was awkward at first.” Amanda has since become more comfortable in her role as a trainer. She and Louise do not split up students, but are there for whichever student may be in the ring at the time. “Whoever ends up at the ring at a certain time helps them,” Amanda explained. “I really like doing the ponies, but we don’t have many of those. There are a couple kids that I usually end up teaching. I think I may have a more calming effect,” she said with a laugh.
Many of the things that Amanda teaches today are what she learned herself not too long ago from Louise. “Most of our kids are at an advanced level. They pretty much have their strong foundation, so it’s just helping them deal with their horses when they’re a little fresh or too quiet. It’s getting a better jump or keeping them straight, stuff like that. We work on perfecting things,” she said.
Although Amanda may sometimes be the only trainer at the show ring, she is grateful to have Louise to learn from. “She’s good at helping me while she’s helping someone else, so you can learn and figure that out. I’ve learned the business side of the industry too. She’s very straightforward and very honest, and I really respect that. That’s part of the reason I really like working there, is because I trust her.”
While Amanda is happy to have found a place to learn, it is also a place where she has found a real familial atmosphere. Smiling, she said, “We have an amazing group of people. Our kids are great about jumping in and helping, and they’re all supportive of each other. It’s just a great group of people to be around, and it’s a wonderful atmosphere to work in. We have a lot of amateurs that show against each other, but they all get along and hang out to watch the last person go at the end of the day.”
As far as her future is concerned, Amanda wants to continue doing what has worked out so well for her. “I want to keep doing what I’m doing. Louise is the best at what she does, and I feel like I learn something new every day just watching her. She always gives you something to strive for,” she concluded. “We have the best group of people. Louise has been great to me, and it’s like a family there. I can’t see myself anywhere else.”
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