Kelly Prather is an elite rider, trainer, and coach. Her accomplishments are the result of hard work, dedication, and a natural talent for working with horses.
Growing up in a family of horse lovers, Kelly was on a horse before she could walk and at age three she was in her first show. At age 17, Prather moved to England where she worked and trained for her British Horse Society exams. After passing the first two stages of her BHS exams, she was offered a position in Ireland by Carol Gee and Paul Donovan at Sportsfield Event Horses. A year later Kelly moved to Kilkenny with Carol and worked alongside her to start Fernhill Sport Horses. During her two years in Ireland, she gained valuable experience in training and competing sale horses of all levels.
Before heading back to California, Kelly found Ballinkill Glory, a then three-year-old Irish Sport Horse. Kelly brought Pippa (as she is known in the barn) back to the states and with the help of owners James and Andrea Pfeiffer, the pair had a very successful Eventing career. Kelly brought Pippa up through the levels and spent five years at the Advanced level, competing at the Rolex Kentucky CCI4*and representing the United States at the World Cup Eventing Finals in Poland.
Kelly spent nine years as assistant and head rider at Chocolate Horse Farm in California, where she maintained a large client base, training and competing horses and coaching riders of all ages. During this time she dedicated herself to riding and developing her training methods while also gaining firsthand experience running a successful business. Kelly boasts a decorated riding resume that includes numerous wins on horses of all levels, success in the Young Event Horse program, Gold Cup victories and successfully competing at the top levels across the globe.
In 2012 Kelly was brought to England by William Fox-Pitt, one of the top riders in the world. She worked for Fox-Pitt as his head rider for the 2012 season and was part of Team Fox-Pitt during the London Olympics Games. Working with the world-class horses, riders, and coaches in England during this time proved to be great experience that influenced Kelly’s training methods today.
Kelly has coached riders through the Advanced level as well as helped numerous children, young riders, and amateurs to develop strong skills and achieve their dreams with a fun and effective teaching approach. She is also available to travel for clinics. To learn more about training and lesson with Kelly or to book her for a clinic, please contact her via email or give her a call at (707) 849-8586.