Doleta & Jackie Brogie 1985                                                         Master Charge & Jackie Brogie 1988                  

Growing up in the Canal Zone (CZ) ...

I was fortunate enough to be born and raised in the Panama Canal Zone in Central America.  Naming my business after the Canal Zone was my way of paying tribute to where and how I was brought up.  Zonians are a close knit group of Americans who lived in the Panama Canal Zone working for the US Government.  We have an annual reunion in Florida where several generations of Zonians get together each year to stay in touch and have some good times.  Most of us have moved away from Panama, but this was my small way of honoring my roots.

Brief History (and some name dropping - you know who you are!)...

I wanted a horse from the first time I laid eyes on one (around age 3), and bugged my parents endlessly until they finally gave in.  Almost 4 years later, they let me start riding lessons from Berta Lewis the summer before I entered 2nd grade.  Lesson learned:  if you want something so bad you can taste it, keep persevering!  I got my first pony when I was in 4th grade after almost a year of leasing other ponies and searching for the "right" one.  Her name was Doleta and she was a Panamanian Bush Pony, which is basically a mutt.  She was a pretty fancy mutt though.  We competed in IHSA horse shows throughout the Canal Zone and took clinics from the stateside judges that came down for our shows, such as Hap Hansen.   I had some great local instructors teaching me as well - Ginny Webber, Betsy Broyd, Bruce Harkness, Lindsey Whittaker, Colleen Garcia, and Irene DeLaGarcia.  I started teaching lessons to younger kids, exercising horses, and braiding to earn money when I was in middle school.  Pam Weldon and Ginny Webber were the braiding pros and taught me well.  It is a skill that I use to this day.  My second horse was an ex-racehorse from El Hippodromo (the racetrack in Panama) that I named Amadeus.  Unfortuntely I only had him a few months before I lost him to a very severe colic.  My next horse was a wonderful bay Thoroughbred named Master Charge that I bought from Henrietta Wolfe.  All these fantastic people and horses taught me so much, and made me the rider and instructor that I am today.  For that, I will always be very grateful.  There are many friends I did not mention that made this whole experience fun and unforgettable.  Those were the days, huh?

Now...

I took several years off from riding for college, marriage to my wonderful and patient husband James (JT), and family life.  I did ride off and on, did some showing, and even worked for a short time at a large sales barn in Florida called Seahorse Equestrian Ventures with Jim & Wendy Ritter and their kids Nikko & Trevor.  That was an invaluable learning experience as well.  Since JT and I moved our family to Western North Carolina in 2002, I have been able to be much more involved in horses and teaching.  I am constantly learning more and staying motivated to help keep my students doing the same.  Finding and working with Gerald & Betsy Pack has had a tremendous impact on my skills as both a rider and instructor.  Jodi Lees has also been a huge source of knowledge and experience as well.  I started this endeavor called CZ Equestrian, Inc. because I wanted a fun, safe place for my kids to learn true horsemanship and develop a love for horses.  I get a thrill watching my students have those "light bulb" moments, or have success in the show ring.  I truly enjoy matching people to their horses and watching the relationship develop.  Plus, I am basically still a horse freak, and simply have way too much fun riding and learning about them.  It's a pleasure to be able to create an environment for people to learn how to safely and effectively ride, manage, and care for their horses.  My place is definitely in the barn!