About Tia

Born and raised around horses, Tia inherited the love of the horse from the start. Growing up in Snohomish County Washington, she started training horses around the age of 16 years old. She started her foundation in western pleasure and trail riding. She grew up next to the Pilchuck Tree Farm, a large active tree farm with an extensive trail system. From trail riding to colt starting, western pleasure to ranch riding, obstacles to liberty work, english and even driving, she has done a bit of it all. 

Having attended various clinics, shows and events she has learned a lot of different training methods throughout the years. After officially starting her business in 2021, her training took more of a focus on developing an eye for and understanding sound movement. This was because each horse that was brought into her training program, had some sort of physical issue that was causing unwanted behaviors. Instead of just pushing them through it, she started looking further into what was causing the behaviors in the first place. She started partnering up with local equine body workers, veterinarians and farriers for each horse to get to the bottom of their discomfort.

In an effort to learn more on the subject of sound movement, Tia started following the work of Amy Skinner. Amy embraces a training philosophy based in classical dressage and sound horsemanship practices. Tia got her first opportunity to ride in Amy's clinic in Snohomish, WA, March, 2022. With the inspiring teaching Amy offered and the profound changes in each horse in just 2 days, Tia finally saw clearly the path she wanted to go in her horsemanship journey. A focus on postural health and training for soundness. After about a year and a half of following Amy, reaching out to her for her guidance on some of her more challenging cases, Amy invited her to join her Professionals Mentorship program. In October of 2022, Tia joined the mentorship group giving her the opportunity to continue her studies more directly with Amy which made a profound difference personally and professionally.

Happy Hearts Horsemanship was invited to become a member of Progressive Equine Partnerships in 2023. Founded in 2021, Progressive Equine Partnerships (PEP) is dedicated to recognizing and building a network of Equine Professionals and Establishments who are moving away from tradition and putting the welfare of the equine at the forefront of their practices. 

In 2022, she volunteered and attended the Best Horse Practices Summit in Louisville Kentucky where she met more like minded horse people and trainers from across the country. She then joined the steering committee and later became a board member. 

In 2025, she attended her first whole horse dissection taught by Lorre Mueller of Trinity Equine Services. This class was very eye opening and only further connects the dots in her horsemanship journey. 

Tia considers herself a forever student of the horse and continues to expand her education by attending clinics that align with her philosophy and through continued online study and research. Her areas of study are classical dressage, the Vaquero style, equine nutrition, anatomy, saddle fit, bodywork, biomechanics, land management for horses, equine track systems, barefoot trimming and more. She has her own equine track system or “Paddock Paradise” at home. She started trimming her personal horses in 2023 which began under the guidance of hoof care professional and mentor, Corrie Mannion of Sole Purpose Hoof Care. With continuous study and practice, she's been off trimming her personal horses on her own since April 2025. These peices are all very important  and when we get them all right our horses will blossom into willing partners that are sound and happy for years to come.