In October 2019 the Hodge’s purchased their little slice of heaven after months of looking for the perfect place. Shortly after they got to work putting up fencing for the horses and starting on the foundation of their house. Within the year horses were moved in and the house was laying in the finishing pieces. By March of 2021, the arena was placed and Chloe started to have people reach out for lessons. Before long she had more clients than she knew what to do with! As the years pass we continue to improve our facility and try to make it the happiest spot possible for horses and humans alike.
A little about the brains behind the operation.
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Owner
Shawn is the backbone of the operation. You may not see him every day out with the horses, but he is a critical player behind the scenes. He also is the ultimate horse show dad.
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Owner/ Facility Manager
Tracy is passionate about the care of the horses at Phoenix Farm. She is the first boots on the grounds in the morning and often the last to shut the gate at night. Growing up with horses in her backyard, she loves to be able to keep a watchful eye on them. You may occasionally catch her on a trail ride on her horse, Solo, or even a fox hunt in the fall!
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Trainer/ Instructor
When the Hodge’s made the move to Arkansas, Chloe began lessons with Heather Swope, the IEA Zone 7 Representative, and started with a strong base in Equitation and Hunters. She then took steps into the dressage ring with Justin Doran and clinicians such as Claudia Coley, Wanja Gerlach, and Christian Garweg. After discovering a newfound passion in dressage, Chloe started working with Amy Walsh, an eventing trainer who helped her further her knowledge and start jumpers.
At 16 Wrain Spot, or as everyone knows her as Wren came into the family giving Chloe a leg up in her career. When Chloe was 17, she purchased an OTTB out of the Stillwater, OK kill pen as a project and began training her. Gospel Ruby, or Rose as we call her, developed Chloe’s love for the breed and helped her grow as a rider taking her into 1-1.05 meters. Chloe has since trained many breeds but is more known for her success with off-the-track thoroughbreds.
Through trial and error, Chloe has perfected her training method with a heavy emphasis on positive reinforcement and correct basics. Starting with a basic dressage background to make sure your horse has a solid foundation and responds to the correct aids when needed. After starting the flat work, she will begin slowly adding in jumps and make sure not to over-face the horse, but build confidence in them so that jumping stays a positive experience for them. Over time fences will build up, but the focus will always stay primarily on the flat to keep the stress on their joints at a minimum and to not burn out the horse.
