Our Team
ASSISTANT INSTRUCTORS
Heather riding her mare, Bella
Heather Ajzenman
Heather started riding in lower level eventing at the age of 9. In high school, she acquired her first horse, Bella, an 18hh ISH mare that she evented through Training level. Heather attended Mount Holyoke College (with Bella) and was part of the Intercollegiate Dressage Team (IDA) where she gained experience riding a variety of horses. At MHC she rode with Paula Pierce (the director of the equestrian center) and decided to change her focus from eventing to dressage. She graduated in 2008 with a degree in Neuroscience and Behavior. Also in 2008 she celebrated the birth of a filly out of her mare Bella, by the stallion Olivier (KWPN).
Heather spent the year after college teaching and developing therapeutic riding programs in Western MA. She came to Missouri in the fall of 2009 to start her Doctorate program in Occupational Therapy at Washington University in St. Louis. Heather feels that working with Liz has been a great experience for her as it has allowed her to further advance her riding and teaching skills while assisting in the training of a variety of horses at Drew Training Stables.
Jennifer Buck
Jennifer Murphy-Buck specializes in Dressage, Vaulting, and Equi-Core Rider fitness classes. Buck began riding at age 13 on Morgan horses and exhibited in Western, Hunter/Jumper, Saddle Seat, Dressage, Vaulting, and Driving. Much to her current embarassment, she won Morgan Horse Youth of the Year in Arkansas where she began her teaching career prior to college. She attended William Woods University’s Equine Science program and participated in Saddle Seat, H/J, Vaulting, Driving, and specialized in Dressage. At WWU Buck founded a college Vaulting team and then began teaching vaulting as a class. She coached her collegiate vaulting teams in competitions throughout the U.S. Buck earned national titles in vaulting and is a silver level vaulter. Throughout college she pursued her dressage and vaulting education working at Grand Prix Dressage Barns and internationally competitive vaulting programs on the East and West Coasts during summers. Buck most noteable worked under Kathy Connelly and Joy Congdon. After college Buck continued to work in California for internationally competitive Pacific Coast Vaulters for one year. She then returned to Missouri amd managed a therapeutic riding program’s equine division for four years, became a certified therapeutic riding instructor and certified vaulting and longeing instructor with NARHA, and founded an outreach program for inner city kids. Her outreach program taught inner city kids upper level vaulting and gave them the opportunity to perform with Circus Flora across the nation.
Combining her passion for dressage, vaulting, and body awareness into a lifelong study of balance, strength, and symmetry as it relates to riding horses, Buck focusses on teaching body control, confidence, and a centered balanced position. Buck brings her experience working in therapeutic and high-performance settings to develop a positive and progressive approach for each rider whether in a lesson, on a lunge line, or in Equi-Core classes. Buck currently operates her own vaulting and lesson program and trains with Liz Drew to continue her dream towards achieving her Bronze/Silver/and Gold USDF medals. She has ridden with Liz since 2008 and for her, training and working with the enthusiastic and supportive team at DTS is a much appreciated opportunity to continue moving forward in this great sport that happily provides a never-ending learning curve and so many ways to appreciate the great horses who teach us!
Alene Hiles
Alene Hiles started her equine career at the age of 10 by cleaning 20 stalls at a hunter/jumper barn in return for riding lessons. At age 11, she got her first horse, Pete. Alene came to DTS to start dressage lessons in 2002. Five years ago Alene received a young, buckskin Arabian gelding cross as a gift and with the help of Liz, has trained this horse to Third Level with high hopes of continued advancement in the years to come. For the past several years, Alene has been a constant, smiling face at the barn, where she rides and teaches on the weekends. She has experience in riding riding close to 100 different horses, of all breeds and levels of training. Her knowledge and the sensitivity she applies to that experience make her invaluable to our program. Currently a Senior at Mizzou, Alene will graduate next year with a BS in Animal Science.