In the pursuit of continual self-improvement, Dawn Jensen found in the Balimo™ Instructor program, what she had been long looking for – a way to develop her skills both as a rider and as an instructor, for many years to come. 

Currently a USDF Bronze Medal recipient, Dawn also has the German Bronze and Silver Riding Medals for dressage and jumping.  While living in Germany for several years, she earned the Trainer B license, worked as a rider for the Hanoverian Verband, and taught/trained at riding clubs in the Hamburg area.   In the US, Dawn has worked for several warmblood breeders (including Iron Spring Farm) training horses for presentation at stallion/mare testings, sale, and competition.  All of this was made possible by the solid foundation provided by St. Mary’s-of-the-Woods College, where she got her B.Sce. in Equine Studies.  

It’s never easy to pick just a few mentors, since so many impact us over the years in what seem at first small ways.  Dawn has been lucky to have worked with many fantastically knowledgeable and generous horsewomen/men, but some of the more recent have been Hannes Mueller, head of the German Riding School in Warendorf, Gerd Zuther, and JJ Tate.  And of course, the impact Eckart Meyners has made is not to be forgotten!! 

Dawn lives with her family in Columbia, South Carolina and rides/teaches at Emerald Spring Equestrian Center in nearby Chapin.