Iron Star Equestrian

 Sarah MacKusick is an up and coming Equestrian Trainer and Instructor in the Tallahassee - Big Bend area.  Sarah has 17 years of riding and showing experience in an array of disciplines ranging from Equitation, Huntseat, Jumpers, Dressage, Western Pleasure, Reining, and Trail.

Sarah began riding at the age of 7 in McDonough Georgia. She rode under Scott Armour at Tamingo Farms. In 1996, Tamingo Farms hosted the Swiss Olympic Team when the Olympics were held in Atlanta. Spring of 1996, Sarah began riding at Tantivy Farms with Robin Landers. She got her first horse at the age of 14. Sarah began competing in jumper classes at H.J.Fox held at Malone Farms in Newborn, Georgia. After a fall that injured her back in 2001, she began riding with Woody Pforr of Fourwood Farms in Covington. She competed at Chateau Elan, the Georgia International Horse Park and Wills Park in Atlanta.

Sarah went on to college at Georgia Southern University and was  President of the Georgia Southern Equestrian Team for two years and rode with Eleanor Ellis of Evermore Farm.

 In 2005, Sarah qualified for Zones Huntseat and for Nationals Western Pleasure where she placed 5th. She also competed in an ANRC Invitational at Sweetbriar College in Lynchburg Virginia. She spent the summer of 2005 in Tuxedo, North Carolina, as the Head Riding Instructor at Camp Glen Arden. She taught girls of all levels about horsemanship, riding and stable safety. She returned in 2006 for a portion of the summer.

After college, Sarah moved to Tallahassee Florida where she began teaching at Southern Oaks Equestrian Center with recent Extreme Mustang Makeover participant, Marsha Hartford-Sapp. She began working for a private "A" circuit facility as the Stable Manager. She also worked with Lindsay Barrack of Feather Oaks Farm and Mahan Farm.

She currently works for the State of Florida as an Archaeologist by day; afternoons and weekends are spent teaching at Iron Star Equestrian in Havana Florida. She hopes to build her riding program and travel to horse shows with students both locally and all over the state.