Colleen Rutledge

When Colleen was about two years old, her parents “plunked her on a pony.” She has been in the saddle since.

A mom of three children, Colleen has been involved with equestrian sports for most of her life. When she isn’t competing in eventing, she teaches horsemanship to 15 to 20 students at her parents’ Turnabout Farm in Howard County. Her students are involved in everything from eventing to fox hunting.

Colleen first got started in eventing while riding in pony clubs. She was about 8 or 9 when she entered her first eventing competition. She has moved around the area, but has lived in Frederick since 1999. “Originally I did some dressage and jumping, but it all came back to eventing,” she said. “In eventing, you do everything. It’s the best of both worlds.”

With my partner-in-crime, Shiraz, we are currently the only horse/rider combination EVER to complete the five northern hemisphere four-star three-day events- all five completed with no XC penalties! Now I'm looking forward to a bright future with Covert Rights, and with my new partner, Escot 6.