Alexandra Mannerings

I first fell in love with horses at the tender age of 7. A wonderful cast of equine teachers have helped me along the way: AJ, the small, black cannonball of a pony who taught me to love speed; Captain, the lanky chestnut who showed me just how much fun jumping really can be; and of course my own beloved Noah, my very own winged steed. Some people want a car when they turn sixteen--I had eyes for nothing but a copper-red firebolt of colt, who knew how to fly.

It's been over 16 years now, and Noah is mostly retired. But in our prime, we competed in three day eventing, a combined test of dressage, cross country and stadium jumping. We've also spent countless hours riding trails, messing around bareback, and playing horse tag and capture the flag.

When I wasn't riding horses or drawing horses or writing stories about horses, I managed to graduate summa cum laude from Emory University with a BSc in biology and earn a PhD from the University of Cambridge in England in Veterinary Science. While perhaps not quite as much fun, my human teachers taught me a tremendous amount, too.