An Introduction to Jen Sweet and Lions’ Bridge

Jennifer (Watt) Sweet grew up loving horses.  In order to ride and to pay for her riding she worked at the barn, mucking stalls, working the ring entrance at horse shows, riding anything available. Although she had a horse, Jen's horses have never been easy, ready to go horses, she has always had "project" horses that needed some kind of work to make them do the job she had in mind for them.

Jen graduated from the University of Guelph in 1990 with a degree in Wildlife Biology and began work at an insurance company.  In order to stay involved with horses, she began volunteering at the disabled riding program in Kitchener. Jen was quickly recognized by the Board of Directors, the volunteers and the boarders as an experienced horse person with a great deal to offer. She was hired by the program in 1992 as their head riding instructor (she is a certified disabled riding instructor).

Jen instructed in the formal program, she taught boarders and helped volunteers and she started going to some local schooling shows with her able bodied students on their horses.

Jen's private teaching increased and she became involved with some people in other barns. One of these students was Keean White.  Jen and Keean were both driven to achieve.  Jen helped Keean to purchase the incredible show pony “Turtle Express” with whom they won multiple Championships culminating in winning the A Circuit Large Pony Championship.   Her client base developed and she soon had competitive students at the "A Circuit" shows in many divisions. After the birth of her first of two children, Jen stopped working with the disabled and started training and coaching full time. She moved her business to Angelstone Farms in Cambridge in 1997. Showing out of Angelstone over the next few years,  Andrea Finnen on Turtle were Royal Winter Fair Champions, Rebecca Graham on Easy Does It were Royal Winter Fair Reserve Champions (Children’s Hunter), and many of Jen’s other students achieved success on horses purchased and developed with Jen’s assistance.

In 2004, Jen relocated her Lions' Bridge Stable to its current location near Ayr Ontario. Jen's business evolved with the needs of her students and the horses they had available.  She is now running one of the top winning Central West Trillium barns with many champions in many divisions over the past three seasons, including winning the Low Hunter division in 2005 on her own horse Maverick.  Maverick, typical of Jen's horses was an abused horse with a difficult history taken from being a problem horse to a Champion.

Jen has an uncanny ability to match horses and riders and has a gift for helping horses and riders with issues overcome their challenges and excel.