Michele Flarida, Business Manager

Michele decided to stay in Ohio, but did complete her doctoral dissertation on the effect of gamma delta t-lymphocytes on the human immune system, using a bovine model. Her findings are still being used in cancer research today. Michele has five patents in conjunction with OSU, and she has been published in six leading scientific journals.

While Michele’s work was mostly geared toward human medical research, she taught both human and veterinary courses at OSU. One of her biggest accomplishments while there was creating cell lines to perfect a method for cryopreservation – a method that is used today for frozen shipped semen that the horse industry now utilizes extensively.

After leaving OSU, Michele worked as a research scientist at Proctor & Gamble for two years before giving it up to become a full-time mom and run Shawn’s business.  Michele and Shawn celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary on April 25.

In addition to running Shawn’s successful horse training business and being a very involved mom, Michele manages the Cabin Fever Classic horse show, featuring the Wimpys Little Step Derby. The show is unique in that it only retains 10 percent of the entry fees for office expenses, and all proceeds go to a charity. In 2008, the show wrote a check to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville for $10,000, and hopes to write an even bigger check in 2009.

For all business matters, or to find out more about the Cabin Fever Classic/Wimpys Little Step Derby, contact Michele at michele@cabinfeverclassic.com.

Robin Schoeller, Head Assistant

German-native Robin Schoeller may be young, but he is quickly proving he is as talented as his boss. In 2007, Robin captured the attention of the reining world when he mirrored Shawn’s success by winning the Limited Open Congress Futurity and NRHA Limited Open Futurity, both on Wimpys Pinesail, by Wimpys Little Step. In 2008, when Shawn took the NRBC Open title, Robin won the NRBC Intermediate Open title on KR Lil Conquistador. The win put KR at the top of the charts as the NRHA’s all-time leading money-earning horse, and proved once again that Robin is here to stay. Robin met Shawn when he was showing As Smart As Charley in Germany. The young horse trainer took the opportunity to introduce himself, and Shawn liked the first impression.

I was really surprised when I met him, because when you meet Shawn for the first time, you feel like you’ve known him for a long time,” Robin said of the experience. “And I asked him if he had a job opening and he said yeah, come on over for a couple weeks, and we’ll see if it works out.”

And four years later, the arrangement is still “working out.” Both Shawn and Robin have an unbeatable work ethic, which makes their relationship work well. Robin is known for his attention to detail and organization around the barn, and spends time helping the younger trainers as well. But despite his success, Robin is quick to credit the source.

“Every tip that Shawn gives you is as good as gold. He has so much experience in the show pen…he really does know so much about it,” Robin says. “Everything he says helps so much and works, I’m just glad I can learn from him. I really do enjoy working for him; it’s a lot of fun. We work really, really hard, but we have a lot of fun, too.”
Robin has been riding horses since he was a child, and also credits his mother for her unwavering support of his career choices.

“My mom, she loved horses and when she was a kid, she never had the opportunity to ride horses, so she tried to bring me to the horses and give me the opportunity. I rode jumper and dressage horses, just for fun,” Robin explained. “When I was 13 years old, and my mom sent me to a horse camp. They had Quarter Horses there, and I really liked them. We just threw that Western saddle on and headed out for trail rides and I really liked that.”

The experience stuck with him, and after trying college for a while, Robin realized he missed the horses

“I told my mom, I either have to quit college and ride the horses or forget about horses and go to college,” he continued. “My mom, she always supported me with everything. And she told me, ‘well, you have to make that decision. You do what you want to do; you do what you have to.’ I made the right decision, to do the horses for a living. I worked in a barn that had all kinds of Western horses. I loved the reining and decided that’s what I want to do. So I worked my way up and ended up working for Volker Schmitt in Germany.”

Robin moved to Ohio when he was 27, and at 31, he has no plans to leave. In fact, Robin recently bought a house in the Springfield area, and plans to move in with his girlfriend, Congress Open freestyle champion Laura Phillips.

“I made the right decision coming here,” Robin has said. “I want to stay as long as Shawn will keep me!”

Click HERE for a complete list of Robin's accomplishments

Jed Lawrence, Assistant Trainer

Jed Lawrence grew up on a cattle farm in Nancy, Kentucky, and began riding horses early. Growing up around cattle, the cow horse events were appealing, though Jed also competed in pleasure and team roping during his teens. In his early 20’s, Jed decided to become a cow horse trainer, and eventually went to work for Mel McGuire in Lexington, Kentucky. In 2007, he won the Eastern region Limited Open Cow Horse completion and finished 13th at the NRCHA World Show in Stephenville in 2008. Despite his success riding cow horses, Jed felt reining was his weakness. He met Shawn for the first time at a clinic in Kentucky, and offered to come work for the trainer should he ever have an opening. Right before the 2007 NRHA Futurity, he did.

Luckily, Flarida’s client and friend Kim Crupper remembered Jed’s offer, and it didn’t take long for him to get hired. He started working at Shawn’s barn a week after he returned home from his successful run at the NRHA Futurity. Since beginning his job, Jed has grown immensely in his reining skills.

“I guess the mental aspect of it is what I’ve learned as much as anything, and not trying so hard physically to make things happen. I guess teaching them how to do things and make them want to do it is the biggest thing I’ve learned here,” Jed shares. “The coolest part of it is that he mentally challenges us to challenge the horse. He says things to us, and it makes you approach things different. That’s the thing about Shawn – I think that he just knows how to make you think. He’s made me use my head in places where I just wouldn’t before. I’d just try to feel things out and not try to think ahead, but He taught me how to strategize.”

Now, Jed loves reining just as much as reined cow horse competition, and he’s looking forward to competing in a reining for the first time since going to work for Shawn. Jed’s first competition will be at the Clayton Woosley Hall of Fame Reining in Lexington, Kentucky, in July.

“If you know something, it’s great. But it’s knowing when and how to use it is the key,” Jed said. “You can see at the shows where a lot of things Shawn says at homes makes sense at the shows.”

At Shawn’s barn, Jed is primarily responsible for riding the 2-year-olds, and he enjoys the challenges Shawn presents to all of his employees.

“He never asks us to do anything he won’t do, and he’s a pretty great boss,” Jed says. “I’d like to eventually do both cow horses and reiners, but for right now, I’m pretty content where I’m at.”

Ashley Kelkenberg, Assistant Trainer

Ashley Kelkenberg, originally from Buffalo, N.Y., came to Shawn Flarida Reining Horses in January to begin her internship, a requirement for the equine science and management program at Morrisville State College in New York, for which she now holds a bachelor’s degree in. After the internship ended in May, Shawn hired her on for the position of full-time assistant. Ashley got her start in horses from the time she was a little girl. Her grandparents had a farm with Belguims and ponies, and when her mom went to work there, Ashley went along. “She’d plop me on a pony and I’d ride around the farm while she was doing chores,” Ashley said of her upbringing. At Morrisville State, Ashley spent some summers riding for Spike Holmes.

It was there that she was introduced to reining, and it didn’t take long to get hooked.

“It was a lot more addictive than pleasure horses!” the 22-year-old says with a laugh.

Ashley met Shawn through her former employer, trainer Francis Mercier, and asked to do her internship there. As she’s moved from an intern to full-time employee, Ashley relishes her role at Shawn Flarida Reining Horses.

“I like the atmosphere here mostly. I learn a lot, but Shawn and Michele are the best people in the world to work for,” she explained. “He’s so family-oriented, they make you feel like family whether you’re working here or just visiting. We put in a lot of hours, but the hard work pays off and you really feel good at the end of the day.”

Aside from learning Shawn’s impeccable work ethic, Ashley has picked up other success-building habits from the $2 Million Dollar Rider.

“I think pretty much the most important thing I’ve learned is to always set goals for yourself, whether they’re short term or long term, keep them,” Ashley relates. “Shawn’s really good about that. He always wants to know what our goals are and he is always trying to get us there.”

Another thing Ashley has picked up from Shawn is his incredible “feel” for horses. With the opportunity to ride as many as she can, Ashley is learning how to pick up traits that have made her boss successful in and out of the show pen.

“Before doing any of the reining stuff – the stopping and everything else – I learned a lot of feel just from riding as many horses as I’ve ridden. And of course, his work ethic is impeccable. He’s the only person I know that works that hard. He really stays out here from 6:30 to 5:30 every day, and he always cares about what we’re doing. I like it a lot here, and I hope I get to stay for a while!”

Contact Ashley at ashk5870@aol.com.

Kellie Carr, Publicist/Web Designer

Kellie Carr has been involved in many facets of the horse industry, from rodeo to reining. She grew up on a ranch in the Sandhills of Nebraska, and spent many years competing in roping and barrel racing. Kellie obtained her B.A. in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations from Oklahoma State University in 2005. She spent eight months working as the Wrangler Division Assistant Coordinator for the National High School Rodeo Association in Denver, Colo., before moving to Texas in August 2005. She worked as an associate editor for Quarter Horse News for a little more than a year, and now operates her own freelance writing, photography and public relations business, Western Vision Productions.

Kellie’s stories and photos have appeared in The Reiner, Quarter Horse News, Performance Horse, Barrel Horse News, Western Horseman and ProRodeo Sports News and the Quarter Horse Journal. She has worked as a media coordinator for the National Reined Cow Horse Association Derby and National High School Rodeo Association Wrangler Division, and also worked as a media assistant for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

After writing many stories about Shawn Flarida for industry publications, Kellie began consulting with him in early 2008. She currently handles all of his sponsor relationships, media requests, and has created the Web site, www.thegreenshirt.com, in conjunction with Aysha Hoffman of Infinite Design. Kellie maintains the site and is responsible for all sponsor and media inquiries. Contact Kellie at kellie@thegreenshirt.com.