STAFF

Quality care and training starts with a great team. Ascend Equestrian’s staff is held to the highest of standards when caring for, training, and riding horses. We believe in compassionate, correct care and training to ensure the health and happiness of our horses.

Our team consists of three full time trainers, a barn manager, an office manager, three fulltime professional grooms, and one parttime groom.  Two of our fulltime grooms live onsite to ensure 24/7 supervision of the farm. Additional support staff and working students ensure proper care for your equine partner.

Trainers and the barn manager work closely with grooms and working students to oversee all aspects of the horses’ care from paddock assignments to feed programs. Students benefit from the varying teaching styles and collaboration of our trainers to ensure a cohesive training program that benefits all students. With three trainers on staff, you can rest assured knowing that lessons, training, and care continue as normal at home when the head trainer is on the road attending competitions.

Sarah Robertson- Head Trainer/ General Manager

Sarah grew up around horses and began taking formal riding lessons at the age of five. She began competing on the A circuit at the age of ten and spent years at top show barns growing up. As a Junior, she rode “any and every horse she could”, worked as a working student, and spent all day every day soaking up as much ride time, barn time, and information as she could.

Her efforts were recognized and she was given the opportunity to compete on her barn’s imported sale horses, qualifying for the National Horse Show and, eventually the barn’s Big Eq horse, Forever qualifying for Medal Finals, Maclay Regionals, and the Syracuse Top 100, receiving a bronze medal. During this time, she worked as a show groom by day and braider by night to afford her opportunity to show, often sleeping just a couple hours before returning to the barn to groom and compete.

Sarah has been teaching and riding professionally since 2007 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2009. Upon graduation, Sarah joined Oakland Hills Farm in the summer of 2009 as a full-time trainer, coach, professional rider and barn manager.

Since then, she has owned and operated her own training business and boarding business, SMR Equestrian, before helping the Combs family launch and operate Ascend Equestrian LLC in April of 2019.

Sarah’s students have qualified for and enjoyed successes and top placings at such prestigious events as Pennsylvania National, National Horse Show, Capital Challenge, Junior Hunter Finals, USEF Medal Finals, Maclay Finals, NCEA Finals, USHJA Jumping Seat Finals, Pony Finals, Ariat Adult Medal Finals, and THIS Adult Medal Finals.

As a professional, Sarah has developed and successfully competed Baby Green and Young Hunters up to the 3’9” Greens, High Performance Hunters and USHJA Nation Derby wins; Young Jumpers through the 1.40m Prix; and top equitation mounts.

Sarah is a USHJA certified trainer who believes that one can never learn enough in this sport. Sarah regularly participates in clinics with top professionals, as well as working with top professionals in the industry at competitions.

Sarah is a champion for the importance of mental health not only for riding but also in everyday life regularly utilizes her background in Psychology to assist riders in improving their performance, boost their mindset, and give them a competitive edge in the show ring. She believes strongly in the important role that horses, riding and trainers can play in building riders’ confidence and sense of purpose.

In addition to her time spent with Ascend Equestrian, Sarah serves as a board member to the Hunter Jumper Association of Michigan (“HJAM”) and is passionate about their mission of promoting and providing access to quality hunter/ jumper A shows throughout Michigan and surrounding areas.

Sarah loves each and every horse at Ascend like they are her own. When Sarah is not training and riding, Sarah enjoys spending time with her dogs Romeo & Juliette, relaxing at her family’s lake house in Caseville, and spoiling her “forever horse” George.

Sydney Stern- Trainer/ IEA Coach/ Barn Manager

Sydney Stern joined the Ascend Equestrian team full time in May of 2019 after graduating the University of Findlay with a Bachelor of Science degree in English Equestrian Studies. Sydney grew up riding with Sarah starting in 2010 and spent her years in high school as a working student and show groom, working to support her lease and ability to compete on her horse, High Flyin’ (“Carly”), who is still a resident at Ascend. As a junior, Sydney successfully competed through the 1.10m jumpers and dabbled in 3’6” equitation before starting at the University of Findlay in 2015. During her college years, Sydney returned to work for Sarah as a trainer and barn manager during school breaks and returned to Ascend Equestrian fulltime upon graduation from Findlay.

Sydney brings a wealth of knowledge to Ascend in horse care, ground work, working with problem horses, and creating a soft, supple, and balanced horse. Riders enjoy her ability to communicate positively and effectively in lessons in order to bring out the best in riders.

Sydney started our IEA Team in 2022 and coaches our IEA Team to success each season, with multiple High Point Team awards and qualifiers for Regional Finals. Sydney also runs our schooling shows and functions as Barn Manager.

Sydney enjoys time with her cats, Jack Jack and Walker, when she is not at the farm and serves as surrogate “cat mom” to our barn cats and various strays that have made Ascend their home.

Linda Stern- Office Manager

Linda has always loved horses and riding. As a child, she started riding trails at day camp, and then when and wherever she could while growing up. When Linda and her husband started their family, dude ranch vacations were the go-to family favorite. As soon as her children were old enough, she started them with riding lessons and it stuck hard with her youngest daughter, Sydney Stern, whom we are lucky to call our Trainer and Barn Manager. When Linda had enough of watching her daughter’s lessons, she started lessons of her own and was immediately hooked on riding again, taking lessons alongside her daughter Sydney. After retiring from 37 years in a corporate catering business with her husband, Linda added High Flyin’, Sydney’s leased show horse, to the family and she’s been trying to ride “crazy Carly” ever since! Linda started working at Ascend in 2020, bringing with her, her business background and organizational skills. Linda loves working at the barn, riding and spoiling Carly, and truly enjoys her Ascend family and the many special friendships she has made here.

Kiah Grayer- Assistant Trainer

Kiah recently graduated from the University of Findlay with Bachelor’s degree in English Equestrian Training, where she learned about many aspects of equine care, training, teaching, and showing. Throughout her time at Findlay, she enjoyed the opportunity to compete on the A circuit, riding and training horses from unbroke to 1.30m horses, and working for many top professionals throughout the Midwest including Sarah Ash/ True Course, Nerice Gulino/ Foxwoode Equestrian, Holly Kalso/ Rochester Hills Stables, and Lieway Hunt Club.

In addition to her experience at A circuit barns, she also worked at Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center, assisting with the ins and outs of day-to-day care and training horses. Kiah brings to Ascend her experience training with a number of professionals including Sarah Ash, Nerice Gulino, Amy Gassaway, Brittany, Friesner, Jill Jewett, and Patty Saunders.Kiah impressed us with her professionalism, soft and correct riding, feel for what each individual horse needs, and background in caring for sport horses at the top level.