Riding  Background & Career

Riding since the age of 7, Jane spent her childhood riding bareback on ponies in South Miami neighborhoods (now Coral Gables) before going to Camp Strawderman in Woodstock, Virginia where she rode hunters.  After ponies, she rode saddleseat, showing Morgans, Arabians and Saddlebreds through the teenage years.  

Soon after college, Jane become interested in dressage, a sport she saw as one that rewarded hard work, riding and training talent.   Her first dressage horse brought her to third level and together they found their way to Prix St Georges/Intermediare I.  Since then, Jane has purchased, trained, shown and sold a number of horses, training and showing to Grand Prix.  She currently serves on the Audit Committee of the United States Dressage Federation.

Competition highlights include:

.  USDF bronze, silver and gold medals

.  10th place finish at the World Breeding Championships in Germany, 2002 (Kavalier)

.  National Champion Five-Year-Old, 2002 (Kavalier)

.  Reserve National Champion Six-Year-Old, 2003 (Kavalier)/Invitation to World Breeding Championships in Germany

.  Invitation to U.S. Intermediare Championships in Gladstone, 2005 (Kavalier)

.  Invitation to U.S. Developing Horse Championships in Chicago, 2010 (Rodeo Queen)

.  Member of USA 2 bronze medal team for Nations Cup in Wellington, 2012 (Rodeo Queen)

.  10th place finish at U.S. Intermediare Championships in Gladstone, 2012 (Rodeo Queen)

.  Qualifed for U.S. Intermediare Championships, 2016 (Monique)

.  Reserve Champion U.S. Intermediare Championships, 2017 (Monique)

Thanks to my riding teachers and coaches now and along the way: Scott Hassler, Gary Rockwell, Anne Gribbons, Shelly Francis, Nicholas Fyffe, Hilda Gurney, George Williams, Michelle Gibson, Volker Brommann, Jan Brons, Marco Bernal, Albrecht Heidemann, training in Germany from Hans-Heinrich Meyer zu Strohen, and a great start from my Nashville comrades Karen McKean, Tami Crawford, Garra Walline and Liddy Dyer.

Thanks also to my team:  Rick Mitchell & David Da Silva, Fairfield Equine, Gene LeVines, farrier, Sal Savetti massage, Charlie Tota, Dressage Connection 

The Holtkamp family (pictured below, Reinhold jr, Gisela and Reinhold sr) located Optimara African Violets in Nashville in 1977. Their daughter Margit Nentwig (sister to Reinhold jr) joined the family business in Nashville, but her sister Ellen remained in Germany married to Alfons Baumann, renowned breeder of Westphalian horses and breeder of Enigma and Luxe.  Margit follows Alo's lead in breeding sport horses in Tennessee, letting her young horses grow up on her parents' lovely Evergreen Farm.  Monique, Lori and Frida grew up on this beautiful farm in Nashville.