Ep 14: RRP Trainer Chronicles: Where the Journey to Greatness Begins

Chelsey O’Brien is a self professed OTTB lover. She started riding at the age of 5 in Massachusetts and grew up as the guinea pig/crash test dummy for all kinds of horses primarily in the hunter jumper realm. As a teen, she helped to restart dozens of OTTBs and helped and boarded at a farm that did layups, rehabs, restarts and resales where she learned about the bigger aspects of horses, not just riding. This led to purchasing her own project at 16 to bring along alone that further cemented her love and devotion to the thoroughbred.

After a bad riding accident causing serious concussion during an IHSA show in college that left doctors telling her she should never ride again, Chelsey took time off only to find a life without horses was not one for her. What better way to come back into a year off of riding by going to Suffolk downs and buying one three days off the races? This horse, who was purchased for what looked like a fabulous conformation for the hunters, quickly showed her ineptitude for that discipline which had Chelsey seeking to get creative to find what set her mare’s heart on fire. By chance, she tried barrel racing and that was the ticket.

While training this horse for barrel racing, Chelsey also worked at a thoroughbred breeding farm in Southern Indiana, where she furthered her education of proper husbandry, foaling, handling, and large scale operations while helping with over 100 mares in foal, foals, weanlings, yearlings, in the breeding shed and daily care. She headed home to New England with that experience and a few more OTTBs and st… Read More