Marissa Rader – Instructor / Assistant farm manager

We are delighted to have Marissa Rader on our team! An ISU sophomore and Animal Science major, Marissa has excelled in western disciplines for many years (most famously in Blazing Saddles 4-H on her horse “Little Red”) and is currently a 4-H FAIR supervisor. She has also competed in show jumping divisions the past several years and began cross-country training last summer with Michelle Mercier & Jamie Price.

Marissa is a big part of on-site horse management and says, “Getting to work at Hunter Oaks is like a dream job to me! Working with horses is what I love to do and I love having the opportunity to be around horses pretty much 24/7. I’ve enjoyed getting to know everyone at the barn.”

Marissa brings to Hunter Oaks her young horse, “Timmy”, who she has trained herself since he was 18 months old. A select number of students may take lessons or trail ride with Timmy & Marissa.

“I got my first pony when I was 8 and have grown up with horses. I’ve been breaking and training horses since I was 10. I love barrel racing and have done all the work on Timmy myself. It is really cool getting to go barrel race with him and when he does well, to know I’ve done everything myself. It has been awesome getting to work with Michelle & Jamie. They are very good at what they do and I have learned so much. I plan to continue learning more about the sport of EVENTING and cross-training my horse to possibly compete in the Hunter Oaks Horse Trials.”