Non-Pro Profile – Samantha Stubblefield
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42 – May/June, 2022
By Susan Winslow
Five foot dynamo, Samantha Stubblefield, has loved horses since she can remember. Growing up in a non-horsey family in Blue Springs, Missouri, a little town outside Kansas City, she remembers wishing for the chance to ride a horse. Her parents, Ross and Andrea Stubblefield, encouraged Samantha, aka “Sami,” and her older brother, Alex, to try different activities.
Stubblefield recalls, “I always loved horses. I thought they were pretty, and I always wanted to ride one. When I was little, my mother found a barn where I could take a riding lesson. My parents are really cool, and they believed in giving us experiences that would make memories, so we went to my first lesson at a local Saddlebred barn. The minute I got on, I knew. I just loved it, and I was completely hooked. Driving home in the car, I started crying, and my Mom asked me if I was ok. I told her I was crying because I was so happy, and I thanked her for making my dream come true. The trainer called my Mom after the lesson and told her I had a good seat and seemed like a natural, so my Mom purchased some more lessons for me.”
That introduction to horses lit the spark for what was to become a passion for this poised, articulate, young horsewoman. Stubblefield was drawn to the Quarter Horses at the Saddlebred farm, and when that barn was sold, she moved to Renee Garrison’s training farm where she began riding and competing with Paint Horses. She recalls, “I was about eight or nine years old when I started with her, and I was doing walk-trot in local shows around Missouri. We slowly started going to bigger shows, and my first World Championship was at the Pinto World Show when I was ten years old. I showed my horse, Zips Paint By Number, and we won a World Championship in Walk Trot Showmanship. It was my last year in Walk Trot, so it was exciting.”
Stubblefield later moved on to ride and train with Sara Simons of Simons Show Horses. “Sami has a great work ethic. She’s a joy to have in our barn,” Simons says. Stubblefield continued to ride and show throughout high school where she was a member of the National Honor Society and volunteered in her local church, the Best Buddies program, and Vesper Hall.
She says, “Riding with Sara is amazing. I’ve made such good friends at the barn, and we all support each other. I’ve learned so much from Sara and I’m grateful for the whole team at her farm: Alicia Carroll, Carson Click, and Lauren Martin are all amazing.”
