Meet Cerulean Farms Lisa Winn & Jessica Rabbiner of Bell Canyon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cerulean Farms Lisa Winn & Jessica Rabbiner.

Hi Cerulean Farms, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Lisa Winn and Jessica Rabbiner opened Cerulean Farms in 2021 after working together for more than 25 years at Far West Farms in Calabasas, CA. When Far West Farms was closing, an opportunity arose to start a business in Bell Canyon, CA.

Lisa Winn grew up in Los Angeles and attended UCLA. She started riding as a child with Onondarka in Newhall. As an amateur, she rode successfully with Jeff Katz and Leslie Steele. It was training with Steele that Lisa’s talents as a trainer and rider landed her a job and, eventually, a position with Far West Farms.
While working with Far West for over 30 years, she trained numerous riders who went on to become professionals (including an Olympian), and coached many riders to their first Medal Final wins.

Jessica Rabbiner started riding at the age of six in upstate New York. She was President of the Equestrian Team at the University of Southern California, and it was through the USC Equestrian Team that Jessica and Lisa met, forging a lifelong friendship and successful working relationship.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Cerulean Farms started with a tremendous amount of support from both peers and clients. We are luckier than most to have started with several clients, but we needed everything — equipment, jumps, a logo, etc. So many trainer friends offered us jumps, or extra tack, and especially emotional support and advice just to help us get going.

We were able to gather a stellar group to work with. Not just vets and farriers and bodywork professionals, but our support staff. Building a strong team makes all the difference in the world. Our grooms have been with us since the beginning. Our assistant trainers help us every single day. Having people you trust and can rely on make or break you.

Every new business faces challenges — both expected and completely unexpected, but having a good team can get you through anything.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Cerulean Farms is a horse training barn specializing in Hunter/Jumper/Equitation. We teach people to ride, we train horses, and we compete at horse shows. We pride ourselves in matching horses and riders, based on level, experience and personality.
Our job is to make the horse the most rideable and help the rider get the most out of the partnership. Our goal is to build a strong foundation so riders can handle challenges with confidence. We focus primarily on local competition venues, which makes horse shows accessible and allows us to take riders from their very first show to a Medal Final.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
We love being able to share our passion with others. There is nothing better than watching a rider come out of the show ring with a beaming smile because they’re proud of themselves. We enjoy the moment an instruction finally “clicks” for a rider and all the pieces they’ve been working toward come together. Helping someone to achieve their goal fills us with pride. And when you find the right horse for a person, after looking for months and months, and trying horse after horse… it gives you tingles.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ceruleanfarms.com
• Instagram: ceruleanfarms

Image Credits
Equine Clicks Photography