Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Hammerlind.
Hi Megan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I have been an avid horse rider since the age of 10. I loved participating in Pony Club and young riders’ events growing up. I have ridden and trained with many Olympic-level riders and trainers throughout the United States in 3-day eventing. For those unfamiliar, eventing is an equestrian triathlon where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. During my development, I was a working student for Abigail Lufkin and worked under head show groom Liz Cochran, where I learned and trained from the very best in three-day eventing. I also started all my show horses from the ground up and love adopting off-the-track thoroughbreds and giving them a new job in eventing.
I took a break from eventing about 8 years ago to start a family. My husband and I moved to Austin in 2016. He is a patent attorney for Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw, and Pittman. We had 2 more children while in Texas, a total of 6 kids. In 2021, our only daughter was getting to the age where she could begin riding, and I wanted her to learn 3-day eventing. However, there needed to be more options for eventing in the Austin area. We ended up at a hunter/jumper barn in Austin. While there, we continued to look at various barns in the area to board our horses or to buy some property where we could live and have a small personal barn.
In December 2021, an owner of a barn we toured reached out to us asking if we wanted to buy their facility. They had recently purchased it and decided it wasn’t for them. The idea was intriguing. At the same time, we were not looking to buy a 22-acre facility that could board 25-30 horses. While we originally were going to make it into a smaller scale personal property, we recognized a need for a 3-day eventing facility in the Austin area and generally premium horse boarding facilities due to the closure of so many in recent years being gobbled up by developers or other reasons.
We bought the facility by April 2022 and began building a dressage arena, a show jumping arena, and expanding the boarding facilities. We opened in November 2022. We offer training and boarding for eventing riders and horses. We also have a small herd of OTTB that we train, sell, or lease to riders. Repurposing racehorses has been a passion of mine and is a big part of our business. Some riders have already taken home 1st place finishes in their respective levels. We are also lucky to have our amazing team, which includes Texas native Avery Klunick. She has competed at the 5* level, which is the highest level, and she has trained with some of the best eventing riders in the world. She is the only 5* rider in Texas that we know of.
Our mission at Creekside Eventing is to offer an exceptional experience for three-day eventing riders and their horses by providing the best professional training, premium boarding, and eventing lessons in the Austin, Texas, area. We want to expand the sport of eventing in Texas and produce high-level horses and riders that can compete at the national or even world stage.
Currently, we offer board and training packages for our boarders. We offer haul-in lessons with our trainers and have lease options for some of our horses, where you are responsible for board, training, and lease fees. We have several horses for sale as well. We do not offer a public lesson program besides haul-in lessons, where you bring your horse to train with our trainer. We also offer an amazing luxury log cabin on the property as a VRBO/Airbnb rental. Many of our guests have enjoyed watching our trainers work the horses in the show jumping arenas from the huge wraparound patio with incredible views of Georgetown in the background.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We could write a novel about the obstacles we overcame in the last year. Owning a barn is work 24/7. Horses don’t observe holidays or sick days. They need consistency to thrive, meaning rain, ice, or snow; they must be cared for. Purchasing the size and type of property itself was complicated and resulted in many hiccups. There were issues with just about every contractor that we hired. Finding good employees was and is a challenge; the ones we currently have are worth their weight in gold. The barn thrives on positive energy from everyone involved with Creekside Eventing. Down to the best farriers that keep our horses’ feet going to the best vets that are constantly working their magic to keep our horses sound and able to compete at the best level they can. Not to mention finding the best hay suppliers. And thanks to our wonderful sponsors, Cavalor feed (to help our horses perform their best) and Devoucoux saddles to help the horse and rider be at their best while in the saddle. Our next phase is building the cross-country course with fences and a water complex. This will be a center point for our business as the closest schooling course is about two hours away. Please reach out if anyone is interested in having their business name on a fence (jump). We always seek sponsors to help build our dream of a cross-country course.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Creekside Eventing?
Creekside Eventing offers an exceptional experience for three-day eventing riders and horses by providing the best professional training, premium boarding, and eventing lessons in the Austin, TX, area.
Creekside Eventing is committed to providing horses and riders with the skills and confidence necessary to compete in all aspects of 3-Day eventing. We build a solid foundation in dressage, show jumping, and cross country. We focus on the importance and benefits of good all-around horsemanship while providing unique and individualized programs. We have a dedicated dressage arena and a dedicated show-jumping arena. We are working on building a cross-country course this summer.
We also repurpose thoroughbred horses that did not excel on the racetrack. We purchase, rescue, or adopt these horses, train them for eventing or other English riding disciplines, and sell them to good homes. This gives these, usually very young horses, a second chance and saves them from being shipped out of the country for slaughter.
What makes you happy?
What makes me happy is seeing the barn come together as one, seeing our clients enjoy themselves at the facility we built for them, and knowing that the horses on our property are receiving excellent care, getting the best feed available, and being healthy and happy.
Contact Info:
- Website: creeksideeventing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creeksideeventing/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creeksideeventing
