Marie Llanas

I was born and raised on the Eastern plains of Colorado, where my family raised cattle and POA ponies. I was almost born in the saddle as my family depended on horses and mother was an accomplished horsewoman. When I was three years old I was given my very own pony and that’s when the love affair with horses started. 

With the incredible support of my mom and dad I was active in 4H, and local riding clubs. My sister and I showed Western and English pleasure, equitation, showmanship and even competitive trail. We owned Arabians, Appaloosa, Quarter Horses and of course POA’s!  I graduated from the University of Arizona with a BA in Agricultural education, hoping to teach FFA or work as an extension agent. As always life gets in the way, I ended up working for Rocky Mountain Public Television KRMA in Denver. 

However, throughout my professional career I managed to stay involved with horses, mostly volunteering or riding those owned by others.  When I left my job to raise my boys and care for an aging Mother-in-law I started volunteering for an Arabian Racehorse rescue, earning the trust and putting miles on horses preparing them for new careers. While there I was introduced to a trainer that was familiar with Western dressage and invited me to see her show in the WDACO show in 2013.  Well… I was hooked, my mother and aunt always reinforced the idea that the horses’ health and welfare always comes first and western dressage embodies that. 

I have been blessed to meet Steve and Pat Deiteimeyer who allow me to ride and compete with their Morgan horse Compadre’s Dakota Ranger. Through them I was introduce to Cliff and Joyce Swanson and so began my formal education into the discipline of Western Dressage, taking lessons and learning as much as I can. 

I have found that Western Dressage has made me a better rider and has improved the communication and even the health of any horse I ride. I have been able to compete in Western Dressage tests and even free style! I have participated in the WDAA world show three times (virtually in 2020). The bonus is I can translate what we have learned to situations on the trail, Aladdin can do a turn on the haunches if we end up on a dead end trail!

My only regret is that my horse and I are not 15 years younger! My goal with WDACO is to expose more people to the benefits of Western dressage, grow our membership and of course benefit more horses with the principals of softness collection and communication. In all it is really “ALL ABOUT THE JOURNY”.