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39655 Willow Road, New Boston, Michigan 48164, United States
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jennifer elizabeth (kean) taylor
Biography
Horses and equestrian sport have been in Jenn’s blood throughout the ages! Her Hammond and Kean relatives could be seen fox hunting and playing polo across South East Michigan and were very involved in the development of the Grosse Pointe Hunt Club, Bloomfield Open Hunt Club, and Metamora Hunt. Her great grandparents, E.P. and Viola Hammond, and grandmother Elizabeth, were top competitors in the early Hunter, Jumper, and Equitation shows throughout MI, including the original Motor City and Detroit Horse Shows.
Jenn’s obsession with horses began as a small child, collecting My Little Pony and Breyer Horses, and riding whenever she could in the mountains of Colorado, even as a youngster, when the family would go to visit Jenn’s mother Carol Kean’s family there every summer and head to Fairplay and the Freeman Ranch high up in the Rocky Mountains.
Jenn’s second cousin, Fritzie Hammond-Mager, was a Hunter/Jumper trainer who first introduced to her to English riding on a sweet gray pony named Dolphin! While riding Dolphin, Jenn decided on her own to take her first jump, which led to rather exasperated exclamations from both Fritzie and Jenn’s mom and to shortly thereafter enrolling Jenn in official English riding lessons at the Grosse Pointe Hunt Club near their home.
From lunge line lessons to private lessons, and then progressing to the coveted group lessons, Jenn started showing the lesson horses at schooling shows back in 1984 and continued to dream and beg her parents for a horse of her very own. Jenn began gathering all of the pieces for a horse of her own soon after her lessons began. Hence her Father’s phrase, “It all started with a lead rope”, which you’ll still hear him proclaim today!
Finally, Jenn’s persistence payed off! After making a full press, although failing, campaign to buy her favorite school horse, Kinderhooken, “Hooker” for short, her trainer Tommy Smith agreed to take her horse shopping! Jenn had to find a way to tell her parents and get them on board, so she woke up early that morning and started vacuuming the house. For all of you who know Jenn, you know what a big move this was! Mom and Dad finally gave in and supported Jenn 100%.
Tommy and Jenn found a beautiful 17.1 hand bay Thoroughbred named Alex, show name Formal Attire, and it was off to the “real” shows and lots of adventure after that! Jenn showed Alex in the A circuit Children’s Hunter, where his floating gates cleaned up in every flat class, and rode him at home on the Hunt Club’s acres and along the scenic golf course.
Jenn’s next horse, her Junior Hunter, was Burberry. Another beautiful bay Thoroughbred who had been owned by the Gov. of KY. Jenn and Burberry competed all around SE Michigan with Fox Meadow Farm and the Howard family in the A circuit Large Junior Hunter’s and the USET Medal and ASPCA Maclay Equitation with great success! Some of the shows they competed at were the Motor City and Detroit shows at the Bloomfield Open Hunt Club, the HJAM and MHJA circuit, Metamora Hunt, Waterloo, and Stoney Ridge. Riding in the steps of her ancestors.
Then it was off to college at Michigan State University which spelled a time without horses for Jenn until she found Sundance Riding Stable in the mid 90’s and became a wrangler and riding instructor there, giving lessons, guiding trail rides, and caring for over 100 horses, cattle, chickens, rabbits, goats, and sheep!
After graduating from Michigan State with a BS in Psychology, Jenn headed off to Graduate School at Oakland University for a Master’s in Counseling, still searching for a way to get back to horses.
Inspiration struck when she was looking for an internship and searched for programs using horses with their therapy programs. That led to O.A.T.S hrh in Clarkston where Jenn taught Therapeutic Riding and then went off to the Fran Joswick Center, now the Shea Center, in beautiful San Juan Capistrano, CA and became a Certified Advanced Level Therapeutic Riding Instructor. Looking to expand her knowledge even more and to incorporate her degrees to a greater extent, Jenn then joined the EAGALA organization near it’s very beginning and went to every training and conference she could, learning how to incorporate the healing power of the horse for veterans, children, teens, couples, and others in need through Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Equine Assisted Growth and Learning.
These were the early 2000’s however, before such therapies were as known and respected as they are today, so Jenn eventually had to find a “real” job and landed in the car business and loved it from the start, all the while working to afford a horse of her own again.
That day finally came in December of 2014, when Jenn refused to put off her dream any longer and purchased the then 4-year-old Appendix Quarter Horse, Artfully Regal, “Moe”.
How this came about was when she started researching and visiting local boarding stables to decide where she’d keep this dream horse once she found him. One of the places she visited was R&B Quarter Horses in New Boston, MI which at first seemed like the least appropriate place to board a Hunter/Jumper prospect…. However…. The barn was as spotless as a barn can be, the barn manager knew every detail about each horse there, every horse looked incredibly happy, the grounds were beautiful, and the owner, Kris Rhodes, even invited her to the Christmas party later that week. Jenn left a deposit right away. At the Christmas party everyone there was incredibly friendly and welcoming and Jenn started asking where the people there usually found their horses. Kris told Jenn about DreamHorse.com and Jenn found her heart horse, Moe, that very night!
In the years that followed, Kris and Phil Bromley, our barn manager, helped Jenn and Moe through so much! Injury, colic surgery, and crazy 4-year-old antics.
Coming full circle, when Kris tragically passed away in 2019, Jenn and her family, including her devoted non-horsey husband Craig, decided that they needed to do something to keep the dreams of Kris, Jenn, Phil, and all of the boarders alive and decided to purchase the stable. Jenn couldn’t imagine anyone but our amazing barn manager, Phil Bromley, taking care of her precious horse or imagine taking him from such a wonderful place. And the rest is history! We look forward to the journey and dreams that now lie ahead!
Jennifer (Kean) Taylor and Craig Taylor wedding photo at the Grosse Pointe Hunt Club. May 25, 2001
Photo Gallery
Phil bromley
Biography
Phil is second generation horseman who is a southeast Michigan native. Growing up Phil was the eldest of four kids who helped their parents maintain a boarding facility. There were more than 70 horses on the property, in addition to other various animals. Phil went to local shows as a young kid, showing in both halter and showmanship classes. As he got older he took a liking to cutting horses. As a life long goal Phil rode a few bulls around the area in rodeos and fairs. His most notable ride was for the last Michigan State Fair at the State Fair Grounds in Detroit.
Phil took a break from horses during his adult life and was heavily involved with construction learning to build houses and fix machinery. Over a decade ago, Phil's interest in horses was piqued once again when his daughter, Samantha, fell in love with horses. He is the show dad who helps his daughter at local and breed shows.
Phil has been with R&B Quarter Horses for seven years after making a career change from construction to stable management. He has learned a lot from various vets, trainers, and farriers along the way, and is always looking out for the best interests of the horses under his care.
In his free time, Phil enjoys going to reined cow horse and foundation quarter horse shows with his daughter.
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Phil and his daughter Samantha Bromley with Hollywood Miss Julia, "Blaze", who they raised and train
Photo Gallery
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