BIOGRAPHY

Shayne is a Dressage Rider and Jordan’s first and only Grand Prix rider in the sport.

She was born in San Francisco, California to a Palestinian father and an Irish-American mother.

Her love of horses started at a young age and her grandfather, who was an electrician in the Army, offered electrical work in exchange for some riding lessons for Shayne. She would then muck out, help her Grandfather, and ride the ponies at just four-years-old. 

Throughout her childhood in America, Shayne had to frequently use her voice, in order to follow her dream of riding horses. She is blessed to have a wonderful stepfather who encouraged her to explore her heritage and utilise some of the negativity she received towards her athletic career.

As a child, Shayne worked with mostly Arabian horses and she spent her summers on 25 and 50 mile endurance rides in the Northern California hills.

Soon after, Shayne moved across the country to Kentucky - true horse land. She was sleeping on the floor, working a night job at a hotel, dog walking, mucking stalls in the mornings, whilst searching for a dressage barn; in the end, finding Kathy Priest and Olivia LaGoy-Weltz.

Shayne found a sales ad for a horse named ‘Just Livingston’ and sent the owner a message, telling her that she had no experience, but that she had the very best trainers in Kentucky and worked many jobs. She also said she would ride the Prix St Georges by the end of the year and as a result, the owner sent Shayne the horse. 

That year, Shayne spent her first season in Wellington, working full time for Kathy and Olivia, and rode the Prix St Georges. She also received her USDF Bronze & Silver Medals. 

After this, Livingston was sold and Shayne moved to San Diego, CA to work for Olympian Steffen Peters and his wife Shannon. She also purchased her very first horse - Perry.

From there, she became assistant trainer to Olympian Jan Ebeling and, with Perry, achieved her USDF Gold Medal, as well as many successes at the small tour level. 

With Jan’s encouragement, Shayne opened her own training business, which grew to 24 horses in full training and she eventually relocated full time to Orange County, CA. After dedicating herself fully to this, she knew in order to reach her greater dream of competing at a higher level, as well as growing dressage in the Middle East, it was necessary for her to take the leap to train in Europe. 

Shayne pursued a full sponsorship in Portugal. Two years later and after gaining a lot of experience, she relocated to the Middle East where she currently resides, as she firmly believe her purpose is there and is currently surrounding herself with the right people who share in her dream to accomplish something great in dressage and to leave an impact on the Arab world and equestrian sport.

She is dedicating her time to working with other like-minded Middle Eastern athletes, supporting charitable causes, pursuing her training with the goal to represent her country in the future, and developing her business, Project3XV.

Project3XV is the date of my birth 3/15, and a tribute to the three men who created the athlete I am today. My Grandfather’s birthday - Nov 15th. My father’s birthday - Sep 15th. And lastly, my stepfather’s birthday - June 15.”

Contact kyle@equestrianma.com