Saying that Micaela has been riding her whole life would be an exaggeration but not by much. At only twelve years old, she started her formal riding education with the Parelli School of Natural Horsemanship, where the progressive approach of building rapport with the horse suited her warm and empathetic personality. At age 14, she took her first grooming job at Symphony Farms in Auburn, and throughout her high school years, she continued with her Parelli training while also earning competitive grooming positions at several prestigious dressage barns around the country. In 2006, Micaela had progressed to the title Junior Trainer at the Noble Equis stable, where she trained a number of prize-winning horses. On top of that, management thought highly enough of her judgement that they sent her to Mexico, at age 17, to choose their next batch of show horses.
At her next junior trainer position at Hampton Green Farms in Florida, she deepened her knowledge with monthly clinics from champion dressage rider Lendon Grey, as well as daily lessons from HGF’s top trainers.