JAMES U. HAGMAN
e-mail ~ Jim@elvenstar.com

James U. Hagman is the founder of Elvenstar, recognized today as one of the elite Show Stables in the Nation. He is a native resident of Ventura Country and grew up in Thousand Oaks. For over 20 yrs his training and coaching excellence has established a record of success that is unique in the industry. His systematic teaching emphasizes the art of communication between the horse and the rider. His focus on the basics of riding as the building blocks of correct riding skills is renown. His privately owned facility with all of the bells and whistles of a premier classroom allows his students abilities to grow. He creates a challenging learning curriculum and equine education that directly promotes and develops individual excellence and generates success at all levels of hunter, jumper and equitation showing.

Mr. Hagman has worked with children from Short Stirrup through completion of their junior years. He has instructed several students from their initial lesson on a horse to the ASPCA Maclay and other National Championship competitions. His technical expertise and coaching abilities have brought athletes to placements and wins at the most prestigious competitions in North America, including Spruce Meadows, Alberta, Canada; ASPCA Maclay National Championship, Madison Square Garden, N.Y.; Washington International Horse Show, Washington, D.C.; Pennsylvania National Horse Show, Harrisburg, PA
United States Equestrian Federation National Pony Hunter and Equitation Finals.James has been featured in many national magazines including Practical Horseman and the Chronicle of the Horse amongst others. He is also a part time coach at Stanford University.

James is an excellent communicator. His teaching style is positive and enthusiastic, with an emphasis on building confidence and tact. His horsemanship background runs the gambit from Western horses to dressage. And he has been taught and mentored by some of the worlds elite classical professional horseman.

• National Children’s Medal Final 2002, Capitol Challenge Horse Show, MD – National Champion Shelby Wakeman on Carlo Cantani
• National Children’s Medal Final, Capitol Challenge Horse Show, MD 1993 & 2003 – National Reserve Champion Whitney Coleman on Carabik
• 2002 Eiser’s Pessoa National Junior Equitation Finals, Harrisburg, PA – Reserve National Champion Katie Gardner on Amadeus
• ASPCA MaClay National Championship, New York City, NY – 5 times students in the Top 10 Katie Gardner, Rebecca Wolfson, Britney Belcher, Morgan Taylor
• WIHS Equitation Classic, Washington D.C. – 3 times students in the Top 10 Katie Gardner, Elsa Horrigan
• United States Equestrian Team (USET) Talent Search West 2003 – Champion Katie Gardner
• USEF National Junior Jumper Championship Harrisburg PA Team Silver Medal - Zone 10, Individual Bronze Medal Katie Gardner on Ce Ce Capone
• USEF Zone 10 Adult Equitation Medal Champion Jessica Griggs on Promises Promises
• United States Equestrian Federation (formerly known as AHSA) Zones 8, 9 and 10, – 2003 & 2004 Hunt Seat Medal Champion Katie Gardner on Amadeus, Elsa Horrigan on Latan
• NAYRC Junior Jumper Team Silver Medal & Individual Bronze Medal 2004 Katie Gardner on CeCe Capone
• 2004 ASPCA Maclay Region 7 – Champion Vanessa Holsberry on Hertiage
• 2006 Stanford Equestrian Team Equitation Coach
• 2006 Stanford Equestrian Team Reserve National Champion Team
• 2006 USEF & IHSA Cacchione Cup National Champion
• 2006 ASPCA Maclay Region 8 - Champion Torie Immel on The Embassor
• Onondarka Finals Champions 1996 Britni Beltcher on Trilogy, 1998 Kasey Ament on Shamu, Reserve Champion Katie Gardner on Tariq, 2002 Whitney Coleman on Carabik, Reserve Campion Shelby Wakeman on Carlo Cantani
2006 Ali Oringer Reserve Champion on Orlando
• Rosewood Final Champions - Five years in a row, 1995 Rebecca Wolfson on Sympatico, 1996 Britney Beltcher on Trilogy, 1997 Katie Gardner on Tariq, 1998 Kasey Ament on Shamu, 1999 Elsa Horrigan on Sanchez
LAHJA Jr.Champion 1998 Rebecca Wolfson on Rubyiat, 1999 Elsa Horrigan on Sanchez
• WCE Barbara Worth Medal Final Champion 2000 Katie Gardner on Casino

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Board of Directors - 2007
California Professional Horsemen’s Association
Los Angeles Horse Show Association 1991-present
Pacific Coast Horse Association – Equitation Committee
Board of Directors – Past
San Fernando Valley Horse Show Association 1988-1997
Tri-Valley Horse Show Association 1992-1995
City of Thousand Oaks Equestrian Advisory Panel 1997
United States Equestrian Federation National Equitation Committee 1997-1998
Consultant
Stanford University – Collegiate Equestrian Program and Facility Design

Awards
Nominated Towerheads Outstanding Trainer of the Year 2002 & 2003 and Top 10 finisher
Tri-Valley Horse Show Association Lifetime Achievement Award 2003

Jenny Mitchum
e-mail ~ Jenny@elvenstar.com 

Jenny Mitchum was born in Springfield MA and then moved to Santa Barbara CA in 1984. Her parents both native Californians decided to return to their West Coast roots to be closer to family and enjoy the mild winters. Her first experience with horses was in utero as her mother rode recreationally on the family farm in MA. Her father rode competitive Cutting horses and her grand parents bred AQHA reining cow, cutting and now race horses (both TB and Quarter Horses). Jenny’s earliest memories are the smell of grain in the barn, and learning how to hold her reins properly in an English saddle both taking place before she was walking.
In 1984 when her family moved they gave up the farm life to live in Santa Barbara and she begged her parents for riding lessons. Since they no longer had horses at home her parents agreed and that was the beginning. Jenny’s early riding was everything from trail, gymkhana, cutting horses, team penning, field hunting, Pony Club, working cattle ranches and finally to Jumpers, Equitation and Hunters. She rode with Ted and Laurie Fieger at Sporting Life Farm in Santa Barbara before moving to Karen Healey Stables in 1993 and competed in the Jumpers and Equitation both as a Junior and Amateur. Upon Graduating College in 2000 she went professional and worked for Betsy Woods at Ridgewood Farm in Santa Barbara, CA.
After a 3 year hiatus from working as a professional in the horse industry Jenny returned to her first love 2004. She spent over 2 years running a small boutique training, lay-up and boarding business in Santa Ynez, CA and managed two private farm accounts before coming to work for Elvenstar in the fall of 2006.
Jenny takes great pleasure in teaching both horse and rider and hopes to pass on the love and joy for the sport that she has to her students. Jenny loves working at Elvenstar because of the wide array of students and levels she gets to work with and each day there is a new opportunity to achieve goals and help set news ones.