JayaMae and Asali model for MayBabes Equestrian in October of 2022. Photo by Emily Bentz.
Lightfoot Horse Farm, located in Northern California, is owned and managed by JayaMae Gregory. Jaya’s family includes two exceptional horsewomen, from whom Jaya has gained much of her horse sense. Jaya’s mother learned to ride from her mother, who fell in love with horses as a very young girl, when her father brought home a mare he paid $20 for at a horse auction. The year was 1918. The horse was Lightfoot.
JayaMae Gregory was introduced to the art and discipline of horseback riding at the age of 5, when her mother took her for her first lesson. As a child, she rode on the East Coast, in New England, as a hunter-jumper rider, before moving to California at the age of 13. When she graduated high school, Jaya rode briefly with Dana Smith Show Team in San Juan Capistrano, as well as at Anaheim Hills Saddle Club. Jaya has trained with Brian Bodarke of Brookhaven Farm in Chico, and she has taken lessons from David Lichman, a licensed 5-star Parelli Natural Horsemanship instructor, who specializes in gaited horses. Jaya has also taken private lessons with Sheri Braun of Paradise, and with Tina Cornish and Dan Gunter of Chico, and with Katherine Fooy of Silver Fern Sport Horses. In 2017, Jaya completed a semester of the Equine Studies program at Feather River College in Quincy, specializing in horse training. It was through this program that Jaya discovered true horsemanship through feel when she began studying the methods of Ray Hunt, Tom Dorrance, Bryan Neubert, and Nick Dowers. She has further gone on to discover liberty and study the training methods of Jonathan Field.
JayaMae and Zee smile after crossing the Tevis Cup finish line. Photo by Gore/Baylor.
Currently, Jaya is a member of the American Endurance Ride Conference and competes in the sport of endurance. Jaya and her mare, Asali, have over 2,500 endurance miles together and in 2014 and 2019, they finished the Tevis Cup, a 100-mile one-day ride through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, known as the world’s most difficult endurance ride. In 2022, Jaya again finished the Tevis Cup, this time with a friend’s horse named No Merzee.
JayaMae is a mother, a daughter, a sister, a wife, and a friend. She also works per diem as a Registered Nurse in labor and delivery. Jaya has worked extensively with children of all different backgrounds, through animal and art therapy. In 2008, she founded the nonprofit organization, Spirit Quilts, and she has been managing the Kristina Chesterman Memorial Ride since 2014, an AERC-sanctioned endurance ride which raises money for a medical clinic in Nigeria. Jaya does not consider herself a teacher or a trainer, although she is often referred to as such. She has a hunger for knowledge and finds out every day that she is just who she wants to be – a student. Her passion is simply to share and pass on her love for horses and her love of art.
Several Horses call Lightfoot Horse Farm home. All of these beloved equines are teachers in our Horsemanship Program.
The Horses As Teachers:
Forest Gumption found home at Lightfoot Horse Farm in 2009, after his current owner, a dear friend of ours, lost her battle with breast cancer. Forest had originally been a range pony, running wild on 
an estate in Idaho before he was adopted by Orphan Acres, and then subsequently rescued by the woman who left Forest to us. Forest was started under saddle by JayaMae soon after he came home to us. He has always been the “prankster” of our herd. Once, he lifted the hose out of the water trough and sprayed Jaya with cold water while she was mucking the paddock. Forest is extremely patient with our students. He is tolerant, kind, gentle, calm, and just the right size for our beginners! He is also very comfortable to ride bareback (Jaya calls him the “Lazy Boy Chair”). Forest is a willing horse, and enjoys pleasing his handler. He performs best with solid leadership (as all horses do!) and lots of love and attention. He loves carrots, apples, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and popsicles.
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Forest. To read JayaMae’s beautiful tribute to him, visit this link: http://www.enduranceriding.me/and-he-left-me-with-a-broken-heart/
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Haily’s Ember joined Lightfoot Horse Farm’s herd just after New Year’s in 2015. Ember is a 21-year-old Arab mare, gifted to the students by endurance rider Haily 
Daeumler. Ember was Haily’s junior mount, competing with her on the endurance trail from the time Haily was just nine years old. Ember has completed the 100-mile Tevis Cup, as well as the well known and much respected Virginia City 100. Ember has also worked cattle and done a little barrel racing in the arena too! Ember has beautiful ground manners and is extremely sweet. She is also our smallest horse, making it easy for the younger students to groom her. She is ridden by the students both in the arena and out on the trail. In the summer of 2015, Ember introduced 12-year-old student, Aurora, to the exciting world of endurance — Ember and Aurora successfully completed two limited distance rides together! Following Ember’s limited distance rides with Aurora, she took student Nyah down the trail for her first 50-mile endurance ride! Sadly, Ember left us in April of 2016. Her story can be read here: http://www.enduranceriding.me/i-couldnt-save-her/
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Dippi has a name that just suits her! She is goofy and playful and definitely gets the students’ votes for the Miss Congeniality award. Dippi is a 10-year-old Arab, bred by Dianna Chapek of 
Dreamcatcher Arabians, with just a little bit of Morgan in her (1/8 to be exact). Dippi isn’t ridden by our beginner students, but she is a favorite because of her personality. All of the students enjoy handling her on the ground — free lunging her, leading, and grooming her. Dippi loves playing dress up and is often used for our birthday parties. She also doesn’t mind being painted and with her gray coloring, the paints really show up on her coat! In 2015, Dippi completed her first several limited distance rides, both with Jaya and a couple of Lightfoot Horse Farm’s advanced students. JayaMae also began training Dippi over jumps in the fall of 2015, and so far, Dippi is proving to be a very honest jumper with nice form. In 2016, Dippi proved herself as a valuable endurance competitor completing the 100-mile Twenty Mule Team Ride with Jaya’s son, Jakob. Dippi, unfortunately, passed away as a result of injuries sustained in the devastating 2018 Camp Fire. A loving tribute has been posted here: http://www.enduranceriding.me/in-memory-of-dippi/
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Beautiful Felicity, appropriately called Beauty, was adopted in August of 2010 from Safe Haven Horse Rescue. She belongs to JayaMae’s son, Jakob, who began 
competing in 25 and 30-mile trail rides with her in 2012. Beauty and Jakob have completed several limited distance rides together, and in March 2013, they began competing in 50-mile endurance rides. Jakob and Beauty now have over 400 endurance miles together and are one of the top endurance teams in the Junior Division for the West Region! Beauty stands at almost 16 hands tall and is a beautiful mover. She has a larger than life trot, and can be a bit of a challenge at times, but she is also lots of fun to ride. She is appropriate for only our most assertive riders, but can be used for our lunge lessons with any student – she is great at teaching our more advanced beginners to canter. In 2014, Jakob began jumping Beauty. She enjoys her job and learning new things! Beauty especially loves all those horse cookies Jakob is constantly sneaking her — and after the amazing ride season her and Jakob had in 2014, she deserves them! Beauty sustained a right hind splint bone fracture in 2015, but was successfully rehabbed and remained sound until her passing in 2018. She is missed.
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Foxfire’s Little Britches, better known as Asali
, is a Missouri Fox Trotter. She was born in 2000, but didn’t find JayaMae until nine years later. Since their first meeting, Asali has been Jaya’s greatest teacher. She has taught Jaya much about herself — and has taken her for the ride of her life at times. Jaya learned to ride bareback and bitless with Asali, and discovered a new sport with her — the sport of endurance! Asali is Jaya’s prized endurance mare, finishing the toughest endurance ride in the world with her, the 100-mile Tevis Cup (and Asali was the first Missouri Fox Trotter since 1979 to do so). Asali knows how to move down the trail and sometimes does it with quite a bit of spirit, but that’s what Jaya loves about her! She is also fearless and incredibly willing. Asali is easy to ride in the arena, especially when playing bareback horseback games with the students. She even gives lead-line lessons to our youngest ones, as she is patient and obedient on the lunge line. She is also a great student for our beginner trail riders. At 22 years of age, Asali is still going strong, and was named the “Magic Horse” by one of our longtime students.
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ZaZa arrived at Lightfoot Horse Farm in the Spring of 2014 from the bay area, where she was owned by a good 
friend of Jaya’s. ZaZa is a pretty 17-year-old chestnut Arab, with some dressage and hunter-jumper training. She is also a proven endurance horse, completing distances of up to 75 miles. Jakob finished his first 25-miler with her at the Cache Creek Ridge Ride in May 2014, before competing in 50-mile distances with her. In 2015, Jakob and ZaZa attempted their first 100-mile ride together. ZaZa is an honest mount, who thoroughly enjoys the trail. She is a forward mover, and loves a good gallop! She does well in the arena and working in the field with our students, and is often ridden on the trail by our young riders. We have discovered that she is not crazy about horse cookies but she really enjoys carrots and apple slices. ZaZa loves playing in the paddock with the other horses. She is also often the first to greet us at the gate — ZaZa is our most vocal horse, with the cutest nicker and the loudest whinny! In 2015, ZaZa carried one of our students down the endurance trail in both her first 25 mile ride and her first 50 mile ride. In 2016 and 2017, she introduced a few more of our students to the sport of endurance, and continues to a be a favorite around the barn.
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Sham is a 16-year-old Arab gelding who is worth his weight in gold. He is a
sweet guy and is smaller in size, making him less intimidating than the larger horses. Sham is an excellent teacher for beginner riders, is especially gentle on the lunge line and in the arena, but still has some spunk out on the trail. Sham can be ridden both English and Western.
Sham has introduced several of our students to the sport of endurance riding. He was first leased by Paisley Kellogg and is now being leased by Lia Brown, who is currently competing on him. Lia and Sham have ridden both in the state of Oregon, where they rode on part of the Pacific Crest Trail, and in Humboldt County in California, through the incredible redwoods.
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Calico Dream, a beautiful tobiano Missouri Fox Trotter, was originally a horse brought in for training at Lightfoot Horse Farm. She belonged to a friend of JayaMae’s who asked Jaya to work with her because she was “spooky” and forward and needed a lot more trail miles. Jaya worked with Cali and rode her extensively on and off over the course of several months. At the end of 2019, Jaya rode Cali in her first endurance ride. Cali successfully completed, even in the inclement weather, and then returned home to her owner. The following summer, Cali came back to Lightfoot Horse Farm to stay forever. She now competes regularly in 50 mile rides and is ridden on the trail by our most experienced and confident students. Cali is very well liked around the barn, even by the students who don’t ride her.
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S
tyle’s Custom Cowgirl, better known as CeCe, is a 16 year old Quarter Pony. CeCe was started under saddle by JayaMae. She has been trained both English and Western and has extensive liberty training. She is a fabulous teacher for students wanting to learn groundwork exercises and liberty. CeCe has been ridden bareback, with just a neck rope, in the arena. She has soft aids and is a willing partner to those who believe they are worthy enough to be her leader. CeCe has completed a handful of limited distance endurance rides, but is mostly ridden in the arena and on shorter trail rides.
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Gilbert is an 18-year-old Arab, who has previously finished the 100-mile Tevis Cup. While he is retired from 100-mile rides now, he is still an excellent trail horse and has introduced several of our students to limited distance rides as well as their first 50-mile endurance rides. Gilbert is a favorite amongst the girls, a true ladies man. He is the kind of horse who does what you ask with 
ease. He tolerates beginners and the mistakes that they make, which makes him a valuable teacher. He is also a big mover who can trot out, but is not intimidating, even at his taller size. Gilbert has had some introductory level dressage training and will be introduced to hunter-jumper schooling shows in the summer of 2017. As of March 2018, Gilbert is now happily living with students Felicia and Hunter in Durham!
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Far left:Jaya’s mother and grandmother, riding together in Paonia, Colorado. This was the day they traveled all the way up to Mt. Lambourne. Summer, 1970.
Far right:One of JayaMae’s first horseback riding lessons. Glastonbury, Connecticut. Fall, 1987.
