Kim Herslow’s passion for horses started at a young age and Kim’s energy and determination was fostered by her parents who encouraged her to work hard toward the dream of owning a farm. As a junior, she was an avid rider, competing initially on the hunter/jumper circuit while developing her horsemanship skills.
Kim’s equine education continued while she attended Delaware Valley College, where she earned a degree in Equine Science while studying dressage training, equine health and nutrition, and business management. She began to expand her knowledge of the industry, discovering that she had a talent working with green horses.
Upon graduation and turning pro, Kim realized the importance of a dressage training regimen, as she continued to show in the hunter/jumper disciplines. She brought along young or new horses with an emphasis on dressage basics, which instilled ride-ability and balance for multiple disciplines.
Kim excelled in re-training off the track thoroughbreds and helping people with horses that had training challenges. She also had a keen eye for assessing horses sent to her for dressage training and sourcing them to more appropriate disciplines with new owners. Several of her young horses went on to clients of Scott Stewart, and reached top honors in the hunter divisions.
In 2008 Kim embarked upon a horse-buying trip to Europe with some partners in order to find a nice upper-level dressage prospect. They had looked at dozens of horses on their schedule when Kim discovered Rosmarin in Germany. Within five minutes in the tack, she knew the gelding was the one!
Kim took her time producing the 17-hand, 3-year-old and chose to forgo the Young Horse classes in order to focus on his slow and steady development. They competed regularly, working their way up the levels with “Reno” achieving the Second Level regional champion at Saugerties the following year. During the winter of 2012 in Florida, they competed at the Third and Fourth Levels, winning every class they entered.
Training in Florida with Lars Petersen, Kim and Reno made their mark on the FEI small tour, winning at many of the top shows including the Palm Beach Dressage Derby and the Global Dressage Festival (GDF).
In 2014, Kim acquired Donnermeyer in partnership with Christopher Ofenstein from Germany. Donnermeyer had been showing successfully in Europe on the small tour with his previous amateur rider before coming to the USA to train and compete with Kim in Florida for the 2014 season. Donnermeyer helped Kim earn her USDF Gold medal in just two classes at their first Grand Prix competitions together.
In 2015, Kim and Reno came out blazing with a fantastic start in Wellington where they won huge classes in the Freestyle with scores to 73% at PSG and 75.52% at Intermediaire I. Chosen for the Nations Cup Team, Reno and Kim, along with Olivia LaGoy-Weltz, Allison Brock and Laura Graves, pulled together scores of 73 percent for PSG, 76 percent for Intermediaire I and 73 percent for the Freestyle to win the gold!
After this performance, Kim and Reno were chosen to go on the European tour for selections for the Pan American Games Dressage Team. They traveled to Munich with team members Kasey Perry, Olivia LaGoy-Weltz and Sabine Schut-Kery. Winning both the PSG and Intermediaire I in CDI Munich, as well as CDI Achleiten, Austria, Reno and Kim were unbeatable! Selected for the Pan Am Team, they played an important role in helping the team win the gold while showcasing their personal best in both the PSG as well as the Intermediaire I. In addition, they were ranked the top horse-and-rider combination for both team days at the Pan Am Games.
Sadly, Reno retired from competition after the Pan Am Games in 2015 and after a long recovery from surgery of his stifle, he developed suspensory disease. Kim retired him at her farm until he was laid to rest in 2022.
In 2017, Kim debuted Soraya II for Marilyn Sherwin in the Grand Prix, GPS and Freestyle. Soraya was initially imported for Marilyn, but due to physical challenges Kim took over the ride. Together they had scores up to 73% in Grand Prix and 79.5% in the Freestyle.
Kim was also given the opportunity by her client Ailene Cascio to train her 8 year old Lusitano, Elvis HI. As an extravagant mover, Kim’s focus was to help him find his balance by using his core, engaging his hind legs and finding more control over his movement. They worked their way up the levels to small tour in 2021, winning the CDI at Dressage at Devon I1 and the I1 Freestyle, earning All Breeds Horse of the year for PSG and Intermediare 1 FS for the Lusitano breed! He competed in the I2 at the 2023 Global Dressage Festival with scores at up to 71.5%, with the goal of competing in the Grand Prix in 2024.
In 2018, Kim bought a very talented 3 year old mare, Feymar OLD (by Furstenball/Weltmeyer) who had placed 2nd in the Bundeschampionat in Germany. Kim has given her the time to grow and develop, having success competing her up through PSG during the winter circuit in Wellington 2023. Their plans are to show I1 during the remainder of 2023 with plans to create a Freestyle together for the Florida winter season in 2024.
Custom-tailored programs are available for clients and their horses at Kim Herslow Dressage at Upper Creek Farm in Stockton, New Jersey. Kim also hosts a variety of clinics throughout the year at her NJ facility and travels throughout the US to client’s farms to instruct. She has spent multiple season’s training and competing in Wellington, Florida. In addition to Wellington, her competition training schedule includes USDF shows at WEC Ocala, Dressage at Devon, and regional east coast show.
Linda Zang has been an integral part of Kim’s training program since 2018. Linda is a retired “O” judge and sits on the JSP (Judges Supervisory Panel), having judged at multiple Olympics, WEGs and World Cup events over the span of 3 decades. Her focus is on balance, position and effectiveness of the aids. Kim has gained so much insight from her knowledge and experience, regularly hosting Linda at Upper Creek to teach clinics for she and her clients.
“My clients and I train with Linda Zang and benefit from her coaching at Upper Creek Farm. I carry over the same principles as Linda with emphasizing correct rider position and balance as a priority. We are also fortunate to have Linda come to Wellington during winter season as well to continue training!”
In addition, Kim is very well connected and available to search for your perfect horse in both the U.S. and Europe. You can contact Kim directly at 732-259-0412 or email her @ kherslow@uppercreekfarm.com
