Instructors

Stephanie Vita

Stephanie Vita began her career with horses at a very young age. She has shown competitively since the age of four, trained numerous ponies & horses, played polo and even fox hunted. Prior to going to college, Stephanie taught at Shallowbrook. In 2006, Stephanie resumed teaching at Shallowbrook on a part-time basis. Stephanie’s many years of experience as a junior rider allows her to understand the needs and concerns of students of all ages. Always positive and outgoing, she brings her years of knowledge and first-hand experience directly to her students every time she steps into the ring to teach. When Stephanie is not teaching at Shallowbrook, she can usually be found training horses alongside her father, Hal Vita, Jr. at Country Road Stables or wrangling her two-year old daughter, Kaylyn.

Elyse Dunbar

sec-012Elyse Dunbar became an instructor at Shallowbrook in 2005. After having worked for a couple of years in marketing and advertising, Elyse decided to continue to pursue her equestrian career. Elyse’s passion for horses began when she was ten years old in New Cannan, CT and continued through college at Fairfield University. Just a few of Elyse’s equestrian accomplishments include: Fairfield University Female Athlete of the Year, IHSA Nationals 1997 and Regional Champion 1998.
t76f69561-9b2b-4989-bbfa-614e491887baToday, Elyse exudes her positive attitude, high energy, and equestrian knowledge in the ring while teaching students of all ages. Elyse is also a member of the Shallowbrook Jumpers Club and when not teaching, can be found riding her horse Irish Mist.
In addition, Elyseprovides Shallowbrook with Marketing, Public Relations and Event Management consultation. Elyse lives in Wilbraham, MA with her husband Jamie, daughter Callie, son Padraig, and dog Bailey.

Lucy Manos

Lucy Manos became an instructor at Shallowbrook in June 2007. Lucy has been riding since the age of 5, and started showing at age 10. In addition to her own training, for six years, Lucy volunteered heavily at Pegasus, a therapeutic riding program. While there, she learned to teach disabled children to ride, fueling her love to teach. Lucy recently graduated from Newtown High School, and is attending Western New England College, majoring in Business.
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“Lucy riding Shallowbrook’s “Perfect Ten”

Mark Tashijian

In August of 2009 Shallowbrook brought on Mark Tashjian to manage the polo club and teach polo. An avid polo player for many years, Mark played on Uconn’s high school and polo team regularly competing at Shallowbrook. Mark’s first experiences of outdoor polo were also at Shallowbrook, with Mr Vita being instrumental in Mark’s development. In 2007 Mark graduated from Uconn with a BA in economics after 2 years. After a short stint in the business world with a desk job he turned back to polo after landing a job running a polo farm and playing polo in New Zealand. After returning from New Zealand Mark decided to further his polo career by becoming a certified umpire, which he has pursued by umpiring many USPA tournaments. In addition to polo Mark loves taking his polo ponies out jumping. Shallowbrook Polo has a lot in store with Mark at its helm, and we look forward to seeing all the exciting changes.

Shallowbrook Upcoming Events


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Photo History

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2009 Charity Horse Show

Best Pony Rider Best Walk Trot Rider $1,000 Ride for the Ribbon Pony Hunter Classic Champion Children's Hunter and Junior Equitation $1,000 Ride for the Ribbon Six Bar Jumper Grand Hunter Champion

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