Name: Diane Creech
Date of Birth: Febr.4, 1963
Place of Birth: Columbus, Georgia/USA
Height: 5’7″
What type of books do you like reading? What are you currently reading?
Unfortunately, there is not much time for me to read. After taking care of my family and horses there is not much left. So I started to listen to Audiobooks as I do spend some time in the car driving to work, lessons, shows etc. It works great and instead of dreading long drives, I kind of am looking forward to them now.
Are there any TV shows you can’t miss?
Thanks to my daughter Vanessa I know all about Hanah Montana, The Wizard Place and now According to Jim. I myself am not very attached to the TV and could easily live without it.
What’s on your iPod?
I cannot remember, as it is in my drawer lost inbetween all my papers.
Who’s #1 on your speed-dial?
Definetely my Mother as we have a very close bond and she helps me juggle my crazy lifestyle.
What’s your favourite meal?
My daughter and I can eat an incredible amount of crablegs together, we surprise everybody.
If you won $50 million in a lottery, what would you do with the money?
Buying Totillas certainly would take a big chunk of it…. no kidding aside, a lot would go for Cancer research and to support groups for people affected by it.
What’s your on-line addiction? (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
I have pretty weak computer skills. Doing my emails is about as far as I can go.
What is the coolest place you have ever visited?
One of the coolest places I have been was at Pan American Games in Rio/Brazil, 2007. The city and the whole experience was so incredible and exciting.
Where do you want to see yourself in five years, not only in regard to horses?
Hopefully healthy and cancer free, the rest is icing on top.
Tell us about your first horse or pony.
After taking care of horses for others , I finally bought my very first own gelding, named Ricardo. At that time I was living on a very low starter salary and actually couldn’t really afford a horse. But I fell in love with him and that was that. I was 17, living on my own and had to find out the hard way, that having a horse is a big financial responsibility. At the end I had to give up and resell him again with a broken heart. I lost all my money I had in him and it took me years to recover financially and emotionally. This taught me, that in order to succeed, my love for horses had to have structure and planning.
Is there someone you consider your mentor?
My mentor in my early years is Marina Genn, who was the first to make me aware of true connections within rider and horse and between horse and rider. At the moment I am lucky enough to be able to work with Lars Petersen, who I very much admire for his great instincts on working with so many different horse personalities and being fair to their different needs in order for them to become happy and enthusiastic athletes. Lars is not only a great trainer himself, but is also able to find ways to convert his thoughts to his students. This is almost a gift in itself, as it is often hard to explain “feel”.
What is your favourite show venue, and why?
My favourite show venue would be in Saugerties, NY. They have great footing in warmup AND showring, excellent stabling, super showorganisation, just an allround great show to be. Blainville would be a close second. I am also very excited to see, that Cornerstone is continuing to have CDI’s.
If you could be granted one wish, what would it be?
This is really hard to answer. I would wish, that I had at least three wishes….
What is one of your worst habits/faults?
If you ask the people around me, they would probably mention something like “always being late”. If you ask me, then I would say, that I am constantly trying to fit two days into one (which is probably the reason why I am ‘sometimes’ not early enough…)
Do you have any good luck charms or superstitions that you live by?
If you work hard, then luck has to eventually smile at you.
Do you have a cat or dog? Does it go to shows with you?
We are plenty blessed with pets. We have three dogs ourselves and two others living on the property and four cats divided between house and barn cats. I don’t take any of them to our shows as we are just too bussy at the shows with several horses to take care and show.
What are your biggest pet peeves?
That my horses get to be outside the barn every day. We made the decision not to turn our show horses out. Because of that, all of them will be handwalked and handgrazed a second time during the day, preferable outside. So no matter if rain or shine, I will hack them before their daily work down the driveway and they will be handgrazed, if necessary with rainblankets on.
If you couldn’t ride anymore, what would you do with your life, besides coaching?
Giving back to my horse community by getting more involved into the organizational part of it, doing more volunteer work at hospitals or some other organization and help my kids Patrick and Vanessa make their dreams come true.
Who is your favorite non-equestrian celebrity?
I think, I would have to say Oprah. She has helped so many people on and off her show.
What was the scariest experience of your life?
Dealing with my diagnose of Breast Cancer. Realizing there might not be a future for me and taking on the fight to have one. Learning to live with fear without letting it take you over. Allowing myself to still have goals and dreams.
