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Our Team

Carolyn Biava began her riding career as a junior in the San Fernando Valley in the early 1970's. She showed mostly borrowed horses in the Equitation and Jumper divisions. While attending Cal Poly Pomona, she competed on the Intercollegiate Horse Show team. After graduating with a BS in Chemical Engineering, Carolyn rode as an amateur while working as a manager at Procter and Gamble's Long Beach manufacturing plant. In 1987, she left Procter and Gamble to pursue an equestrian career. For the next several years she worked as assistant trainer and manager for Mark Mullen and Victor Hugo-Vidal's To and Fro Farms. In 1993 she opened First Field Farm, in Cerritos, CA, near her home where she lives with her husband of 25 years, Tom Ware. Carolyn currently serves on the LAHJA Board of Directors, and has previously served on the OCHSA Board of Directors.

Carolyn Biava
 Owner

Janet McDonald's Hunter/Jumper career spans 42 years in the equestrian industry. She has started many promising riders and horses, and has added numerous regional championships, national championships, and medal finals winners to her resume along the way. In the saddle at age eight, she was showing both hunters and jumpers by the age of ten, trained by her brother; the legendary Mark Mullen. Mark ran To and Fro Farms in Huntington Beach, California along with famous horseman Victor Hugo Vidal. In 1976, Janet became a professional and joined Mark and Victor as their Assistant Trainer. In that role from 1976 to 1983, Janet worked with many of To and Fro Farms' clients, honing her training and teaching skills and developing her keen judge's eye. Janet married in 1979 and has two children.

 

From 1984 to 1993 she focused on raising her girls but kept a strong presence in the horse community, serving as a consultant to Mark until his premature death in 1993. At that time, Janet closed To and Fro Farms and joined Carolyn Biava in opening First Field Farm.

Janet McDonald

Laura Ware, daughter of Carolyn Biava, began her riding career at First Field Farm, taught by her mother and Janet McDonald. Competing in the Hunters, Jumpers, and Equitation as a junior, Laura’s career highlights include winning the LAHJA Junior Medal Finals, Rosewood Medal Finals, CPHA Foundation 14 & under Medal Finals and earning the Reserve Championship in the Large Junior Hunters 16-17 at the Devon Horse Show. After graduating from UCLA in 2012, Laura spent time in Switzerland as a working student for Ecurie Oeuvray Smits where she competed with young horses at the National Level. Laura also spent time working for Anne Kursinski, where she had the opportunity to compete at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington. Laura has been a USHJA Certified Trainer since 2019.

Laura Ware
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Coming Soon

Rose Heida
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Coming Soon

Tess Kersey
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