Ashley May
Ashley May | Assistant Trainer
Ashley has been an Assitant Trainer at Via Nova since 2023, moving to New Mexico from Dell Rapids, SD. She has always wanted to work with horses, originally planning to head to vet school before realising she felt more enjoyment from training with them and achieving that ‘aha’ breakthrough moment.
Starting with riding lessons as a child, Ashley has spent most of her life around horses, with time spent riding western, hunter and training young horses. During her time at the University of Minnesota Crookston, Ashley double-majored in Equine Science and Equine Business Management, she also worked with broodmares, foals and stallions during her Junior year summer break and interned at an Equine Rescue facility in Kentucky.
Outside of horses Ashley has a strong passion for both reading and art, including drawing and painting. She also has a two-year-old lab mix called Milton who plays a huge role in her introduction to R+ training. This passion for R+ has evolved naturally due to Ashley’s passion for training horses, driven by a desire to form stronger connections between horse and trainer and being able to view the dynamic between the two through a new lens. In Ashley’s words ‘I work for the beautiful glint in the eye of the horse i’m working with, and their willingness to understand what i’m asking for them, which with R+ becomes an easy, open, two-way conversation.’
