ABOUT ROANIE
Born and raised in Iowa. Have lived in Georgia (2 years) and Kansas (3 years), but the rest of the time in central Iowa.
Education: Bachelors of Science in Community and Regional Planning from Iowa State University. Masters of Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University.
Hobbies/Passions: Sewing (duh, right?), horses (double duh), gardening, cooking, baking, and home improvement.
Favorite flowers: All things daisies. I’m CRAZY about daisies. White ones with yellow throats.


HORSES AND THEIR BLANKETS
First went to horse camp when I was 7 and several years after that. Family got our first horse, an American Saddlebred named Homer, when I was 9 and another, Danny, another Saddlebred, a few years later. Showed in saddle seat classes; happiest in English pleasure.
As an adult, I took lessons now and then did some trail riding, but got away from equestrianism while raising my daughter, Lexington (see photo above).
Returned to regular training and showing in English hunter discipline in summer of 2019. Started jump training in August 2019 and competed in first over fences course the next month. 2020 season showed equitation and hunter pleasure classes and oer fences. A fall during training in January 2021, resulting in a broken elbow and over six months of intense, painful physical therapy. Switched disciplines to dressage in August 2021 and resumed training.
2022 is a busy renovation year on the home front, so training will be light, but not non-existent. Goal is to return to competition in my new discipline in the 2023 show season.
​
2019, a fellow horsewoman needed some repairs made to her horse blanket. After making the repairs and some outside encouragement, I started Roanie Knows, specializing in horse blanket cleaning and repair.
In 2020, I fixed 50 or so blankets. In 2021, I fixed over 300. All word of mouth advertising.
I have a knack for getting blankets REALLY clean and making the least noticeable repairs as possible. I’ve learned a LOT about horse blankets in the past couple years and am now able to tackled much more complex repairs.
SEWING
I started learning when I was around five years old, being taught by my mother, Kay, and my paternal grandmother, Dreva. Throughout the years, I’ve sewn everything from stuffed toys to ball gowns, tote bags, to dress shirts.


BAKING
I’ve always loved to cook and bake. In summer 2020, after a “double dog dare” from a good friend, I tackled the ever elusive pie crust. It wasn’t long before I started baking pies for sale. By the end of 2020, I had baked and sold 50 pies. In 2021, I baked and sold over 100. With renovations in 2022, baking won’t be as prevalent, but still will take orders for special events.
DOGS
I have two dogs right now: Roly and Fat Gina
Roly is a bulls**t: English Bulldog/Shih Tzu cross. He will be 10 years old in June. I’ve had him since he was 6 months old, rescued from 23 hours a day in a crate. He’s the old man of the pack and truly a curmudgeon. He’s opinionated and tells you about it whenever he can. And, he loves blankets, especially fleece ones, more than any dog I have ever seen.
Fat Gina is an English Bulldog. We’re not sure exactly how old she is, but we’re saying she is 6. She will be 7 on November 1st, which was her Gotcha day. She was a puppy mill mama and was a breeder surrender to Paws N Claws rescue in 2020 at which time she weighed about 75 pounds, hence her name. After a few months with a foster family, she came to live with us. She’s super sassy and snuggly, is a svelt 46 pounds now, and is deaf as a post.
