Family: Parents, Scott and Amy Adair; Brothers, Barett and Locke Adair; Sister-in-law, Sarah Adair
Hometown: Searcy, Ark.
In Town: Meredith is a substitute instructor at Harding University and a math tutor.
In the Country: You can find Meredith giving horse riding lessons several times a week on her family’s 13-acre farm. She teaches students from ages 9 and up. She currently has around 10 students whom she trains with a Quarter Horse, Tennessee Walking horses and a Chincoteague pony.
“My mom grew up with horses and my dad started to take interest in them in 2001. We eventually moved out to the country and began to raise them. When I got into high school, I became involved in FFA and I competed on a horse judging team for two years. I started giving riding lessons when I was very young, probably around the age of 12. My parents use to help teach with me and when I got in junior high, they gradually started letting me teach by myself, and ever since I’ve just continued to teach through college. Since graduation from college, I have added a pony to my program, and have had several new students sign up for lessons.”
“My biggest challenges are usually weather-related. If we have a week of rain, I miss a week of lessons. It’s also difficult to give lessons when it is muddy, so I usually have my students walk or trot during that time. I hope to someday build an indoor riding arena so that these are no longer an issue. Another challenge is keeping my horses healthy, but having great healthcare providers for my horses have made my life so much easier.”
What are your future plans?
“I am currently pursuing a master’s of arts in teaching from Harding University. My goal is to use that degree to teach high school biology. My hope is to always be involved with horses in some way. I hope to continue to teach riding lessons while I am a biology teacher. I also hope to be able to show horses more often in the future. I show some every year, but would like to be more consistent.”
