Instructors & Staff
Sanford Crane, Manager
At 14, Sanford Crane snuck out of the house to buy his first horse. Before long, he was riding games and shooting off the horse's back.
By his 20s, Sanford was showing quarter horses in Western Pleasure and Trail Class. Horsemanship had become a way of life and marked the beginning of his career as a self-taught, owner and trainer of horses.
In addition to training, Sanford is the Manager of Joli Cheval.
A recent graduate of the Dennis Reis Horsemanship Program in Northern California, Sanford completed twelve levels of achievement in dressage training.
Sanford is able to gain trust and correct behavioral issues with persistent patience and by observing the nuanced body language of his equine clients. The results have been remarkable. For the starting of young horses or behavioral issues, Sanford is available to consult and train.
Annette "Nettie" Saunders, Trainer
A winning way with horses . . . that's Nettie's way. An accomplished, award-winning equestrian and trainer, Nettie Saunders’ credentials bring horsemanship to a higher level at Joli Cheval. Nettie has been riding for 35 years. She has been teaching hunt seat and dressage students for 19 years.
Over the course of her career, Nettie has won numerous Horse of the Year awards from the North Carolina Dressage and Combined Training Association and the United States Dressage Federation. She also earned a Bronze Medal from the USDF along with a #1 ranking in the nation at Second-Level Musical Freestyle with Bill Wiltsee’s Trakehner, Pedro.
An ARIA-certified professional, Nettie is currently a Level III nationally ranked instructor of dressage and hunt seat riding. Always striving for excellence, Nettie is currently training with Cindy Sydnor and Gerhard Politz, two of the country’s most recognized names in the equestrian world. She has also worked with Kay Meredith, Anita Gersch, Jeremy Beale. Most recently, Nettie was invited to study with Bo Jena in Sweden.
Throughout her training career, Nettie’s students and their horses have placed consistently well at state and national levels. Nettie believes in nurturing good horsemanship as well as show ring presentation. Starting from the ground up, students learn a system where riders and every professional in a horse’s life work together for the betterment of the horse, creating a cohesiveness which becomes beneficial to all.
At Joli Cheval, Nettie offers riding lessons to all ages and skill levels, from beginner to advanced. Also available is full and partial training board with the ability to have horses compete on several levels or to become a better riding horse through improved communication.
For competitive horsemanship, Nettie’s training methods at Joli Cheval are as versatile as each specific need warrants, with systems in place to bring a horse from newly-broken to show-ring-readiness in dressage and hunt seat. Nettie's way with horses allows all who train under her to become winners in their own right.
Micki Thompson, Trainer
Micki Thompson is the most recent addition to Joli Cheval's professional training staff. For most of her life, the care and training of animals has been her central dream and passion. Micki is ARIA Certified in Hunt Seat Instruction and Farm Management and attended Virginia Intermont College in the Equine Science program.
While attending college, she managed Four Winds Farm in Bristol, Virginia. Currently a certified Canine Massage Therapist, one of Micki's goals for the near future is to obtain her Equine Massage Certification.
A part time weekend instructor at Joli Cheval, Micki also works full time as a Veterinary Technician with small animal rehabilitation. Before returning home to Charlotte, Micki managed Cloud's Harbor Farm in Winston Salem, North Carolina. In addition to teaching, Micki consults on farm management; she gives lectures for Pony Club and conducts small group clinics.
She welcomes all ages to her classes with current students ranging from 6 to 77. Micki teaches Beginning through Upper Intermediate Hunter Jumper classes. When Micki isn't working, she is happily surrounded by a houseful of cats and two dogs.