Head trainer & Operator

Leylan Swift is a professional rider, trainer, and business manager, and in 2026 became the Head Trainer and Operator of Chestnut Hill. She brings decades of experience developing riders and horses of all ages, levels, and ambitions.

Her equestrian career began in Cleveland, Ohio riding alongside her mother, Cari Gleeson, head trainer at Stepping Stone Farm. She played a hands on role in the family’s training business and developed a foundation that would support her future success in the sport.. At 15, she moved to Wellington, Florida to train with Ken and Emily Smith at Ashland Farms. As a working student, she earned top-20 results in the Medal and Maclay Finals, won the Zone 5 Equitation Championship, and was recruited to the University of Georgia Equestrian Team.

At UGA, she was a scholarship athlete, earning A National Championship Title, Two SEC Championship Titles and First-Team All-American honors (Flat & Fences). She graduated with a degree in Finance and was named UGA Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Professionally, Leylan has worked for Ashland Farms, Bert Mutch, and operated Small Stone, her boutique training program where riders won major finals, derbies, and national championships. She has also developed and sold young hunters into top programs around the country.

Joining Chestnut Hill in 2024, Leylan quickly became essential to the program—sourcing exceptional horses, producing derby winners, and coaching riders to their strongest results.
Her training philosophy is simple: meet each horse and rider where they are, and give them the tools, clarity, and confidence to excel.

Assistant Rider & Trainer

Emma has been an Assistant Trainer & Rider at Chestnut Hill since 2022.  Prior to working for Chestnut Hill, Emma had success as both a Junior and Amateur rider where her classic equitation style helped her to secure numerous top ten medal final finishes on the West Coast. Emma was the USEF Amateur Equitation Rider of the Year in 2021, and the recipient of the Sportsmanship Award at Sonoma Horse Park in September 2025. In the jumper ring, Emma has top finishes through 1.35m.

Emma trained with Jeni Brown at Shadowbrook Stables, along with the Karazissis Family and Lisa Winn at Far West Farms. Emma was a working student throughout high school and college.

While training and showing full time, Emma graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Psychology from Pepperdine University with an interest in sports psychology, specifically how brain health, chemistry, and neuroplasiticity are impacted by exercise.

When not at the barn, Emma loves hiking and exploring Northern California with her dog Ziggy, yoga, and baking.

Assitant Trainer and Pony kid Wrangler

Active in Northern California as a junior rider, Katy began her professional career in upstate New York. She joined one of California’s most successful hunter-equitation operations in 1999, first providing training support for a family of private clients in Alaska, and later at the barn’s two Northern California facilities.

At Chestnut Hill, Katy’s natural talent is put to work at home riding, where her ability to develop each horse’s unique strengths make them more ridable, and ultimately better able to perform. She is also a gifted instructor who derives great joy from seeing her students improve.

In addition to being a great rider and teacher, Katy is a true animal lover and is deeply involved in each horse’s care, including turn-outs, nutrition and supplements, vet, shoeing and body work needs. She puts as much passion into bringing a rehab horse back to full health as anything she does.

Katy is a magician with the little kids and holds down the fort for the team while we are at horse shows.

Assistant Rider and Trainer

Alex in joining our team in Jan 2026 and brings a long list of individual riding accomplishments and a strong competitive background in all three rings.

In the equitation, she has earned the Christy Conrad WEF leading equitation rider, and has top 10 finishes at Gladstone, WIHS finals, Maclay Finals and USET finals.

In the jumpers, Alex is a two- time NAYC individual and team gold medalist, earned individual and team silver at Prix de States, has numerous top Grand Prix placings and was awarded the leading Amateur jumper rider at Devon. 

In the hunters, she has won International Derbies, competed at International Derby Finals and has been a top contender at all major Hunter National Finals. 

Alex rode on the SMU equestrian team where majored in Sports Management and Business. While at SMU she helped the equestrian team win their first-ever national championship. Since graduating in 2023 she has worked as a professional rider and trainer at two highly regarded programs- Heritage Farm in Katonah, NY and October Hill Sport Horse in Dallas, TX.

Bev built Chestnut Hill from the ground up and has been the heart of the program for more than 30 years. After moving to California in 1994, Bev established Chestnut Hill LLC, creating one of Northern California’s most respected hunter/jumper training programs. Over nearly three decades, she has trained countless juniors and amateurs to regional and national success in the hunters, jumpers, equitation, and ponies.

Bev is known for her integrity, honesty, and dedication to the highest quality of care. Her riders have consistently earned top ribbons, year-end championships, and national finals qualifications.

Beyond her work at Chestnut Hill, Bev has been an influential member of the greater equestrian community. She is a former board member of both the Northern California Hunter Jumper Association and the California Professional Horsemen’s Association, and she holds her “R” judge’s license, officiating at shows throughout the country. In 2019, Bev was honored as the California Professional Horseman’s Association Horseman of the Year, recognizing her contributions to the sport and her reputation as a respected professional.

As Bev steps down from her role as owner and manager, her legacy remains deeply woven into the fabric of Chestnut Hill. While she passed the leadership of the program to Leylan Swift, Bev will continue to be involved—supporting the team, sharing her knowledge, and remaining a welcoming and familiar presence around the business she built.