Hannah Selleck - Equestrian Living Magazine
Click here to read the full article in the September 2019 issue of Equestrian Living magazine!
As conversation with Hannah Selleck moves seamlessly from stories and laughs about her first pony and early riding years to earnest insight into her career, it’s easy to feel instantly at home in the discussion.
Her genuine and welcoming demeanor, coupled with a clear passion for the horses that she has built her life around, give the sense that you could be speaking with any fellow horse-crazy barn mate – only this is Hannah, a grand prix competitor who also happens to run her own successful boutique breeding operation. She’s also definitely the barn-mate you would want to turn to for riding advice and business tips – and probably fitness and style pointers as well.
Foxfield and the Foundations for the Future
Hannah’s no-nonsense attitude and the passion with which she approaches her equestrian career can likely be attributed to her parents, actors Tom Selleck and Jillie Mack – as can her first introduction to horses. The year Hannah was born, the couple moved away from the Hollywood limelight and purchased a ranch in Ventura County, CA. There, with several ranch horses and retired movie horses at home, Hannah, now 30, began riding lessons at an early age in order to become more horse-savvy.
“There happened to be a local stable very close by. That’s where I dove in, along with other activities, but the riding just seemed to be a fit,” said Hannah, who also showed promise in ballet throughout her childhood but ultimately chose riding as her sole focus, eventually training at the acclaimed Foxfield Riding School in Westlake Village, CA.
“Because [my parents are] both artists, they believe in the idea that you have to be very passionate about what you do to be successful,” said Hannah. “They encouraged me to be passionate about it and immersed in it, and from there it was kind of on me how much I wanted it. They always let me take the lead. If I wanted to move barns or trainers, that was my decision.”
Following her time at Foxfield, Hannah made the decision to train with Mark Bone at Huntover before beginning to ride with Karen Healey, with whom she trained from age 16 into the start of her amateur career.
It was under Karen’s tutelage that Hannah rode to a string of successes including both team and individual gold medals at the 2008 North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (now the North American Youth Championships), a win in the 2008 Platinum Performance/U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) Show Jumping Talent Search Finals – West, and a second-place finish in the 2007 Pessoa/USEF Medal Finals.
