Katy Boswell
The Boss
Katy Boswell has dedicated her entire life to her love of horses. As a young girl she began taking riding lessons at Kenmore Stables in Mission Valley. She started her equine career working for Bob Bradley at Bonita Valley Farm, then for Sally Black at Blackland Farm in Bonita, where she managed the business operations, taught riding lessons, and competed in local horse shows on her mare Auspicious Cass. Before venturing into her own business, she also taught for Chuck Esau Training Stables in Rancho Bernardo.
Katy started Hidden Fox Farm in Lakeside in 1995. In 1999, Katy and Mike purchased the present La Cresta property and built the new facility. The farm has experienced much growth and success, with riders consistently winning Year End Awards in their equitation age groups for the Greater San Diego Hunter Jumper Association.
Morgan Gammon
As our newest addition to the Hidden Fox Farm family, Morgan brings her many years of varied equestrian experience to HFF, riding, teaching, and training.
Growing up in Santa Clarita, Morgan began riding at an early age. She continued to ride throughout her school years, learning on both schoolmasters and green horses. She started her professional career at Silvergate Farms, teaching lessons and training young horses under USHJA certified trainer and USDF Silver Medalist, Julie VanLoo.
Moving to Santa Cruz, CA to pursue her Bachelor’s degree in History, she worked with Teralyn LaLiberte, where she studied dressage and natural horsemanship methods.
After moving to San Diego, Morgan joined San Diego Beach Rides, working with customers and guiding trail rides.
Morgan’s teaching and training philosophy is to continually enhance the relationship between horse and rider, and to foster an environment that promotes respect for both.
She enjoys spending her free time pursuing her passion of photography.
Kathi Young, aka "Murphy"
Kathi Murphy Young fell in love with horses at age 6 after taking her first of many trail rides. At age 11 a friend took her to Via Verde Equestrian Center in her hometown of Covina, California, and she fell in love with the hunter/jumper discipline. Via Verde was also where she got her first job as a working student, working as a member of the ring crew for horse shows, and also grooming the horses for the trainers. She began taking lessons with Vanessa Voight and rode with Susan Kroshinsky Artes, Jenni Martin McAllister, and Susan Hutchinson, who travelled with trainer Jimmy Williams to compete in horseshows. Observing these world-class riders gave her some amazing opportunities to learn from the best and also ignited her passion for jumpers.
After moving to San Diego in 1988, Murphy started taking lessons from Katy Boswell, Sally Black, and Nancy Reed at Blackland Farm/Sweetwater Farms in Bonita. She moved to HFF in 1996 with her horse Oliver, competing in both hunters and jumpers for several years. She taught lessons and also assisted with riding and training clients' horses. She was one of the founding members of the East County Horse Show Organization (ECHO), and was instrumental in helping Hidden Fox Farm move from Lakeside to Crest in 1999.
Murphy has studied natural horsemanship practices and has participated in clinics with Ross Jacobs, Samantha Harvey, and Harry Whitney. She loves teaching and finds the "lightbulb moments" for her students to be the highlight of her day. She brings her natural horsemanship ideas and years of horse experience to each lesson to help both horse and rider learn in an environment that fosters a happy horse and a knowledgeable, present rider.
Murphy lives in Pine Valley with husband Gen and her dog, Emma. Her wonderful trail horse, Cloud, lives nearby. On her days off, she can be found trail riding Cloud in the mountains or competing in agility with Emma.
Mike Boswell
If it's broke, Mike fixes it.
Mike Boswell is a retired agricultural/civil engineer who fell in love with horses late in life. After taking Western and Dressage riding lessons, Mike met Katy in 1996 and started taking Jumping lessons from her at Hidden Fox Farm, Katy's Hunter/Jumper barn in Lakeside.
In 1999, Mike and Katy bought the current property in Crest and built the new Hidden Fox Farm. In 2003 it all burned down, including the house, in the Cedar Fire. So, Mike and Katy rebuilt it all, with the considerable help and support of our friends and customers.
While Katy and her team run the operations at the barn, Mike takes care of farm construction and maintenance, buys the feed, and handles some of the business functions. He also likes to shop and cook and keep the home fires burning.
Nowadays, Mike loves trail riding on his new Morgan horse "Bodie".