Flying Tail Farms is home to two of the most prestigious and well-respected Three-Day Event trainers recently having relocated from California to Charleston, SC. Dayna Lynd-Pugh and Kelly Pugh Goodman have worked together for over a decade. With philosophies about the equestrian sport that complement each other perfectly, they are able to provide the ultimate teaching and training atmosphere for their clients.
Kelly Pugh Goodman
Kelly Pugh was born in Palo Alto, CA and, as Dayna’s daughter, grew up at the barn riding all kinds of ponies and horses. Her love for riding is unquestionable as she shows that through her determination and tenacity to become the best. She has had much success over the years competing many horses up to the Advanced level including Copycat Chloe, a Trakehner mare Kelly started herself at age five and produced to be a competitive four-star horse. Over the years, she has been named to training lists and spent time back East working for multiple top riders.
In 2010, Kelly and Copycat Chloe prestigiously won the gold medal at the North American Young Rider Championships at the three-star level. She used that momentum to build a great career with Chloe, moving up to Advanced and winning the Markham Trophy at Fair Hill in 2011, which is the award for the top placed Young Rider in the CCI**** division.
From late 2010 to May of 2012, Kelly spent time on the East Coast as a working student for Allison Springer. She learned a new meaning for the phrase work ethic. Allison ran a professional, demanding program, but Kelly absolutely excelled in that program and quickly became the leading student who got to ride many of the horses. Recognized for her riding, Kelly was able to compete some of Allison’s better horses as well as her own. Additionally, the horse management skills Kelly brought back to California are impeccable. She also was lucky enough to work for Phillip Dutton as well while out East and spent time in Europe working for Mike and Emma Winter.
Kelly has demonstrated passion and desire to work hard in this sport but her strength is her natural ability to ride all types of horses making her a huge acquisition for Flying Tail Farms. Coincidentally, Kelly made the business decision to sell Chloe and Allison jumped at the chance to buy such a talented and well-produced horse.
Not only does Kelly ride well but her gregarious personality has landed her many sponsorships helping her and her horses to be at the top of their game, including SmartPak, Theraplate, Majyk Equipe, Voltaire Saddles, RevitaVet, APF, and Samshield. If you are a company interested in being partnered with this incredibly talented rider, please contact Kelly directly.
Currently, Kelly is campaigning Ringwood Trendsetter at the three-star level and Fanlehane Valentino at the two-star level in addition to the handful of young horses she has moving up the levels.
Dayna Lynd-Pugh
Dayna Lynd-Pugh has been teaching, training and competing at the sports top level for more than 30 years, and founded Flying Tail Farms in 1980 with her business partner Jim Hoffman. A Level 5 Certified ICP instructor (one of only a few) she has helped countless horse and rider combinations achieve success and rise through the ranks of the Eventing world.
Dayna has the ability to work with all levels of students and bring out their best by making riding fun and enjoyable. Her enthusiastic teaching style and love for horses is the perfect combination to help any rider pursue their riding goals. Dayna’s students frequently take home top prizes at a multitude of competitions as well as at the year end awards for California and the United States Eventing Association, a true testament to her coaching talents.
Dayna who is currently a USEA small”r” dressage judge spends most weekends during the show year judging. She is currently pursuing her large “R”. While Dayna has taken a step back from the day to day training she still coaches at a variety of horse shows and offers clinics all over the United States. Well respected by her peers, she has served on the Board of Governors for the U.S. Eventing Association, served as a faculty member for the ICP program, developed and ran the Young Rider Advancement Program for California riders, coached the Area VI Young Rider Team who won multiple gold medals under her instruction, and then went on to coach for the Area VII Young Rider Team. Aside from young riders, she has also taken students up to the Pan Am Games, Kentucky 5 star and more.
Above all else, Dayna strives to always promote a team atmosphere at Flying Tail Farms, where students feel a part of the FTF family, and enjoy coming to the barn each and every day as she has done since founding the program.
