Andre Dignelli - Owner/Trainer
Andre Dignelli first came onto the scene in 1985, when he won the USET Finals (now the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals - East) under the guidance of Judy Richter of Coker Farm. He would later join her team as a trainer before going on to win a bronze medal at the 1991 Pan American Games in Cuba. That same year, Andre trained his first national equitation champion, coaching Peter Lutz to victory in both the Rolex USET Final and the ASPCA Maclay Championship. In the more than three decades that have followed, his program has helped develop top riders including Kent Farrington, Kirsten Coe, Maggie McAlary, Reed Kessler, Lillie Keenan and many others.
Patricia Griffith - Trainer
Patricia Griffith first came to Heritage as a working student in 1997. By year’s end, she rode to the Reserve Championship at the USET Finals.
Shortly thereafter, she joined the team as a professional and has worked alongside Andre for more than 25 years. She has ridden to numerous accolades in the hunter ring, including USHJA International Hunter Derby events. She has been the Leading Hunter Rider at the Hampton Classic; is a previous winner of the World Champion Hunter Rider (WCHR) Professional Challenge at the Capital Challenge Horse Show; and topped the $500,000 Diamond Mills Hunter Prix at Saugerties.
Over the years, she has enjoyed developing young horses; she has produced a few Grand Prix Horses along the way. She won the 6-year-old YJC Finals at the Hampton Classic and has ribboned in numerous Grand Prix events, including the Pfizer Million, the Harrisburg Big Jump and World Cup Qualifier in Southampton.
Spearheading Heritage Farm’s pony program, Patricia has coached numerous USEF Pony Finals Champions; five USEF Pony Medal Final winners; and has won the Emerson Burr Perpetual Trainers Award five times.
Patricia holds her USEF "R" judges license and enjoys judging shows each year.
Laena Romond - Trainer
Originally from Colchester, Vt., Laena Romond grew up showing in equitation, junior hunters and junior jumpers under Fran Joe and Annie Dotoli at Ox Ridge Hunt Club. A graduate of Mount Holyoke College—where she graduated cum laude in biochemistry— Laena also competed on the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association circuit. As a freshman, she won the prestigious USEF/Cacchione Cup. She joined the Heritage Farm team in 2007 and has played an integral role with her natural riding talent and training knowledge. Among her competitive highlights are winning the 2021 $50,000 National Horse Show Hunter Classic with Catherine Cowie’s Traveller and the Tier II Championship with her own Uptown at the 2021 USHJA International Hunter Derby Championships.
Dottie Barnwell-Areson - Trainer
Dottie Barnwell-Areson joined the Heritage team in 2007 and spent three years as an on-the-road manager before becoming a part of the training staff. Dottie heads Heritage Farm’s Winter Warriors program. Developed in 2016, the Winter Warriors program has allowed Heritage Farm to maintain a year-round training program in New York while also navigating the winter circuit in Wellington, FL.
Caroline Passarelli - Trainer
Caroline Passarelli rode with Heritage Farm as a junior rider before joining the training staff as a professional. During her junior years, she took home the 2017 Region 5 Maclay Reserve Championship, was named Best Junior Rider at the 2017 Devon Horse Show, and rode to the 2018 Junior Hunter Finals Grand 3’3”’ Championship. The 2014 WIHS Pony Equitation Finals Winner, the 2016 USEF Pony Medal Finals Champion and the 2017 PNHS Grand Pony Hunter Champion, Passarelli is also a pony specialist and continues to help develop both young ponies and pony riders at Heritage.