Julia Fisher

Dr. Julia Fisher’s early years in the Midwest were dominated by steel, concrete, and asphalt, leaving her craving the great outdoors. Undergraduate degrees in French and Russian language (U of WI – Madison) landed a 10-year job with a French company in the Chicago area that eventually motivated her to pursue graduate work in the cognition of language use (Ph.D., U of CO – Boulder). But, years as a single parent and academic didn’t leave time or money for entertaining her love of horses and open spaces, until her youngest went off to college. That same fall, Julia took a university job teaching experimental psychology, moved to rural South Carolina and took her first riding lesson. Within a year, she had bought a truck and trailer and a little Arabian mare and was competing in endurance rides throughout the southeast, from WV to FL.

Today, she’s still teaching, but finds time to manage the Sand Hills Stampede endurance ride in the state forest every October. She has completed thousands of competition miles in endurance rides, as well as horseback riding in Mexico and horseback riding treks in Ireland, France, and 3 trips to Mongolia. The first was to compete in the Mongol Derby. The second was to ride reindeer with the Tsaatan tribe in the mountains on the Russian border, and the most recent was the Blue Wolf Totem Charity Ride (BWT) in the summer of 2022. BWT was the longest and largest charity ride in history. Sixteen riders from all over the world were selected by the Veloo Foundation to ride more than 3600 km (2235 miles) across the entire breadth of the country. The ride raised more than $150k for the Children of the Peak Sanctuary in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. For their efforts to support the children, the Mongolian government awarded all riders the Mongolian Medal of Honor. In addition to her work supporting equestrian groups (she is a Director on the Board for the South Carolina Horsemen’s Council, an appointed member of the Federal Resource Advisory Committee, and a member of the Back Country Horsemen), Julia champions any and all causes that work to benefit children.