Tag Archives: Sophia Ercolano

WEF Season Success for OMA Students

Taylor Landstrom and Inferno (Photo courtesy of Jen Wood Media)

Wellington, FL (February 10, 2021) – Open Minds Academy is a popular winter season academic hub for ambitious young riders, and with the Winter Equestrian Festival well underway, OMA is celebrating excellence not only in the show ring, but also in the classroom! Their individualized tutoring makes it easy for equestrians and equestrian families to execute a seamless transition from the barn to the classroom, or even to bring the classroom to the barn. OMA’s custom learning programs include virtual options, in-person 3-1 groups at their COVID-protocol optimized Wellington center, weekly status updates, extracurricular classes, and monitoring for seasonal students to ensure they keep up with their home school. Wellington’s seasonal equestrians are one of the main groups utilizing OMA to excel both in school and the show ring.

Sophia Ercolano finished WEF 3 with numerous top placings in the Low Children’s Hunters. As a 12-year-old student currently in the 6th grade, Sophia attends OMA’s virtual schooling sessions, maximizing her time with their certified teachers and time for training at the farm. She is based out of Flemington, New Jersey most of the year where she trains with Linda Sheridan and returns each season to Wellington for the winter horse show.

Taylor Landstrom is another OMA student with blue ribbons in hand for 2021. She and Inferno were the top rider in the EMO Insurance Group USHJA 3’3″ Jumper Seat Medal Section A during WEF 4. Taylor’s schedule at OMA is centered around her morning training, meaning she spends the afternoon as an in-person student at OMA’s Wellington learning center, which is located behind the Kick Back Tavern (formerly Backstreets). She enjoys the learning environment and seeing her seasonal friends each year at OMA, where Language Arts is her favorite subject.

“During season many of our equestrian clients are thrilled with the flexible scheduling and full service offered by Open Minds Academy,” said co-founder Sara Frost. “Whether they’re children of equestrians here to show or showing themselves, we work to make sure they can focus on learning and making the most of their schedule. If there’s a big show week 6, we adjust the curriculum to be lighter that week and distribute the work over less busy weeks to make sure they stay on course in school and at the horse show.”

Open Minds Academy was founded by Tyler Shernoff and Sara Frost in 2014 to meet the growing demand for individualized tutoring and teaching. Their student list has grown to include many seasonal equestrians and Wellington residents as well as students from across south Florida. Their full range of tutoring, personalized teaching, and virtual learning includes classes ranging from Pre-K through the 12th grade, while the equestrian programs generally focus on Pre-K through the 8th grade. From the beginning, their deliberately small class sizes have ensured optimal learning, and now they are the most ideally situated for COVID friendly teaching protocols as well as virtual schooling. Open Minds Academy is a one stop resource for parents and students to achieve their academic goals, boost enrichment activities, and maximize their Wellington learning program.

For additional information on Open Minds Academy, visit www.OpenMindsAcademy.org.

Media contact:
Equinium Sports Marketing, LLC
Holly Johnson
holly@equinium.com
www.equinium.com