Alexa Schwitzer riding Over the Top Stables LLC’s Coco. PHOTO BY ALLYSON LAGIOVANE
Over The Top Stables Is Creating The Next Generation Of Jumping Stars BY OLIVIA AIRHART
When Alexa Schwitzer first sat on a pony when she was one year old, she could not be pulled out of the saddle without a fight. Today, at just 21 years old, she is the co-founder of the internationally recognized Over the Top Stables LLC and is an avid amateur competitor at some of the nation’s leading equestrian events.This rising talent has found her stride as not only an up-and-coming rider, but also a budding businesswoman in Wellington, the horse capital of the world. Schwitzer got her start competing in the junior hunter and equitation divisions, racking up a long list of accomplishments at some of the most presti-
gious venues on the east coast. It was not until she competed at the Winter Equestrian Festival for the first time in 2015 that she decided she wanted to dedicate herself to the sport. “I came down to Wellington for one weekend during my sophomore year of high school, then my junior year I was allowed to come down on weekends,” Schwitzer recalled. “For my senior year, I begged my parents to let me spend the winter in Wellington. My mom and I ended up moving here for the season, and that was my first time competing during the entire WEF circuit. After putting in the hard work and the time, my dad realized that I wanted to do this se-
riously, and I fell in love with riding even more after that.” With one foot firmly planted in the center of the horse world, a career in the industry inevitably loomed. In 2016, during her sophomore year of high school, Schwitzer and her father, William Schwitzer, officially co-founded Over the Top Stables to expand their already impressive string of horses and support Alexa’s growing love for the sport. Choosing to dive head-first into the industry was a no brainer for the Long Island native, who found her home away from home in sunny South Florida. wellington the magazine | february 2021 61