Over The Top Stables Is Creating The Next Generation Of Jumping Stars
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 prestigious 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 seriously, 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 feels like home,” Alexa said. “Everything is right here when it comes to our horses and competing. I can wake up, and I’m at the show. It’s so easy, and I never feel rushed. I think that is the best thing about being here — you can really take your time, and it shows in the ring that you are working hard.”
Though the Schwitzer family does not have a show jumping background, William was raised by two Holocaust survivors surrounded by animals of all kinds on his family’s 700-acre kosher cattle farm in Connecticut. Sparking his love of all animals, William and his brother competed in team penning growing up. Now a lawyer and CEO of his own firm, William never lost that first love and has since passed it down to his daughter. Residing at the heart of the business, he unknowingly helped the brand develop its namesake.
“Everyone always says that my dad goes above and beyond with everything he does,” Alexa said. “At some point in the process of coming up with a name for the LLC, I told him, ‘You are so over the top!’ It was honestly so fitting, and out of all the options we tried, that one just stuck.”
Now recognized as a top producer of some of the sport’s most elite horses, Over the Top Stables has flourished in the bustling Wellington atmosphere with the help of Daniel and Mark Bluman of Bluman Equestrian. The Blumans have helped bolster the farm’s training and sales program since its inception, and they are helping to develop not only the next generation of top show mounts, but also train and support Alexa’s promising show jumping career. Alexa has grown to be a seasoned competitor under their keen tutelage.
“I can’t really put into words what working with Mark and Daniel Bluman has meant for me,” she said. “I didn’t think I would be able to jump the classes I have been jumping recently, and they have done so much for my mental game, as well as my riding.”
With Daniel, Mark and Alexa in the irons, Over the Top Stables has rocketed to the top of nearly every major class within the past five years. Contending leading mounts like Cartouche, Vicomte De La Cour, Noortje VD Windheuvel and Daniel’s prospective Olympic mount Ladriano Z, Over the Top Stables has found a recipe for success. From watching her youngest mounts learn the ropes of the show ring, to witnessing Daniel’s win in the 2018 $324,000 Fidelity Investments Grand Prix CSI5* at WEF aboard Ladriano Z, Alexa sees every moment as a teaching moment.
“Watching Daniel and Ladriano Z win that Grand Prix together was really special,” she said. “It’s probably the most rewarding to be able to watch Mark and Daniel in the ring. I watch them every day at the barn, and they put so much work into the horses. It’s really incredible to see and to be able to learn from them.”
As the co-founder of a top sport horse sales business at just 21 years old, Alexa has proven herself to be an up-and-coming force in the industry. The eager pupil, though at the helm of a budding business, thrives on being able to learn how to run and grow her operations as successfully as the Blumans have. She has big goals, not only for the 2021 winter season at WEF, but also for her string of talented mounts.
“We are having such great success with all of our Grand Prix horses, young horses, sales horses and even the horses in my personal string,” she said. “For myself, I just want to keep being consistent and growing, eventually jumping bigger classes. We are looking forward to continuing to grow Over the Top Stables, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Visit www.overthetopstables.com to learn more.
