In 1990 Michelle and her husband Matt started  Pine Trails Ranch. Both had worked in the horse  industry before starting the ranch and wanted a  place where riders could go and enjoy horses 
and get a good education without worrying about  what breed of horse they had and if their saddle  was the current fashion. Michelle had been  working with the well respected Morgan horse ​trainer Tom Simmons and learned a great deal  from him about working with the horse and  unlocking the horse’s full potential while encouraging the horse to enjoy it’s job. Michelle was impressed with how Tom worked patiently with horses and wanted to also be able to teach riders to also enjoy riding while developing great skills and set out to make Pine Trails Ranch a place where that could happen. Michelle began to study biomechanics and how it can be used to make good riding more attainable for all riders.

In her thirties, Michelle was hospitalized with a serious auto immune condition that attacked the nerves in her extremities. She had 85% damage and was told to forget about riding by the doctors. She chose to ignore this and found a doctor who helped get her treatments designed to allow her to work. Her nerves began to heal and she continued to ride. Michelle was very weak initially and developed a unique perspective that allows her to better understand how hard it is for mature riders to develop their riding muscles and balance. Her strength and riding have improved and with the help of trainer John S. Malbos and Chris Scarlet, Michelle has returned to competitive riding.