Eventually, Gary and his wife Brenda decided to start their own business by purchasing a five-acre property in Kuna, Idaho in the fall of 1980. It’s hard to believe now, but when they first bought the property it was nothing but five acres of dirt and tumbleweeds. All of the current fencing, barns and infrastructures have been built throughout the years, and a further 15 acres was added. The first thing to be built was was a small red bard, with 12 X 12 box stalls for the horses and of course a small racetrack. Then, they began to build their house, and a small outdoor ring which was about ½ size of the current arena. Eventually, Gary took a liking to jumping and eventing. As Gary began shifting his interest from the racetrack to jumping, he felt always his strength was galloping cross country. His early mentors Bob Mc Donald, Gene Louis and Ernest Herrmann all influenced his riding and teaching style. During the early times of his eventing career he also worked at a saddle shop making quality western saddles.

Brenda is the logistics, visionary and social glue of the Mittleider Eventing Team! Not to mention that over the years she has developed an incredible eye, a wealth of veterinary knowledge and knows the ins and outs of the complex job of grooming and crewing for an upper-level event rider better than just about anybody!
Brenda is the "Max Corcoran" of the Mittleider Team. You want to know what it takes to get to the FEI competition, what paper and shots you need to go over seas, what to expect at your first horse trials and what equipment you may need, Brenda is who you go to!
Brenda has been active on many boards at the State and National level of USEA, as giving back to and growing the sports of eventing and dressage is a passion in her life.