Andrea Bushlow

Andrea Bushlow grew up in the Monterey/Carmel area and has been riding horses since she was 7 years old, starting in the Hunter/Jumper discipline and moving into ranch riding and then into eventing. Horses have always been her passion. Her parents thought it would be a phase, but it seems to have stuck. When Andrea was younger, she had always wanted to become a veterinarian... but then “life happened” and she pursued other careers, in education, mortgages, and managing a Starbucks, all while earning a Bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Phoenix (online) and working with horses.

Andrea has trained horses in the Central Valley, worked for her old trainer (Samantha Scanlan) in the Carmel Valley, and managed horses for local Olympic Eventer Lauren Billys Shady. Her favorite part of the job is the daily care and the related details including grooming, basic health care, and knowing every inch of the horses for which she is responsible. Andrea traveled nationally and internationally with Lauren and accompanied her horse Castle Larchfield Purdy (“Purdy”) from Carmel Valley to Aachen, Germany, and on to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics.

She got to know some of the local veterinarians quite well, including Dr. Laramie Winfield of Steinbeck Peninsula Equine Clinics, who encouraged her to apply for her current role as a Veterinary Assistant at SPEC. Andrea is also pursuing certification in Equine Massage.

When Andrea is not working with horses, she can be found doing barn chores at the property she manages or riding a horse, there, named Olin. She says, “Olin is basically a giant puppy dog. His background is in Eventing and he’s letting me have fun experiencing cross-country — and we both pretend to like dressage.” Andrea has a white, 8.5-lb dog named Cookie who has been with her through all of life’s twists and turns since she traded a month of pasture for her when she was just a pup. Andrea also loves hiking and walking Carmel Beach, traveling, and exploring new places.