John Flisk

OWNER/TRAINER/RIDER

John grew up riding at Primrose Farm in St. Charles, IL which is owned by his grandparents and he started showing at a very young age. At the age of 15 John began working with Alex Jayne at Our Day Farm and was able to travel the country showing in Wellington, Kentucky, Chicago, Harrisburg, Washington, and Detroit. John competed in his first Grand Prix at age 17 and he also received numerous year end awards with NIHJA, IHJA, Zone 5 and in 1997 and 1998 he won the IHJA Junior Medal Finals.

Later on in 1998 he was selected to the represent the USA in an International Competition for Young Riders. In January of 1999, he competed in Bombay, India at the CSI Young Riders event. Team USA won the Bronze medal, and John won the individual silver medal. Later on in 1999 he was chosen to represent the USA once again, this time at an Amateur Nations Cup in Ireland where the team finished 4th overall.

In 2000 John had the honor of working/riding with Olympian Anne Kursinski at her own Market Street Farm in New Jersey. After that he decided to give up his Amateur status and took over the business at the family farm in St. Charles. He continued receiving numerous Grand Prix ribbons as well as having his students qualify for indoor finals in the Junior Hunters and the NAL/M&S Jumpers shows where they received ribbons as well.

In 2006, John received his “R” judges licenses in the Hunter, Jumper & Equitation divisions and acquired his FEI Level 2 jumping judges license in 2019. Over the years, John has judged at some of the top shows in the country, including the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, HITS Ocala, Saugerties, Culpepper, Thermal, World Equestrian Center (WEC), Lexington, as well as FEI World Cup qualifier classes, Longines Global Champions Tour in Miami, The Wellington Masters, Las Vegas, among many others. He has worked at several barns throughout the years in the Chicagoland area, as well as Connecticut, New York, & Texas as a trainer, instructor & barn manager.  Over the last several years, he has been traveling across the country and he is very excited to be coming back to the Midwest calling Legacy River Equestrian Center home, and making LREC become one of the top “A” show barns in the Chicagoland area.

Dorothy Flisk

OWNER/ TRAINER

Dorothy (Dolly) Flisk, a lifelong equestrian, starting at 5 years old, has always dreamed of opening a facility of her own. Upon purchasing of the Sugar Grove property and launching Legacy River Equestrian Center; Flisk turned her lifelong dream into a reality.  Flisk's passion for horses and their care combined with her desire to see a premier facility that is focused on the training and development of the horses and riders led to the opening of Legacy River Equestrian Center. Dorothy encompasses the aspect of superior horse care and the well-being of the horses and riders at Legacy River Equestrian Center.

Dorothy has always found a way back to riding, no matter where she lived in the country throughout her life. She has successfully competed at A/AA level horse shows both regionally and nationally. Additionally, Dorothy has several other entrepreneurial endeavors she is involved in. Dorothy is thrilled to have the opportunity to train and teach riders and horses of all levels. She is excited to see the potential of the horses and riders that call Legacy River their forever home.

Patrick Mitchell

TRAINER

From coast to coast, Patrick Mitchell has trained at the highest levels- he rode as a junior on the east coast and then went to California after his college years. Alongside brother, Dennis Mitchell, Patrick started and developed talent in their sales program for a decade. Together they sold hundreds of champions.

Due to an injury in the late 80s, Patrick shifted focus to race horses. He was a trainer at Brookside Farm, one of the top racing stables in the country, if not the world. Patrick was in charge of training their 2-year-olds during his last year. He worked with multiple graded stakes winners, including Cigar—one of the greatest horses of our time. Patrick then moved from California to Chicago in order to open his own racing stable. He conditioned multiple stakes winners of millions in earnings. His daughter’s interest in horses brought Patrick back to the world of hunters and jumpers. He trained his daughter to success, she is now on Baylor’s Division 1 equestrian team. Sharing his love and knowledge of horses has been a highlight of Patrick’s lifetime in the industry.