In the past 34 years, Jackie Robinson can recall only three days that she hasn't cared for a horse or, more likely, a dozen.

The horse trainer from Connoquenessing Township wouldn't have it any other way.

"I just always had a desire to do this. I love being around horses," she said, noting the only time she's spent away from horses since college was her three-day honeymoon in 1979 to Duck, N.C.

Growing up with a father who was a horse trainer, she was no stranger to horses and training came naturally to her.

This fall, she had her biggest success as a trainer yet, with a 2-year-old horse named Mak My Day.

The horse, owned by Andy Miller of Allison Park, earned the second-highest score of more than 650 competing horses in the Sport Horse National Arabian & Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show. The competition was held in late September at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. Horses are judged on everything from jumping to physique to how they trot and walk. Mak My Day clinched the colt title of Reserve Champion in the jackpot class, which is exclusively for 2-year-olds.

Ms. Robinson said she was thrilled by the win -- her first on a national level -- but not completely surprised.

"I always have seen great things for him. He's got a willingness to learn," she said of Mak My Day. "I am so happy for him."

Ms. Robinson trains horses at Jack MacDonald Stables in Connoquenessing Township. The business is named after her father, a professional horseman who opened the facility in 1964.

She took over the stable when her father died of cancer in 1980 and has run it since with her husband, Duane, who is the full-time barn manager. She typically houses about 15 horses, with the majority owned by others. For most owners, she said, the hobby is just for "the love of it," because care and training is expensive and prizes at competitions are little more than ribbons. Typically, money is earned only by having successful horses sire offspring for a fee.

The stable has grown over the years and now includes an indoor training ring, outdoor ring and a 16-stall barn. The horses have access to an 89-acre farm with trails to trot along.

Ms. Robinson, who has never hesitated to put her 124-pound body on even the most surly horse, not only breaks and trains horses that owners send to her, she also trains people to ride those horses in competitions.

She works with owners to determine which competitions the horses should enter and takes responsibility for getting the horses to the shows and caring for them while they are there. Typically, the owners ride their horses in competitions.

"I love going to horse shows. To me, it's like a vacation," she said. "And I'm a very competitive person, so I like the competition." Unfortunately, she added, her husband isn't able to come along because the horses left behind at the stable need his care.

For the three horses she owns, she usually has one of her students saddle up for competitions.

"I could ride them, but I get more fulfillment watching my students ride," she said. "It's a thrill to see them compete and to see them so happy on the horses."

Because of her years of experience, she usually can learn a lot about a horse by spending a little time with him. "You can tell what kind of horse they are by looking them in the eye," she said. "And I am always looking for a horse with a lot of heart." Now 54, Ms. Robinson said she doubts she will ever retire, even though her days are long, starting in the barn at 7:30 a.m. and not ending until 8:30 p.m., after the horses have been trained, groomed, fed and exercised and her students have gone home.

She plans to take Mak My Day back to the 2011 Sport Horse National Arabian & Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show in Kentucky to compete as a 4-year-old. The horse's success fuels her desire to continue her work.

"In the past, I was always a bridesmaid [at the competitions]," she said, laughing. "It's taken me 54 years to do this and I believe I can do better. Why would I stop now?"

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