For over 25 years, the Rattner family’s DevonWood Equestrian Centre in Sherwood, Oregon, has served the Pacific Northwest both as a full-service boarding facility and as home to countless educational and competition opportunities for regional equestrians. Built from the ground up on 40 acres in Oregon’s Willamette Valley by Justin and Ginny Rattner in 1998, the couple wanted to establish a venue where equestrians could gather to learn and enjoy their horses.

Ginny, who was a passionate advocate for promoting equestrian sport throughout the region, died from breast cancer in 2013. Today, her son Noah Rattner is carrying on the family tradition. Not only is he DevonWood’s general manager, overseeing multiple licensed dressage competitions each year, but he is also a member of the U.S. Equestrian Federation FEI Dressage Sport Committee, a two-time U.S. Dressage Federation Region 6 director, and a widely sought-after horse show announcer. No matter what he is doing within equestrian sport, honoring his mother’s legacy of building community is core to Noah’s work. 

“This was her passion,” said Noah, 37. “She wasn’t a rider, but she was a supporter.”

Noah, his identical twin brother Evin, and their sister Jessica, were all riders into their teen years, when other recreational pursuits led them away from the barn. But Ginny already had instilled in each of her children a love for the administrative side of equestrian sport. Immediately following her death, Jessica and Evin took over the management of DevonWood; in 2016, Noah left a career in banking and finance to join the leadership team there, and in 2018, he assumed the role of general manager.

“My mother prided herself on DevonWood being an educational place for people of all walks to come and enjoy their equestrian habit and to be a safe place for people to learn,” Noah said. “I don’t know if she ever saw this coming, but indirectly, she educated us, and gave us a safe place to learn how to be sport managers and work on the administrative side.”

One of Noah’s proudest accomplishments since taking on his leadership role at DevonWood is establishing the Ginny Rattner Memorial Dressage and CDI3*, the only international dressage competition currently held in the Pacific Northwest. In just two years, the CDI has already proven to be a keystone competition for ambitious riders based in the area. In 2025, it will serve as one of 23 qualifiers for the new US Equestrian Open of Dressage. 

“For competitors in our corner of the country, trying to go to [US Dressage Festival of Champions (Illinois)], they are required to have a three-star CDI competition,” Noah said. “If we weren’t on the calendar, they would be forced to make the trek to California. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing for some of them, but for others, it’s a financial hardship. Plus, we have some significant mountain passes you have to get through.

“We want our sport to continue to be accessible to everyone who wants to be a part of it, and what it really, truly comes down to is a love of the horses, so we don’t want anyone priced out of that experience,” he continued. “Serving our geographic region is our main focus, and one of the reasons we put this CDI on our calendar.”

But in some ways, getting the event up and running was the result of nearly two decades of planning, networking and problem-solving. The idea was planted after licensed officials visiting the facility repeatedly told Ginny that DevonWood would be the perfect site for an international competition. 

“I always saw the twinkle in my mom’s eye when she heard that comment, and it would come up over and over again over the years,” Noah said. “I knew it was an aspiration for my mother, and something she wanted to do for the community.”

Serving The Needs Of The PNW

Listening to their regional dressage community—and seeking to better understand the unique needs of riders and trainers who often travel quite a distance to attend their shows—has also helped Noah to ensure DevonWood’s calendar of events supports them in achieving their goals. In recent years, that has included strategically scheduling competitions to match qualifying windows for regional and national championships, as well as considering the needs of their neighbors to the north.

“We’ve established a good partnership with the western Canadians and the high-performance staff supporting Equine Canada,” Noah said. “Those riders based in British Columbia come to us, for both our national shows and the CDI, and they are so grateful for that opportunity. And now that we understand what their qualifying requirements are, we are able to offer what they need so they can use those scores.

“That helps grow the sport for our entire country, and we can serve the international community as well,” he continued. “It’s a small vision, and maybe only has a small impact at first, but over time, it can be globally impactful.”

As USDF Region 6 director, Noah has been particularly committed to the development of youth riders, from the grassroots to elite levels. In 2023, Region 6 juniors, riding on a combined team with Region 4, captured their home region’s first-ever team gold medal at the FEI North American Championships (Michigan). The enthusiasm garnered by that win has proven contagious among the Pacific Northwest’s youth dressage community, Noah said, and he believes that DevonWood’s CDI played a role in their success.

“Even though they don’t technically need a CDI in order to qualify to go to the North American Youth Championships, they now see the value in competing at one before they go,” he said. “It gives them a barometer of where they stand, before they take that big leap.”

In early November 2024, DevonWood simultaneously hosted both a USDF FEI Youth Clinic and a USDF Youth Outreach Clinic, drawing 24 enthusiastic young riders together for learning, networking, and growth.

“This was the first time so many youth riders were able to be at a clinic at the same time,” Noah said. “We were only able to do that because of the infrastructure my mother laid, 25-odd years ago, in building this facility with two indoor arenas. We can be in a safe, warm place, and offer this kind of learning experience for youth riders, in whatever weather the Pacific Northwest throws at you.”

Announcing Across The Nation

Several years ago, thanks to his growing network of contacts in the equestrian community, Noah embarked on what he admits was an unexpected journey: providing announcing services at prestigious events across the country, including the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions (Illinois), Dressage at Devon (Pennsylvania), the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (Florida), Tryon International Equestrian Center (North Carolina) and Desert International Horse Park (California). Recently, he also announced at an inaugural CDI-W held in Mexico City, Mexico. 

Announcing has become such an important aspect of Noah’s career that for the past several years, he has spent his winter season based in Florida, leaving the day-to-day management of DevonWood to a “great staff” at home. 

Spending time in Florida gives Noah an opportunity to indulge in one of his personal passions, scuba diving. A PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, he first became involved with the sport while completing an international business exchange at Singapore Management University. Although he doesn’t get as much time in the water now as he used to, he remains as active in the sport as possible.

“When I’m in south Florida announcing for the winter, on my days off—whenever I can get my feet wet—I’m usually in the ocean, diving,” he said with a laugh.

And when Noah’s announcing work brings him to World Equestrian Center-Ocala, he is able to spend time with his brother, Evin, who not only is an owner and partner of the horse show management platform Fox Village but also the newly appointed dressage discipline manager at WEC-Ocala. Although neither brother may have imagined their careers would be spent in equestrian event management, they know that their late mother would be proud of what their success represents for equestrian sport.

“The fact we are now the two youngest CDI organizers in the U.S., and we are doing it coast-to-coast now, that is an exciting concept,” Noah said. “It is proof-positive that we have the right materials here in the Pacific Northwest; we just need the opportunities.”