Melissa Brusie
Business Manager
Phone: 561-635-2661 | Email: mbrusie@mac.com
Melissa Brusie, comes to her position of Business Manager of the Palm Beach Equine Sports Complex from a varied background. She spent many years in the corporate world; first as a high level employee of a well-known Hotel Management company responsible for the purchase and sale of many hotels, and then moving on to spend 12 years with the Hilton Hotels as a Director of Sales.
In the equestrian world, Melissa was actively involved in the hunter/jumper discipline as both an owner and a rider. She experienced considerable success while training under several top-level instructors in Atlanta, Georgia, and Wellington, Florida. Among her trainers was Geoff Teall, who guided her during the later stages of her time in this discipline.
After starting her involvement with the Palm Beach Equine Sports Complex and being exposed to the world of dressage, she decided to try her hand at Dressage, and switched disciplines 6 years ago. Since she made the change she has been training with Kelly Layne, one of the top trainers stabled at the Complex. Melissa has worked her way up in the dressage world over this short period of time and has already been awarded her Bronze and Silver Medals. She has recently acquired an amazing new Grand Prix level dressage horse and has begun on the exciting adventure of working toward success at the Grand Prix level as well as working to achieve her Gold Medal.
Melissa, who has been the Business Manager at the Palm Beach Equine Sports Complex for over 20 years, is the wife of the well-known Dr. Robert Brusie, equine surgeon at the Palm Beach Equine Clinic. Together they have raised two lovely daughters; Alyson who has recently graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and Kayla, a recent graduate of the University of Miami Business School.
Sarah Middleton
Operations Manager
Phone: +1 (561) 373-3796 | Email: airhavenequine@gmail.com
Sarah Middleton, originally from Victoria, B.C., Canada started her life in the event world winning many Canadian Equestrian Federation Year End Awards at the age of 13-14. After discovering the hunter jumper world, she transitioned to this discipline riding both event horses and off the track thoroughbreds. As a junior rider she went on to represent her home country of Canada in International Young Riders competition, which included International competition in Puerto Rico and also winning the prestigious Rising Star Award at Spruce Meadows. Sarah won her first Grand Prix at age 18.
As Sarah reached adulthood she went on to compete at the Grand Prix level in California as a working student of Bernie and Christine Traurig. Here she developed a new passion for managing and developing horses which in turn led to establishing a side business of breeding, foaling, starting and operations manager for thoroughbred
race horses for private executives. This gave her the impetus to move to the East Coast where she was lucky enough to work as an assistant trainer to Michael Matz and several other Hall of Fame trainers. From here she was able to receive her own trainer’s license allowing her to take a five year assistant management role at the private executive racing stable of business legend Morton Topfer & his wife Bobbi’s Castletop Stable.
Back in the world of show jumping, Sarah then had the sensational opportunity to manage & ride young horses for over a decade for Legacy Stables attending 5* shows with many top International riders in the irons of Legacy horses in North America, Europe and China. Next was one more management position for the Holtgers family where the exciting opportunity to be a part of Championship wins in Peelbergen, NL & Traverse City Michigan presented itself. Looking for roots a bit closer to home, Sarah is now operating her own business out of the Palm Beach Equine Sports Complex developing her own quality home-bred show jumpers for sale & lease.
Says Sarah, “I’ve had the ride of a lifetime working with legends in both sport & business. I have experienced veterinary medicine, shoeing, grooming from the very best, and mostly I have had the honor to not only manage 3 Olympic horses, but also even gallop race horses that hit the board in Triple Crown races… It’s all a thrill. I have endless g ratitude for the horses taking me around the world and back and for each and every one of the people along the way sharing with me something they have learned. I hope to pay it forward for the horses and their owners alike as a better horseman!”