Hoofing It

Realtor Elaine Sherer has a story that would make little girls across the United States beg to move to Germany.

When she was eight years old and living in rural Bavaria, she was diagnosed with scoliosis. The recommended treatment? "I got a prescription for horseback riding," she says with a laugh. "I was the happiest kid you could ever imagine. I always wanted to [ride], but my parents were never going to spring for it. This way, it was covered by a prescription by German healthcare."

She took a hiatus from horses when she moved to the United States at age 17 to live with her father in Fort Myers, but after she started riding again at 23, she took her hobby to the next level. Sherer now competes in dressage, which requires the horse to perform an intricate series of movements often likened to "equine ballet," at the Intermediaire 2 level, which is one step below Olympic Games-level.

Her days start and end with her horses—before going to work, she feeds and takes care of them, then heads to the office to put together marketing plans for her listings, work on advertising, prospect for new customers and show residential properties for SellState Achievers Realty in Fort Myers. When she returns home, she gets ready for her evening ride on her show horse, Bravo, in her lighted outdoor arena, sometimes as late as 9 p.m.

There’s not much free time between her personal and professional pursuits, she explains. "I was in Naples previewing a house, and on my way back I pick[ed] up a pallet of hay. So here I am in my business clothes, loading hay up in the back of the truck. I just combine [tasks] where I can."