“My whole life is a study in planning and flexibility,” said Dorrie Eisenberg as she sits on her couch, propping up her broken leg, freshly pinned from surgery.

A pediatrician at the Winchester Pediatric Clinic in Winchester, Va., Eisenberg had planned on competing her gray Irish Sport Horse Chief in the USHJA Zones 3 and 4 Adult Amateur Jumper Championship in Culpeper, Va.

But “one silly split-second funny decision” with her young horse, Just Grande, at a trot jump the weekend before in the low amateur-owner hunter division at Winston National (Va.) left Eisenberg headed to the emergency room instead.

“We were ready,” said Eisenberg. “We were all cruising for it. But you know, you go with it.”

Despite her plans being derailed by a cast on her leg for the next month or two, Eisenberg isn’t looking for sympathy.

“You just can’t sit here and whine about it,” she said. “I mean you can, because it hurts. But then you go on.”

Introduced to horses at 5 years old through her mother, Millie Baker, Eisenberg grew up competing in Pony Club, foxhunting and eventing in Sussex County, N.J. But when she was about to head to Duke University (N.C.) for medical school, Eisenberg sold her horse and planned to focus on her studies. 

“And it lasted like two weeks, maybe three,” said Eisenberg. “And I was like, ‘No I need to do something.’ So I looked up the local Pony Club because that was a connection I had, and I volunteered to be an instructor. And so I started going out on weekends and teaching some lessons.”

One thing led to another, and before long she was the Pony Club’s head instructor while also learning about brain behavior in her rotations.

“You know, you have to be a bit OCD to go to med school,” Eisenberg confessed. “You have to want to focus really hard. But then, for me, I need to counteract that with something. And the horses were perfect. So I was going to stay in touch. And I fit it in when I can.”

If fitting it in means changing disciplines or riding in the dark, then that’s what Eisenberg does to make it work.

“I planned to be a three-day rider, and I bought a really nice young horse while I was in my residency,” she said. “And I thought she was going to be my world class three-day horse. And she just thought it was barbaric to be expected to jump into the muddy water. Jumping over water, no problem. Into was. But I loved the horse, so I thought she’d be much more suited to being a jumper.”

And while she switched to the jumper classes for this particular horse, she realized the horse show world was a better fit than eventing for her constantly changing schedule as a pediatrician.

Dorrie Eisenberg showing Chief. Photo by Mareish Media

Eisenberg served as a faculty member at the Duke University School of Medicine for pediatrics after her residency there and then moved to Virginia in 1994 with her son Sam, two horses and two dogs.

Wanting to experience the hands-on side of medicine instead of the academic, she looked for two years to find a practice with the high quality she wanted that would also be close to her ex-husband, so her son could visit him on the weekends. The fact that Winchester was in the middle of horse country created an added bonus for Eisenberg. 

Her typical work day has her leaving her Bakersfield Farm in Boyce, Va., between 7:30 and 7:45 in the morning. She first goes to the hospital for a few hours. Then she heads to her office and sees patients ranging from infants to 18-year-olds, singing numerous Christmas carols throughout the day in the hopes of minimizing the tears resulting from shots.

She usually arrives home between 4 and 5:30, depending on whether or not it’s flu and cold season. Then it’s her turn to decompress and ride two to four horses.

“I have an indoor, which I built totally as a self-indulgence so that I could ride at 6 o’clock at night in January,” she said.

And while she typically works 50 hours a week, five days a week, her schedule fluctuates depending on on-call hours, weekend shifts and night shifts.

“It’s not like I have set days off or anything,” said Eisenberg. “We do make out our schedule months in advance. So I reserve my time. I use all my vacation days to go horse shows.”

Eisenberg currently owns four show horses and alternates between the hunters and the jumpers, picking shows that give her the most opportunities in the ring, so she can optimize her vacation time.

“I show because I like showing,” she said. “I love my horses. I love trying to do the best performance I can on that day. But I’m not trying to qualify for anything. You know, it is what it is. I’m going to go out there today and ride this horse in this class the best I can at this moment. That’s what it is.

“Some of the amateurs get really nervous,” she continued. “I feel bad for them because we are doing this for fun. Don’t look like you’re going to vomit. We’re all here for each other.”

For Eisenberg, who trains with Ian Silitch, the horse shows offer camaraderie and a chance to continue the training process.

“I’m at a point where it’s just as exciting to have a young one get two clean changes at home as it is to go in the ring sometimes and get a good hunter trip,” she said. “Little things.”

And whether she’s riding in her indoor working on things Silitch has given her for homework, showing Thoroughly and Just Grande in the low amateur-owners hunters, or having her friends bring Chief to the window so she can give him treats regardless of her cast, Eisenberg enjoys it all.

Chief coming to the door for treats with Michelle Shipe. Photo by Mareish Media

“Life is always a process,” she said. “I have probably more patience than a lot of people for young, be it young humans, young dogs or young horses. Not everybody’s built that way.

“I’ve always been good at trying to make plans, but then you’ve got to go with what happens,” she continued, her crutches resting nearby. “And horses will teach you that. The day you plan, ‘Well, I’m going to go out today and perfect my flat work.’ You know, that’s the day you go there, and the wind’s blowing, and you might as well shorten your stirrups up and trot and canter. You’ve got to go with it.”