Having ridden for over 50 years, Kenon Ruska has 30 years experience in training riders. Her broad background in English and Western riding, packing, driving and shoeing horses reflects her early years in Texas and Wyoming. In the late 1960's she taught western horsemanship. Since 1983, she has taught hunt seat equitation and trained show and field hunters.

Kenon graduated from Texas A&M with a B.Sc. in Animal Science with concentrated coursework at Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine. Employed as a veterinary assistant, she lobbied for licensing of veterinary technicians in Mississippi. In 1978, Kenon became the first veterinary technician certified in Mississippi. In the late 1990’s, she returned briefly to veterinary technician work in an equine hospital, where her duties included anesthesiology and critical care nursing.

A founding member of Mississippi Hunter Jumper Association, Kenon trained with top hunt seat trainers in the United States and competed in the jumper ring to the international level as an amateur. After opening Merit Hill Stables, she coached her students to year end awards in MHJA and AHSA in the early 1980’s. She served as an American Horse Shows Association Registered Steward from 1986 - 2001. Kenon judges local level hunter shows across the South and is a listed judge for HJAA.

For the last twenty years, she has concentrated on teaching foxhunters riding and hunting skills. 

Kenon has hunted with 23 packs in the U.S. and England. "It has been my privilege to whip in to the huntsmen of Chula Homa Hunt and The Mells Foxhounds, as well as ride with whippers-in and huntsmen of several other hunts in the US and the UK. In the past I have hunted the Merit Hill Hounds and served as field master for Whitworth Hunt and Chula Homa Hunt." Currently, she serves as whipper-in at Chula Homa Hunt.

Kenon judges and computer scores foxhound field trials throughout the Eastern United States. Kenon is honored to be the most requested field judge selected for the National Foxhunters Association Field Trial and The Chase Futurity Hunt. She served as field judge at the first FCNA field trial held in the US at Hillsboro Hunt and at the Midland Foxhound Trials. She judged the July National Foxhunt, the Southeast Trigg Field Trial, and the Mississippi State, Georgia State, Tennessee State, Illinois State and Louisiana State field trials as well as innumerable local and regional field trials. She is a past director of the Alabama-Mississippi-Tennessee FHA.

Kenon explains her teaching philosophy as explaining the 'why' as well as the 'how' of horsemanship skills, "I know that I will not be here for all of your riding life. Therefore I want to teach you the skills that you will need to continue riding throughout your life. I expect my beginner riders to be able to groom and saddle their own horses and my advanced riders to understand training techniques and emergency veterinary nursing. I want my hunting riders to understand the interaction of game, hounds and horses and to know the care required by each.”