Her first word was horse...  That's what Heather Buras' parents say when asked how they knew their daughter was horse crazy.  Heather was born in 1975 to non-horsey parents, and in her whole family had only her father's sister to share her passion with.

Heather started riding in 1983 under John Moffatt, a hunter trainer from Massachusetts who wintered in her adopted home town of Naples, Florida.  "Mr. Moffat" and his horses were Heather's first introduction to off track Thoroughbreds.  With them, she learned the basics, and a lot about falling off and getting back on.

From Mr. Moffatt, Heather graduated to riding Saddlebred and Morgan show horses under the tutelage of Woody and Louise Henry, a top national trainer and his wife.  While with Woody and Louise, Heather grew from student and student-teacher, and then to Barn Manager and Assistant Trainer.  Louise gave Heather her start in instruction and Woody helped Heather to hone her ability to "go home and sleep on it" when working tricky horses, the appreciation of and the skill to ride with "hands lighter than a bumble bee," and so, so  much of the knowledge base from which she still operates today.  Without their guidance during her high school and college years, Heather would no doubt be crunching numbers behind a desk instead of playing all day for a living.

Since her college days, Heather has had the good fortune to work with many wonderful horses and people as stable manager for a field hunting-based community; manager of a 600 acre-400 horse Paint, Quarter Horse, and Thoroughbred breeding farm; and show horse manager for a nationally recognized A-Circuit Hunter farm.  She has also been a key player in the start-up of several public oriented horse facilities and has acted as consultant to many horse professionals around the country.

Today Heather operates A Pinch of Luck, Inc., a family oriented boarding facility located in Woodstock, Georgia.  There she manages the day-to-day responsibilities of running a sixty plus horse farm in addition to retraining and marketing her Thoroughbreds and running a very busy riding program.  Many of her "foster kids" find their new partners with her students, and A Pinch of Luck has several permanent ex-racer residents who hail from tracks across the U.S.