Growing up in the Southern Highlands of NSW, Lita started riding at around eight years old on an Australian Stud Book Pony called Koonama Nimbus.  While Nimbus was only around 12 hh, he had the heart of a 17 hh thoroughbred, and believed that with Lita on him he could keep up with them galloping around the paddocks.  Lita quickly learnt how to stop a bolting pony.  They built a great relationship together, having fun playing cowboys and Indians riding bareback without a bridle, to representing the local pony club at agricultural shows. 

Lita's godfather then bought a chestnut thoroughbred mare called Nellie, who became Lita's first eventing horse.  This partnership won their first cross country competition when Lita was 15 yrs old, going around very quickly, but lacking a little in finesse.  Lita's passion for jumping and eventing grew as she competed at many one day events and jumping competitions around the South Coast.  

Coralie Smyth (Lita's mum) then purchased some Warmblood horses from drought stricken Queensland, one of which was a two year old bay filly by Duell Schutz, who was named Lizzie.  She was in very poor condition and could have been a case for the RSPCA, but Coralie and Lita fed her up over the next couple of years, then broke her in.  When Coralie was manager of Dunmore House Equestrian Centre, Lita was involved with teaching, supervising trail rides and organising one day events.  Lita & Lizzie competed at their first ODE at Dunmore House.

Lita's riding career then progressed, achieving success in dressage, showjumping and eventing. She trained with a variety of instructors including Heath Ryan, Simon Kale, Wayne Roycroft, Pip Longworth, Claire Wickens, Christopher Bartels , Ulrich Klatte, Joy Charlton, and Janice Usherwood to name a few.

Lita left school and moved to Sydney, and stabled Lizzie at Kareena Equestrian Centre, but had little access to any jumps or cross country training.  It was then she realised she had to find out more about this thing called dressage.  Lizzie's movement was spectacular and the pair started to excel in the dressage arena.   Lita began competing regularly throughout the years at dressage competitions including Clarendon, Northside, Sugarloaf, SSHOA and was involved in starting up Sydney Dressage Inc.  During her time at Kareena, Lita was responsible for teaching young and beginner riders as well as riding other people's horses when they presented problems for their owners.

Coralie then bought a young Warmblood by Northern Ty Cardin who we called Harry (Xerxes II).  Sadly Lizzie died from a snakebite, and Lita then began to concentrate on Harry.  Not long after however, she was asked by her boyfriend, Ben, to move to Switzerland.  An offer she couldn't refuse, and later he became her husband.

Whilst living overseas Lita rode in Switzerland, and travelled to Portugal, riding Lusitano stallions in the higher level dressage movements (flying changes, piaffe, passage, even the Spanish walk).  For nearly seven years Ben and Lita lived in a quaint little town called Dubendorf, about ten minutes out of Zurich. The life there was good, but after the birth of their daughter, Monet in 2004 they decided to move back to Australia.  They purchased a lovely property in Somersby, near the Central Coast of NSW and called it "Dubendorf" (pronounced Doo-ben-dorf).