Throughout the 20+ years I have been involved with horses, I have had the opportunity to ride some incredible athletes.  Each of them had a different personality and each taught me something different about the art of horsemanship.  This is a tribute to honor the horses that played the biggest roles in my development as a horsewoman. 

Starfinder

Do you believe in love at first sight?  I surely experienced it with Star, but as I also experienced – all that glitters is certainly not gold.  I met Star at the Illini Railsplitter Appaloosa Show in 1989.  New to the Appaloosa show world, I knew few competitors and trainers.  As my family and I sat watching the 3 year old snaffle bit western pleasure, this mare jumped out at me.  She was stunning.  Her beautiful coloring, her smooth gait…I instantly fell in love.  After the class, I spent an entire day trying to figure out who the horse and rider were.  Eventually we tracked them down, I can’t even remember how.  The rider was a prominent trainer and the horse was a fairly green broke 3 year old that was already a National Champion in halter.  Before the week was out, I had my very first show horse.  My experiences with Star were challenging throughout our time together.  She had a fractious, nervous nature and I was a timid, uneducated rider.  While we never reached our full potential together, we did learn quite a bit from each other.  Star learned that riders can be kind and gentle and horse shows can be fun, and I learned that the art of riding is a give and take:  demanding something from a horse will only succeed for so long.  Love and kindness go a lot further in gaining respect than harshness does.  Star stayed with me for many years, until I was forced to sell her due to her intolerance to the Florida sand.  She produced a foal that I eventually showed and by the time we sold her, age and experience had mellowed her to the point that she excelled as a youth and lesson horse.

Prince Tyler

Tyler came along at a point just when I needed him most.  After unsuccessfully showing Star for 2 years, we realized that she was not the kind of horse I needed at that time.  Tyler fit the bill:  versatile, steady, and kind.  He was a fun horse, the kind that I took to shows and played on, but did well too.  I learned how to ride English on Tyler, and began doing showmanship and trail.  It was with Tyler that I won my first National titles:  Reserve Champion in Showmanship and Hunt Seat Equitation in 1991.  Tyler taught ME that horse shows can be fun and that hard work does pay off.  Tyler loved children and was happiest when he was packing around youngsters and having fun at shows.  Eventually I outgrew him and we sold Tyler to a family that uses him for their young children to ride and show. 

Chiped Ice

Icy came along when I outgrew Tyler.  He was quite possibly the most amazing and talented horse I have ever had the pleasure of riding.  I showed him for many years, from 1992 to 1998, when we retired him at the age of 22.  I learned many new events with Icy and had remarkable success.  He was the most reliable, stoic, talented horse that I’ve ever known.  He never once had an off day in the six years that I showed him, and we hauled a lot during those years.  Icy was an icon in the Appaloosa World, the kind of horse that everyone knew and admired.  I was privileged to have the honor of riding him.  During the years that I showed Icy, I transitioned into competing heavily at the National and World level.  We won many titles together, particularly in Western Riding events, where he excelled.  Riding Icy allowed me to develop self confidence and trust in my abilities, and he taught me the art of being a gracious winner.  He also demonstrated the value in delivering a steady, consistent performance.  It broke my heart to part with him, but he didn’t enjoy retirement in the Florida heat and returned to his previous owners in Ohio to pack around their kids and enjoy life. 

 

Super Skirt B

From my very first horse show, the gaming events captured my eye.  I wanted a game horse from the first barrel class I watched.  In 1992, my dream came true and Super came into my life.  She was older and seasoned and was there to teach me the ropes of running speed events.  She knew her job and did it, and had a little sass to go along with it.  I had so much fun with her in the short time we had together.  One of my proudest moments was when we placed 10^th in the Camas Prairie Stump Race in our first National class together.  I still don’t know how we did it – I was a nervous wreck and forgot everything I knew as soon as the timer started!  But that was Super, 100% heart and grit.  I only had the chance to ride her for about 4 months before she suffered a career ending injury.  We were at a regional horse show, rounding the third barrel when she lost her footing and went down.  She popped back up and ran home, and still got a good enough time to place, but then couldn’t walk any further.  Unable to recover enough to run again, we retired her and she spent her remaining years with our family.  Super taught me to persevere, always give 110%, and to never, NEVER give up.  She produced one foal, the only horse I still share my life with today.  Super was euthanized due to complications of old age in 2007 and is buried under a tree at the old family farm in Ocala.

Some Kind of Gin

If Super was all heart and grit, Floyd was all power and passion!  I started showing Floyd after Super retired, and the two couldn’t have been more different.  I thought I knew how to ride a game horse after Super, but soon learned otherwise.  At my very first show with Floyd (again, the Illini Railsplitter…..hmmm, I’m seeing a pattern emerge here), I ended up hanging off the arena railing after failing to turn the first barrel and crashing into the wall.  That wouldn’t be the last time arena crew would be chasing my horse around the arena as I dusted myself off.  Floyd was the sweetest, most gentle horse under most circumstances, but when he was meant to run, he RAN.  All he knew was speed and all I knew was to hang on as if my life depended on it – which I suppose it did.  Eventually we clicked and actually did very well in the show ring, placing at the Nationals and leading the Nation in the Nez Perce stake race.  What did Floyd teach me?  Well, first, how to fall off and survive!  All jokes aside, I did learn from Floyd the importance of a quiet seat and hands.  And most importantly, he taught me to let go when it’s time.  Sometimes things just can’t be fixed, as much as you want to fix them, and it’s important not to get stuck in it.  There is a fine line between tenacity and stubbornness and the true horseman can recognize it.  Unfortunately, Floyd was euthanized in 1998 due to an injury he sustained while in training. 

Zippo Par Three

Oh, Par Three (or Spanky, as I called him for reasons I won’t get into here)…..My parents purchased Spanky as a two year old to serve as the cornerstone to our new breeding operation.  He went on to win titles in Western Pleasure during his 3 year old year, and then was retired to breeding for several years.  He was gorgeous and well bred and sired some great offspring.  After I spent a couple of years in the Non-Pro events excelling in pattern classes with Icy, I decided I was ready for a new challenge:  Western Pleasure.  Thus began my show career with Spanky.  He was easily the most challenging horse that I have ever ridden.  Before I came along he’d been ridden by only one person, Cleve Wells, who is a legend in Western Pleasure training.  He’d only done western pleasure, no all around events.  And he’d spent the prior 8 years doing nothing but breeding.  Despite all this we did well.  Together we won titles in Western Horsemanship and Halter, and placed well against trainers in open western pleasure events.  But Spanky was tough.  He was an incredibly talented horse, and he knew it.  He didn’t like to be told how to do things, and would get irritated when asked to extend the trot or pick up his feet in trail classes.  He HATED showmanship, because he had to trot faster than he wanted to.  I still remember how he’d grit his teeth and snarl at me when we practiced too much.  But, as it commonly goes, our greatest challenges are often our greatest growth points.  Spanky made me raise my game.  He demanded perfection from me, and was intolerant of anything less.  He reminded me every time I rode him that we were a partnership and that he would not carry me as a passenger, but only as a rider.  I showed him for a few years, but ultimately missed doing the all around events and he was sold to a large farm in Florida for their son to show.  He went on to compete for several more years and was then retired to be a lesson horse.

Sheziperfect Star

Classy was a special horse to me.  She was the product of two of my show horses:  Star and Spanky.  She was a beautiful horse and I was so proud to ride her at shows.  I didn’t get to show Classy for long.  She came along at a time when I was riding Icy and Spanky and I couldn’t manage a third western horse.  She was in training in PA, so I did travel up there to show her and did extremely well at the regional level in western events.  We did compete at the World Show, and made the finals in western pleasure but were unable to complete the class (she colicked).  I never got to ride Classy as intensely as my other horses, as she was away in training for most of the time that I showed her.  But I experienced with her the harsh realities of owning a horse business.  As much as I loved all of my horses, Classy was a product of our breeding operation and I was never intended to keep her.  As difficult as it was, we sold her to a family in NC to use as a walk trot horse.

Zip My Mini Skirt

Tiny arrived early while I was away at a horse show.  She was an experiment:  since Super was retired from riding, we decided to breed her.  Tiny ended up being the best parts of both of her parents.  She got Super’s hardy tenacity and athleticism and Spanky’s sharp mind and stout build.   She got off to a slow start in life – she matured very slowly and we had a backlog of horses to train and break.  But once she got going, she never looked back.  Tiny is so easygoing and consistent that it’s easy to forget her relative lack of experience.  But that’s just her:  she loves to be challenged and she loves to have a job.  She is an amazing little horse.  I began running her in 2002, but sporadically, because of my school schedule.  We have never won a championship or a high point, but she is one of my favorite horses to date.  Everything about her is fun.  When I had to make a decision on which horse to keep as we dispersed the family herd, it was not easy and at first I questioned the choice I’d made.  It didn’t take long to realize that no other horse would do for me at this point in my life.  Tiny reminds me to enjoy the time I have with her – it’s not all about competition and points.  It’s about building a solid relationship with your animal, and I am so thankful every day that I get to share my life with her.  She lives nearby with a wonderful family and I see her as often as I can.  She is the inspiration and the joy behind FromTheHorsesBack.

Holy Moly MMR

 

Holy Moly…..he was my diamond.  Moe was the grand finale of my National show career, the composite of my previous show horses, the ultimate test of all the skills I had learned throughout  the years.  We knew when we bought Moe that he wouldn’t be with us for long – I had plans to return to graduate school and my parents were preparing to retire from horse ownership.  He lived up to all expectations we had of him and we excelled for several years in the show arena.  Moe was one of the hardest horses I ever lost, both because I wasn’t ready to let go of him and because he was that irreplaceable.  I knew that I would likely never have the opportunity to show another horse like him.  What did Moe teach me?  I think he was more of a test for me of all the things I’d learned.  He forced me to put together all the pieces that I’d accrued over the years.  After several years of competition and many Championship titles, I knew it was time to end an era.  I was returning to further my education and Moe was far too young, healthy, and talented to waste away waiting for me to (hopefully) be able to show him again.  He is still competing today and still winning at the National and World level.  I still tear up everytime I think of him, but I’m glad to know that he’s happy and healthy and doing what he loves.

 

The stories of these horses are what have defined my life over the past 20 years.  I have grown with them and enjoyed their company.  The person that I am today is a direct result of the path that I chose back in 1986, and I credit all of these horses, as well as the others I’ve ridden, in allowing me to explore and nurture different aspects of my personality.  Without them, who knows where I’d be today.  Definitely a lot less fulfilled, I know that much. 

Thank you for taking this journey with me and I hope you take a moment to stop and reflect on those experiences that have shaped your life.  They can be so fleeting, and before you know it they are gone, with nothing left but the memories.