Leah Lang-Gluscic and AP Prime. Photo by David Mullinix Photography.
AP Prime’s story starts like so many successful off-track-Thoroughbred tales — with a CANTER listing. CANTER has long helped eventers find upper-level prospects, and that’s exactly what happened when Leah Lang-Gluscic spotted then 5-year-old AP on the CANTER Illinois website. “I had just quit my job in finance three months before and decided to go professional,” Leah said. “I just had two horses at the time, and I was looking for prospects, but I wasn’t having any luck finding anything. I was on my way to pick up a horse trailer I had bought, and I decided to stop and check out AP on my way. He had an abscess on his left front that they never really treated. They asked for $2,000, and I offered $750. He’d already had eight weeks off because of the abscess. I got his feet sorted, gave him two weeks off and six months later he did his first horse trials.”
Like many off-track Thoroughbreds, AP (Aptitude X Czarina Kate, by The Prime Minister) — who raced 31 times and won just over $20,000 — settled into his new job like a pro. “He was really easy to train,” Leah said. “The first time I got on him, he was very well mannered. He’s very sensitive, but he’s never been a very hot horse. It did take me a good 15 minutes to get him to walk over his first pole on the ground. He did not want anything to do what that. As soon as we got over it, he’s never stopped at another fence in show jumping since. By his 10th ride, he was already doing little in and outs and crossrails. He loves to jump. I remember in his first two months of training that he jumped a mounting block once. He’s definitely the type of horse that looks for the flags.”
Leah Lang-Gluscic and AP Prime. Photo by WNC Photography.
Thanks to AP’s natural jumping ability, he had one start at beginner novice before Leah moved him up to novice. At the time, she still wasn’t sure if she was going to keep him as a personal horse or a sales prospect. “I got another horse not long after him, and I knew I was going to need to sell one of them; I just didn’t know which one it would be,” Leah said. “He did his first event in June 2011 at beginner novice, and he just ate up the cross country, so I moved him right up to novice. Then he did three novices and moved up to training. On the cross country, there was literally no difference for him from beginner novice to training. He didn’t even notice the jumps got bigger. That was the point at which I knew I could never sell him.”
Leah has been riding off-track Thoroughbreds since she was 10, but AP is the first one she’s brought through the levels by herself. She knows AP is an incredible example of just how good off-track Thoroughbreds can be in this sport. Case in point — AP placed second in his first CIC* at Fox River Valley almost exactly a year after his first start at beginner novice. He moved up to intermediate late last summer, and he finished 13th in the Red Hills CIC2* this March less than two years after beginning his eventing career — a job AP doesn’t take lightly. “He is a very serious horse,” Leah said. “He’s thoughtful about everything he does. He’s not overly affectionate, but every now and then he’ll give you a nuzzle, and it’s special. He’s very stoic.”
Next week on EN’s Got Talent: We’ll learn more about the challenges Leah has faced while bringing AP through the levels, which primarily revolve around his dressage. “My weakness is keeping my horses supple enough, so at home I’m trying to be diligent about that. My trainer Kathryn Barry really stays on top of me about that and understands AP and how sensitive he is.” We’ll also learn more about Leah’s plans for AP’s fall campaign — hint: the plans involve Fair Hill! — which will serve as preparation for his planned move up to Advanced at Rocking Horse next year.
