A Tribute to the No-Name: Bruce’s Tale

“How many riders have decided to retire a horse that no one has heard of but that deserved a press release?” asks Erika Adams of Road Less Traveled Eventing. Looking around, she and fellow eventer Katherine McDonough observed that there are many horses out there who, while they may not have quite made it to the big-time, were special and deserved to have their stories told — the premise of our new “Tribute to the No-Name” series. 

Erika Adams and Williston ("Bruce") at the 2012 Poplar Place CIC2*. Photo by David Mullinix Photography.

Erika Adams and Williston (“Bruce”) at the 2012 Poplar Place CIC2*. Photo by David Mullinix Photography.

There comes a point in every rider’s life when she needs to make a decision about her aging partner. I came to this crossroad with my current upper-level horse Williston, wondering if his ongoing battle with EPM had indeed ended his upper level career.

As my thoughts of retiring him solidified, I wondered if I should make some sort of announcement, an official social media statement that Baby Bruce was done chewing up CCI cross country courses.

Erika Adams and Williston ("Bruce") at the 2012 Poplar Place CIC2*. Photo by David Mullinix Photography.

Erika Adams and Williston (“Bruce”) at the 2012 Poplar Place CIC2*, where they finished 9th. Photo by David Mullinix Photography.

But then, something occurred to me: nobody knows who Bruce is. You probably don’t either, and I don’t blame you. Don’t worry — it’s not because you’re out of the loop or you don’t stalk EN enough. It’s because Bruce never went to Rolex. And he was rarely in the top ten of any FEI. And there is a reason for this.

You see, Bruce hates dressage. Hates. It. Often, I was elated to just get below a 40. I even got eliminated in dressage once when he flat out refused to trot the circles with his head down. (I believe the judge’s sympathetic words as Bruce hopped and danced on his hind legs were, “I’m sorry, but I … I just can’t.”)

But the confidence Bruce gave me leaving the start box was hard to compare to any other. He lives for cross country. Bruce is the closest thing I’ve had to a Rolex horse despite the dressage allergy. And that means something.

Erika Adams and Williston ("Bruce") at the 2012 Poplar Place CIC2*. Photo by David Mullinix Photography.

Erika Adams and Williston (“Bruce”) at the 2012 Poplar Place CIC2*. Photo by David Mullinix Photography.

This all got me thinking. How many eventers out there have retired their No-Name Rolex Horse? And by “Rolex,” I don’t necessarily mean that hallowed ground in Kentucky. I mean their Rolex. Their first FEI. Their Novice Three-Day. The local combined test. Young Riders. Their Pony Club A. Or even their Pony Club C-3. How many riders have decided to retire a horse that no one has heard of but that deserved a press release?

I found Bruce wandering around as a reject in a paddock on a farm in Florida accompanied by an exotic menagerie of animals including emus, ostriches, long-horned steer and various other creatures that scare me to this day.

He was 4 years old and scrawny and little with a hematoma on his chest, a bowed tendon and what would turn out to be a fractured point of hip. I should have run, not walked, away from him. But there was something about the way he looked at me, the way he followed me around — there was something special about him that I just couldn’t shake.

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First day of Bruce being with Erika, complete with hematoma.

I knew he had no resale value, and I tried to push him out of my mind. Be logical! I told myself. I weeded through other more sensible mounts, but I couldn’t stop thinking about that plain bay out with the wild animals.

Something in my gut made me buy him that day. I watched myself hand the owner $750 and brought my racetrack reject broken horse home from Williston, Florida. I let my mom name him. She called him Bruce.

Baby Brucie, with all of his quirks and talent and personality, made it to the Fair Hill CCI2* with me in 2012 with hopes of continuing on after that. But this sport is tough, and making plans can sometimes be for the fool-hardy, for shortly after that, it was obvious that something wasn’t quite right with Bruce, and he was diagnosed with EPM.

While he’s now back in good health, it became clear to me that the stress of the upper levels was not in his best interest. So I decided to retire him. And it broke my heart.

But, Bruce is now teaching — running Beginner Novice for the first time in 10 years. And seeing the fun he and his riders have out on course helps heal my heart.

Bruce going Beginner Novice with student Amanda Hara at River Glen H.T. Are his ears not EXACTLY THE SAME AS GOING INTERMEDIATE?? Presh. Photo by WNC.

Bruce going Beginner Novice with student Amanda Hara at River Glen H.T. Are his ears not EXACTLY THE SAME AS GOING INTERMEDIATE? Presh. Photo by WNC.

Bruce’s Cinderella story is a good one, but it’s certainly not the only one. There are more. There are better ones. There are horses out there with stories so rich, and they deserve to be told.

Please understand — I don’t mean to take away anything from the amazing equine athletes who do receive press releases upon their retirements. They have done amazing things, jumped epic jumps, been to iconic events and been classy along the way.

They’ve competed in Europe, tackled four-stars, been to the Olympics, flown on planes and lived rock-star lifestyles. They have gone on to teach young riders the ropes of eventing or strut their stuff in the dressage ring.

They deserve every bit of recognition they get and cookies for the rest of their days. But what I do mean to say is that while not everyone has had a horse the world has heard of, everyone has a horse that means the world to them.

Bruce embracing the retired life at Yellow Wood Farm. Photo by Katherine McDonough.

Bruce embracing the retired life at Yellow Wood Farm. Photo by Katherine McDonough.

Thank you, Erika, for sharing Bruce’s story, and may he thrive in this new phase of his life! Does YOUR special horse deserve a press release? Email it to [email protected] for inclusion in a future edition of “A Tribute to the No-Name.”