Classic Eventing Nation

What are you thankful for this year? That’s the question we asked EN readers for the 2018 Thanksgiving Challenge from World Equestrian Brands, and your responses were numerous and heartfelt. Over the holiday weekend, we are honored to share your special stories. You can view an archive of them here. 

Photo courtesy of Hannah Dennehy.

Just over a year ago, on November, 18th 2017, I made the difficult decision to send my heart horse south for retirement. Echo’s incredible life story is a long one but a very heartwarming tale.

About 20 years ago, a woman named Carla had gone down to Florida for a year and was looking to find a cheap project horse off the track. Something that would keep her horse fix alive while away from her farm in Tennessee. While at the race track, a redheaded 3-year-old that was a royal failure on the track caught Carla’s eye. He came leaping out of his stall on two hind legs but he had that kind eye and Carla knew he was special. After some serious negotiations with the track trainer, Echo was purchased for $1,700 and two bottles of Crown Royal whiskey.

Not long after, a trail riding accident from stepping in a palm tree hole left Carla with a severely broken arm and a fresh three old thoroughbred in need of a job. Limited by her arm Carla decided to see if Echo could learned to drive a cart. Well drive a cart he did. Young Echo drove his cart happily around Florida farm country as if he was born to it. Who would have thought a little racehorse would learn to drive with such joy? Quickly smitten with the steady mind Echo possessed Carla decided to take him home to her farm in Tennessee.

Back in Tennessee, Carla was a member of a large fox hunting group called the Tennessee Valley Hunt Club. Echo took to fox hunting like a fish takes to water and would often lead the following of the hounds. Echo took care of his rider as if it was his sole mission and would throw his heart over every fence. Carla loved Echo more than anything but she also loved a young girl named Brooke. So, when her childhood and best friend’s daughter began looking for a special horse, they asked for Echo.

Carla, though hesitant at first, could not refuse and gave Echo to Brooke, as a sign of love for her dearest friends. The partnership of Echo and Brooke quickly grew into a special bond. Brooke decided to to take Echo on the show jumping circuit and it quickly became very clear the sky was the limit because there was no jump too high or question too technical. Echo believed he could fly, and fly he did. The partnership of Echo and Brooke inspired Carla to name her farm after the pair. Thus, Echo Brooke Farm was born.

Brooke had dreams of competing in the Grand Prix; however, a terrible accident while at a show left Echo with a torn tendon and Brooke with a broken pelvis. They returned to the farm that was their namesake to recover. Although both recovered well, after many long weeks Brooke found herself needing a break from competition and so decided to give to a trainer friend Echo with the promise of first right of refusal should she ever sell.

Unfortunately, a year later when the price for first right of refusal was about three times higher than the price they paid, Brooke could not afford her dear friend. He was lost to the people that loved him most and sold to a man in South Carolina. Carla was able to contact to man once and share part of the tale. As fate would have it less than a year later Echo again had been sold, but this time Carla had no idea where he had gone.

Carla and Brooke did their best to try to track Echo down and find their heart horse. With Echo now in his mid-teens it seemed unlikely he had found a soft landing. Echo was gone from their lives without a trace. Meanwhile, little did they know Echo was eventing around New England again helping a young girl to build castles in the sky.

I had been down in Aiken, South Carolina as a working student and was in search of a horse to show me the ropes of eventing. My trainer convinced me to try Echo even though he was twice my budget and a bit on the older side at 13. I didn’t like him at first. I had started riding originally in classical dressage and that was the one thing Echo did not do. It was like riding a llama with an incredibly stubborn attitude. We jumped him over a few cross rails and he was good but I was still less than impressed.

However, my trainer wouldn’t give up — this was the horse. She ultimately convinced me to go back and try Echo again. Thank God she did! We managed to get permission from the owner to take Echo out with a group of horses on Hitchcock Woods, a 2,000-acre land reserve with fox hunting fences. The moment I picked up a canter and we flew through the woods down a line of jumps, I knew I was riding something special. My God did this horse have heart!

Unfortunately, reality set in and I had to say no. I just could not afford this horse and I was New England bound in just two weeks. So it seemed my horse hunt was to meet an unsuccessful end. However, a few days later Echo’s owner contacted me saying, this was a special horse with a beautiful story that deserved a young girl to love him. He believed Echo would excel in eventing. The man said he would offer Echo to me for almost half his listed price and if I said no, Echo would return to his farm to live out his days. I said yes, and I am so thankful everyday that I did.

Photo courtesy of Hannah Dennehy.

Fast forward seven years later. It all started when a friend of mine contacted me out of the blue and said she wanted to write a book about Echo’s life. I knew he had a farm named after him in Tennessee and that he had a beautiful story but I didn’t know the details. I Googled the farm and sent a message via Facebook that went something like, “Hi, I think I own the horse that your farm is named after.” A late night phone call with Carla and I learned an incredible story about my courageous horse. There was laughter and there were tears. The terrible things she had imagined that had befallen her beloved friend were not to be. There he was eventing around New England making a young girl’s dreams come true all along. She told me that if Echo ever needed a home he had one with her.

Then fate came knocking again. Two weeks later I found myself in financial crisis looking for a new barn to send my horses to. There were few options I could afford and I was worried about losing both my friends and terrified about what kind of home you would find last minute for a semi-retired event horse and a half-crazy 5-year-old, off the track Thoroughbred, that would be hard to find a home for. So with options runout, I called Carla and asked if Echo would really have a lifetime home with her. Without hesitation the answer was, yes.

To give Echo up and put him on a trailer where I would not be on the other end to greet him was the hardest decision I’ve made in my life, but it was also without a doubt the right one. The night before Echo left for Tennessee I remember sitting on Echo bareback and bridleless while he happily munched his hay, out in the cow pasture gazing at the stars. I remember thinking how lucky am I ? What a journey? What a life? My heart was breaking but also so very full.

At last, Echo’s’ life has come full circle. Just a few weekends back after 10 years apart Echo and Brooke were reunited on a weekend trip, as Brooke undergoes chemotherapy and begins her battle against cancer.

This is the horse that just keeps on giving. Echo was there through the toughest times of my life. My journey and dream of learning to event to my first Preliminary horse trials. He was there for me through college, the beginning of adulthood, and the loss of our family farm. When a training accident resulted in me being kicked in the face by a young horse, Echo gave me courage to get back on, and in the death of my father, the soldier that never came home, Echo gave me strength. He was the horse that built the horseman and I am so grateful.

This year wasn’t the toughest year of my life but it was a close second and it was a year without my best friend. To love unconditionally is sometimes to let go and I wasn’t the best thing for Echo anymore. He owed me nothing and was the horse of a lifetime. He deserved the retirement of a champion. We all want our horses to live long happy lives but what happens when they grow old and can no long carry us? We owe them a soft landing, a forever home. I had never met Carla and she didn’t know me and yet a redheaded thoroughbred brought our stories together and together we are giving back to Echo the life he gave to us. I have trained many horses and ridden many more but I didn’t think I would experience another partnership like the one I shared with Echo. Echo set the bar far too high.

Again as fate would have it , that psychotic young Thoroughbred — the one I didn’t think anyone would want? Well, that fiery redhead that was borderline dangerous has wormed his way into my heart. This past year I’ve built a bond with Finn on literal blood, broken bones, sweat and tears, and it’s turning into another beautiful journey. It is all thanks to Echo. Echo taught me to have courage, grit and the patient compassion to handle a horse like Finn.

So this year I am thankful to have experienced the incredible legendary heart of a Thoroughbred. I am grateful and so very blessed that such incredible animals have been apart of my life. I think we all have that one horse that built us, changed us, made us better, or carried us when life had us on the ground. This Thanksgiving, raise a glass to that special horse and be thankful because to experience such a horse is an incredible gift. We are the lucky ones.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

What are you thankful for this year? That’s the question we asked EN readers for the 2018 Thanksgiving Challenge from World Equestrian Brands, and your responses were numerous and heartfelt. Over the holiday weekend, we are honored to share your special stories. You can view an archive of them here. 

Photo courtesy of Andi Burros.

My first immediate thought when reading the prompt for this contest was my horse of course. I am completely obsessed with my horse and Eventing Nation. Every night while on the couch with my husband watching television I swear he says to me, “What are you looking at?” I am trying to catch up on all the eventing news, so I say “Eventing Nation, duh!”

But the truth is I am really thankful for what I call, the best horse show husband ever. Without my husband, I definitely would not be where I am right now.

When we first met I had not ridden in years and we lived in an area where horses we not a possibility. In other words, he was not aware how horse crazy I was. I ended up going overseas with my job for two years. It was a war zone, so I went alone, at the time we were not married but when I came home for my first leave we got married. It was definitely a rough two years but I learned a lot about life, like don’t short your dreams.

When I returned I was stationed in a much more horse friendly area, thank goodness. I started riding my Mom’s old horse, retired to dressage, so boring, I only dreamed of jumping. My husband and I never really discussed buying a horse but a friend found one on her Facebook that was for sale, an OTTB. I took off from work during the week and drove to see him, almost five hours. I hadn’t ridden much just the dressage horse and had not jumped at all in years! But I sat on Magic for five minutes and was sold. We never jumped and barely cantered but I loved him. To this day I cannot describe why but I knew he was the one.

The test ride. Photo courtesy of Andi Burros.

I got off and called my husband immediately. I remember him asking, “Do you like him?.” Of course I love him — he said “then buy him.” Two weeks later we owned Magic, my first very own horse. Boy it has been a roller coaster too. I knew I wanted to event because that is what I wanted to do since I was five but I never had the opportunity or money when I was younger. I received a ton of advice, probably way too much, went to see tons of trainers and coaches until I finally settled in with Ashley Johnson in Ocala, Florida. (Ashley truly deserves her own recognition — AWESOME).

Only problem she was an hour and a half away — we still didn’t have a horse trailer, and barely had a truck. So my husband, being super awesome, bought us a brand new horse trailer. Because the truck we had wasn’t making the trips to Ocala, he bought us a brand new truck. We are two average working adults, we make decent money but I must say that every penny I earn goes directly to horses and dogs. It definitely hasn’t been easy, my husband often yells about the amount of boxes coming to the house, jokes that the UPS man knows my name and the names of the dogs and says if I order one more pair of breeches he will take my credit card, but he won’t (I think).

So my greatest horse show husband set me up with an awesome horse and set us on our way but that is not the best part. My husband goes to every lesson and every show with me. As much as he hates it, he even pays attention to the dreadful dressage lessons. He builds me cross country jumps and moves them around the field. He spent an afternoon videotaping me and yelling at me about my body position, who could ask for more than that! When I travel I never have to scoop poop, because he has already done it. He follows us around during cross country schooling with waters and Gatorades, jump starts peoples trucks, holds horses, picks up dropped poles and even saddles horses. I have to admit, if he for some reason, is not there, EVERYONE, not just me, is disappointed.

My husband has been the one to tell me I am good enough and I can do it when I am in the kitchen in tears. Now to beat all he is in the process of moving us 45 minutes closer to Ashley and Ocala and providing us with a farm so we can all be in one place. He says now you can ride at our house you don’t have to drive to the barn every day, and you will save time and you can use that time to ride. Every time we are on a trip home I think about how thankful I am for my husband who has made all my childhood dreams possible.

Currently we are competing at Beginner Novice level preparing for our move to Novice. According to my husband we will go Prelim! He seems to be able to make everything happen. I may ride but without him none of this would be happening, thank you best horse show husband ever!

What are you thankful for this year? That’s the question we asked EN readers for the 2018 Thanksgiving Challenge from World Equestrian Brands, and your responses were numerous and heartfelt.

One entry in particular jumped out to EN’s chinchilla judging squad: Julie Howard’s “Ode to the Adult Rider Program.” The USEA Adult Rider Program, in all its various area incarnations, deserves all the praises we can sing unto it — plus we’re a sucker for a cheeky rhyme. Our winner will receive a custom E.A. Mattes Square or Eurofit Sheepskin pad in her choice of dressage or all purpose style and with two piping colors. This amazing prize (retail value: $330) is made possible thanks to our friends World Equestrian Brands.

Over the holiday weekend, we are honored to share all of your special stories of thanks. We’re thankful for YOU. Go Eventing. 

Julie Howard with Missy Alaimo volunteering at GMHA H.T. and getting points for their teams: “The ARP is all about friendship and good competitive fun!” Photo courtesy of Julie Howard.

Ode to the Adult Rider Program

‘Twas the night before Thanksgiving and all through the barn
I’m thinking of things I’m thankful for, so I’ll spin you a yarn
Yes, it’s cold up here in ol’ Area 1
But all that it means is that we pack in the fun!
It’s a short season but we love it because of our mates
Both four legged and two legged and ones behind gates
We are blessed with the Adult Rider Program for oldies like me
Suzanne Adams runs a wonderful program and we participate with glee
It starts with team selection for young and for old
We’re put with a group at random and we do as we’re told
We come up with crazy names like “James and the Js”
Or the “Lucky Lucious Ladies” and we hope that we slay
We score points for placing and for just showing up
In our quest for those bragging rights and the big first place cup
We all volunteer and get points for that too
Marge Potorski’s got that prize locked up despite what we do
We have our own Facebook page and trash talk others we will
We love to tease each other and compete just for the thrill
It just doesn’t matter if you win or you place
We get points for entering and showing our face
There are the GMHA Young and the Rest of Us challenges
And other challenges at shows
We win saddle pads and ribbons and other swag dontcha know
The prizes we love them because they are swanky
We sport our ARP saddle pads and damn they look dandy
We also have parties and challenges galore
The selfie competition when volunteering helps even the scores
Some people are funny in their rain gear when judging
And others post selfies when they’re scribing and not budging
But the RIBBONS! They’re HUGE! They go down to the floor
As for the color of them, it doesn’t really matter any more
For we are the Adult Riders and our bones they may creak
But we have so much fun, both the bold and the meek!
So yes, I am thankful for that much and more
And look out 2019 – We’ll be watching our team scores!

Many thanks to the great Adult Rider Program Coordinator for Area 1 – Suzanne Adams! It’s a
blast and we can’t wait until next year!