Classic Eventing Nation

Elisa Wallace and Reloaded in show jumping. Photo by GRC Photo.

After being crowned 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover Eventing Champion earlier in the day, Elisa Wallace and Reloaded were hefted onto the competition’s highest throne at the end of yesterday’s Finale when fans voted the horse “America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred.”

Elisa has come close to winning the top award several times, which made this year’s honor extra sweet.

“I have been pretty good at winning on the preliminary day, but I’ve lost on the Finale day,” Elisa says. “I knew I had some class horses coming and I thought I had a shot.”

“America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred” is a fan’s choice award, so to speak, and at the end of the day fans came out in droves to cast their votes for the 2013 15.3-hand bay gelding (Magna Graduate x Curious Cat, by Tale Of The Cat) owned by Michelle Chisholm. Bred in Kentucky by Elisabeth H. Alexander, Reloaded won $20,177 in 19 racing starts.

Reloaded and Elisa Wallace, winners of America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred, accepting their $10,000 prize check. Photo by Anne Litz.

Michelle also owned Elisa’s 2017 Makeover mount Sir Teddy. Kelly Lupton found the horse at the racetrack and Michelle bought him in September 2017 via reseller Jessica Redman. He had a few months off and went to Wallace in December, and then did his first recognized Beginner Novice event after just nine off-track rides.

“Basically my daughter fell in love with [Elisa and Simply Priceless], and I said I want to see this whole process happen, how you bring one off the track. And Elisa is who I called,” Michelle says.

Elisa is a longtime advocate for the Thoroughbred breed — in addition to competing Simply Priceless through the four-star level, she’s made time in her schedule to attend the Thoroughbred Makeover every year since she was first asked to judge the Freestyle division in 2015. “I was like ‘Oh no, I need to do this!’ ” she recalls.

Elisa Wallace and Reloaded. Photo by GRC Photo.

“I think it’s a great place to train—when are you gonna get that atmosphere with a young horse? On top of that, people like to watch the transformation [from racehorse to sport horse] and it gets the word out about the Thoroughbreds,” she says. “It’s fun. For me, I never see it as the end is the [Makeover]. It’s just another place to go train. And, you know, it’s a bonus when the horses do well.”

“He’s a pretty special dude,” Elisa says of Reloaded. “He’s super talented, very athletic. He can be a handful at times, but you put him to work and he’s amazing. I have high hopes for him; I think he’s really talented. I think he could be a four-star horse, which you don’t oftentimes feel that but I think he’s got it.”

Since their first Beginner Novice event in December of last year, Elisa and Reloaded have completed six Novice events together with nary a jump penalty on their record winning two and picking up a couple blue ribbons along the way. Check out this cross country helmet cam video of the pair competing in Open Novice at Stable View last weekend, and here’s a between-the-ears view of their Finale performance yesterday.

“Thoroughbreds are amazing horses; my four-star horse will do anything for me. Give them something to go do, and they take that deep breath and they’ll do anything for you,” Elisa continues, her voice cracking. “It’s hard for me to talk about without crying; it’s just something that they do. People ask me why I deal with mustangs and Thoroughbreds, and that’s why. And they’re very similar that way. They’re always the underdog.”

Elisa and Reloaded also competed in the Freestyle division, where they finished 17th. Their routine included liberty work and also incorporated one of Wallace’s mustangs, Fledge.

Elisa Wallace and Reloaded in the Freestyle. Photo by GRC Photo.

Congrats, Elisa and Reloaded! For full results from the 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover, click here.

[Elisa Wallace and Reloaded Are Crowned America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred]

Thoroughbred Makeover links: Website, Schedule, Marketplace, Seminars, Finale Live Stream, Live Scores

Like Magic WTW — Champion Yearling Colt and Reserve Champion Yearling Overall. Photo by Kate Boggan.

Many readers in the eventing world may be familiar with Amanda Chance and her blog The $900 Facebook Pony. The title is pretty self-explanatory. In December of 2013 Amanda purchased “Henry” off a Facebook ad, sight-unseen, for a grand total of $900. Her blog chronicles their journey together, posts product reviews, nerds out about bloodlines and reports on all things eventing. In 2017 Amanda welcomed a new addition to her herd, and that is where this story begins.

On March 16, 2017 at exactly 3 p.m. on the dot, Like Magic WTW entered the world. “Presto” is Amanda’s second generation of homebred horses. In 2007 Presto’s dam Westbound (“Sadie”), by the stallion Westporte (Wolkentanz x Fabriano), was born. Initially intended to be Amanda’s amateur friendly, hunter horse, Sadie was kicked in the leg while out in the field and retired to broodmare life earlier than Amanda had planned. With the purchase of Henry and Amanda’s transition back to eventing, she once again had the desire to produce her own foal but this time with the intent of producing an upper level eventer.

Westbound (“Sadie”) as a young horse. Photo courtesy of Amanda Chance.

Meanwhile Sadie had been leased out to Willow Tree Warmbloods as a broodmare. A deal was made that Sadie would become a permanent resident of WTW in exchange for Amanda getting a foal from her. The search for the perfect stallion began. In the spring of 2015 Amanda traveled to Belgium for the SBS Stallion Selection Show. Amanda had enlisted the help of eventing breeder and broker, Baudouin van den Brande. Together they went around to many different farms and looked at lots of young horses.

“At Kai Steffen-Meier and Lara de Liedekerke’s barn I fell in love with a 4 year-old gelding in particular,” says Amanda, “a horse named Max who was by the stallion Mighty Magic.”

Amanda and Max the Mighty Magic foal that stole her heart. Photo courtesy of Amanda Chance.

They saw several more Mighty Magic (Mytens xx x Neika I) foals on their trip, all out of very different mares and all capturing Amanda’s attention. Being diligent in her research, Amanda sought the advice of several different breeders who had used Mighty Magic and received glowing reports. Once back home, Amanda spent the rest of the year “obsessively” looking up every Mighty Magic offspring she could find and tracking their damlines and performance records.

“Everything I found made him seem like a better and better match for my mare,” recalls Amanda, “so in 2016 we bred Sadie to Mighty Magic.”

Mighty Magic. Photo courtesy of Haras du Feuillard.

When Presto hit the ground in 2017 it was love at first sight. “I know it sounds hokey,” says Amanda, “but from the second I first saw that little white foot and nose poking out, I was head over heels in love.” Presto was a strong little foal and was nickering even before he was all the way out of Sadie. He stood up almost immediately and within an hour was trotting around his pasture exploring his new world.  Presto seemed perfect and had all the makings that a day old baby can have of an eventing super star.

Sadie and Presto. Photo by Amanda Chance.

Two days later the narrative did a complete 180. At 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 18, Presto was cantering around, bucking, playing and acting like a normal foal. Within a matter of hours Presto developed a severe case of bloody diarrhea and it was apparent the little foal was very sick. Presto was rushed to the Brock Veterinary Clinic about an hour away. By the time he was unloaded off the trailer Presto could barely stand. The veterinarians were not optimistic. They hypothesized Presto either had clostridium difficile or clostridium perfringens infection. Both are bacteria found in the intestine that release toxins and can cause enterocolitis — inflammation of the intestines and colon. The disease is rapidly progressive and has a very high mortality rate. After testing it was determined Presto had both C Diff and C Perf.

For the next two weeks Presto’s life hung in the balance. His white blood cell count was double of what would be considered dangerous. His bloodwork was all over the charts, with his proteins going dangerously low and his electrolytes shooting from one extreme to the other. The clostridium caused necrotizing enterocolitis, meaning the top layer of his gastrointestinal tract tissue had been killed off. Presto could barely nurse and was basically being kept alive on IV fluids and plasma. Through it all Presto continued to keep his kind friendly nature, never getting tired of people coming in to poke and prod him and laying quietly with Amanda when she would come sit with him.

Presto never lost his fighting spirit. Photo courtesy of Amanda Chance.

“Even on his worst days, he never seemed to give up,” recalls Amanda, “as long as he did that, I felt like he deserved every chance we could give him.”

The first real ray of hope came over two weeks after Presto fell ill. Dr. Kari Bevevino, Presto’s main vet, texted Amanda a picture of something that looked like a cow patty. Presto had his first semi-solid, non-liquid poop since his ordeal began and it meant his GI tract was starting to function normally again. “That was the day I took my first deep breath since the night we dropped him off at the clinic,” says Amanda.

Presto continued to improve over the next several weeks, achieving one medical miracle at a time. On Friday, April 7, Presto got to come home. Since then Presto has been living up to his name, Like Magic, and growing into a handsome young colt. Amanda brought Presto to live at the same boarding barn as Henry soon after Presto’s first birthday. Henry has been taking his big brother duties very seriously, teaching Presto, sometimes begrudgingly, the ropes of being an internet celebrity and an event horse.

Yearling Presto learning from big brother Henry. Photo by Kate Boggan.

Amanda took Presto to his fist FEH event at the Snowdonia Farms qualifier in June where he received his qualifying score for FEH Championships.  And so Amanda and Willow Tree Warmbloods owner Michelle Beck loaded up and took their miracle baby to Texas Rose for the 2018 USEA FEH Central Championships. “It was meant to be a celebration of what Presto has done so far and the fact that he’s still with us,” says Amanda, “I certainly never expected him to win!”

Like Magic WTW strutting his stuff at the 2018 USEA FEH Central Championships. Photo by Kate Boggan.

Presto went from a baby on death’s doorstep to an FEH Champion claiming the title of Champion Yearling Colt and Reserve Champion Yearling Overall. Amanda’s plans for Presto’s future? “I’m planning to keep taking him up through the FEH program to get some life experience under his girth,” she says, “Ultimately I want him to be my next event horse and I’m hoping he feels up to packing an amateur around a 2* one day.” While Presto had a scary start to life, Amanda’s dedication to the sick foal brought him through to the other side. “There’s no doubt that I’m his person and he’s my horse,” says Amanda. With a bond that strong, the sky’s the limit for this duo and we look forward to following along with their future successes.

Elisa Wallace and Reloaded, 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover Eventing Champions. Photo courtesy of the RPP Thoroughbred Makeover.

Bright and early this morning, five OTTBs out of a massive 99-horse field advanced to the 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover eventing finale, and ultimately it was Elisa Wallace and Reloaded who came out on top. First things first, though, let’s take a moment to appreciate the effort that each and every participating trainer put into making a real difference in a lucky Thoroughbred’s life, this week’s competition being simply the icing on the cake!

Let’s meet the eventing top five:

Reloaded. Photo courtesy of Elisa Wallace.

#1 (total score: 2015.11): Elisa Wallace and Reloaded, a 2013 15.3-hand bay gelding (Magna Graduate x Curious Cat, by Tale Of The Cat) owned by Michelle Chisholm. Bred in Kentucky by Elisabeth H. Alexander, he won $20,177 in 19 racing starts. They also finished 17th in the Freestyle.

Elisa is a Thoroughbred Makeover veteran and has long been a champion of OTTBs, inspiring us with their journeys from track to start box. We look forward to following Reloaded’s career! Check out this cross country helmet cam video of the pair competing in Open Novice at Stable View last weekend.

Big Ralph. Photo courtesy of Alison Wilaby.

#2 (total score: 203.41): Alison Wilaby and Big Ralph, a 2014 17-hand dark bay gelding (Arch x Oregon Lady (IRE), by Shamardal) owned by the rider. Bred in Kentucky by Blue Heaven Farm, LLC, he won $14,522 in 12 racing starts. They also finished 17th in the Freestyle.

This is Alison’s second consecutive year as reserve eventing champion, and it’s an honor well earned. Watching her lean down to give Big Ralph a hug after their round, it was clear that the real reward for Alison isn’t a ribbon but the positive change made in the life of a horse.

I’malreadythere. Photo courtesy of Rosie Napravnik Sharp.

#3 (total score: 201.36): Rosie Sharp Napravnik and I’malreadythere, a 2013 16.1-hand bay gelding (Crown Of Thorns x Wildfire Ruby, by Wild Event) owned by the rider. Bred in Florida by Thomas J. Lane DVM, he earned $185,911 in 24 racing starts. Of course, Rosie is quite the off-track success story herself! After a monumental racing career, it’s great to see her giving back to the horses and the sport.

Sharp Johnny. Photo courtesy of Elisa Wallace.

#4 (total score: 201.36): Elisa Wallace and Sharp Johnny, a 2011 16.1-hand chestnut gelding (Sharp Humor x Reigning Princess, by Storm Boot) owned by Susan Day. Bred in Kentucky by Sparks View Farm and John Weld, he won $59,793 in 61 racing starts. He had the highest preliminary score in eventing (158.36) and also placed 11th in Freestyle. Another standing ovation, Elisa!

Turkomani. Photo courtesy of Kate Samuels.