Joanie Nichols, a dear eventing enthusiast and supporter, recently suffered a stroke and is recuperating well but has been unable to participate in the competitions lately as much as she would like. Joanie and her husband Geoff own Tom White Hill Farm in Vermont and are wonderful supporters of the sport. They specialize in finding young Irish horses with talent, such as recent Richland CIC3* winner Trading Aces. Their head rider, Ashley Adams, was kind enough to fill us in and write a quick note for us on Joanie.
From Ashley:
Just about two weeks ago, Joanie Nichols suffered a stroke at her home, Tom White Hill Farm in Pomfret, Vt. She is currently at the Mt Ascutney Rehabilitation Hospital working on the motor skills most commonly affected by a stroke.
I was lucky enough to cross paths with Joanie and her husband Geoff Nichols about a year ago here in Vermont. Joanie is one of the toughest ladies I know, and while her stubbornness has proved to be a bit of a problem for the doctors, it is one of the traits that I admire most in her.
She and Geoff are avid horse enthusiasts and even more so diehard eventing fans. Joanie grew up riding dressage, and she met Geoff some 60 years ago at GMHA. (She asked to borrow some boots from him, and he said no; they have been together ever since!) Both have a strong love for wanting to provide quality young horses for the sport of eventing.
Joanie’s love for all of her horses is immeasurable, and having people like her and Geoff involved in the sport is what will keep this sport alive and thriving. The Nichols enjoy watching and being a part of every aspect of the process, from when the horses just get to the farm as rank 3 and 4 year olds that try to buck me off to seeing Trading Aces — a horse they picked out as a 5 year old — on the cover of magazines.
Both the horses and I are missing her and can’t wait for her to get back; after all, we have to get busy producing the next generation of Event Horses!
Ashley and one of Joanie’s young horses winning a division of Training last weekend at GMHA:
